Hi there!
Well, I can’t say I had the most enjoyable time on the glass bottom boat tour at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
Why?!
In short, rough waters!
Well, rough enough waters anyway.
The “coral reef” that is in the name John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located off shore.
You need to take a boat to get there.
So the most meaningful thing you can do in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is to go to the coral reef!
There are 2 main tours at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park that will take you out to the coral reef.
One is the John Pennekamp snorkeling tour. (Recommended, if Key Largo is as far south as you’re going to drive in the Florida Keys! Otherwise, try Bahia Honda State Park for a snorkeling tour or try snorkeling in Key West!)
And the other is the John Pennekamp glass bottom boat tour.
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So on the John Pennekamp glass bottom boat, once you get to the coral reef, the boat stops.
Because of the “rough” (to me) waters, the boat was bobbing up and down the whole time we were stopped.
When the boat arrives at the coral reef and stops is when the “glass bottom” part of the tour really begins.
So that is when everyone goes indoors and you are looking down through the glass to see if you can find something interesting.
I didn’t think I was one to get seasick easily.
But it was during this time that the boat is bobbing up and down above the coral reef that I started to get nauseous and I left the “glass bottom” part of the boat to go outside to the open deck.
The ride to and from were not a problem. I was very happy once the boat started moving again!
The glass bottom boat part is indoors with no air flow and you are constantly looking down. I started to feel a little hot, and I wasn’t sure if I was just making it up in my mind that I was feeling a little sick.
At the start of the tour, the boat staff had basically said if you’re starting to feel sick it’s too late, and the longer you wait the worse you’ll feel!
They even handed out little motion sickness tablets as you got on the boat, free for the taking if you wanted one. (I did not consume the tablets since I didn’t think I needed it!)
Well I really didn’t want to throw up (I didn’t) so I did not wait out this feeling of possible nausea for very long before I decided that I was going to get outside on the open deck. Fresh air and looking out towards the ocean is said to help with seasickness.
There was someone from the boat crew who is on the open deck for those who get sick. I was offered a small peppermint candy as I guess that helps seasickness. The crew member can also go and get ice for you as sucking on ice is another thing that’s said to help seasickness. You can also get a vomit bag if you want one just in case. (The kind they give you on a plane.)
👆 There are seasick bags on the John Pennekamp glass bottom boat.
Well, at least you know you’ll be taken care of if you do get seasick. 😜
It seems rolling waves are normal in this part of the Florida Keys.
Because I didn’t stay inside the glass bottom boat part for very long, I can’t say whether you’ll see good things.
Well another reason I convinced myself to leave might have been because I didn’t really have motivation to stay because it didn’t seem like there was much to see. I was inside the glass bottom boat part for around 10 minutes and I was not very impressed.
But again, I don’t know what else was seen the rest of the time.
So I don’t want to necessarily say you shouldn’t do the glass bottom boat tour since I didn’t get the full experience.
It was also still a very nice boat ride since you’ll be able to see the amazing water color with a boat ride in the Florida Keys out to the reef!
👆 Getting on the John Pennekamp glass bottom boat, seasick tablets were being handed out.
👆 You can sit inside on the John Pennekamp boat ride out to the reef.
👆 Making waves on the John Pennekamp boat ride out to the reef!
👆 You can go outside on the open deck on the John Pennekamp boat ride out to the reef!
If you don’t mind getting in the water, I do recommend the John Pennekamp snorkeling tour. I did that one too, and that would be my favorite John Pennekamp Coral Reef tour out of the 2 tours I did.
I also did the snorkeling tour from Bahia Honda State Park which goes to Looe Key, and I liked that one even better.
If you’ll be heading that far south in the Florida Keys (Bahia Honda State Park is about an hour from Key West), then check to see if the Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling tour is going out! (It doesn’t always for various reasons.)
For details on how to book a glass bottom boat tour, you can see the official website of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park tours.
More for your trip to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and beyond
- Best snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
- Best Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling
- Key Largo to Key West
- 2 hours in Miami Beach
- One day in Everglades National Park
- One day in Key West
- Things to do in the Florida Keys
There are partner websites included in this post. I may earn a commission.