Hi there!
Looe Key has some of the best snorkeling in the Florida Keys!
Looe Key is not actually a key (island) so you can’t drive to it.
You get to Looe Key by boat only!
I went to Looe Key as a snorkeling tour from Bahia Honda State Park, which is a little less than an hour from Key West.
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I guess back in the day there used to land mass but nowadays there’s no land there but it’s still called Looe Key.
Snorkeling at Looe Key means snorkeling at the reef of Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Now, I am just a casual recreational snorkeler.
I am just in it to look for colorful fish and adorable little fish!
It’s more like I like to go swimming where I have a chance to see colorful fish.
So I don’t know the names of fish species, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you specifically which types of fish I saw.
But there were a few spots that there were just sooo many fish!
And since there were so many of these little fishies, it was easy to get pictures of them, and well, I have the most pictures of them!
It seemed like I saw the most amount of fish around the boats that were moored around the Looe Key reef.
I also saw a few super colorful fish but I wasn’t able to get a picture of them.
And, I also saw some smaller sharks!
Once again, I don’t know which types of shark(s?) I saw, but I saw a shark 5 times!
In fact, the first thing I saw as soon as I started looking underwater was a shark!
Reef shark, blacktip shark, nurse shark. These are all names of sharks I heard while on the Looe Key snorkeling boat.
So, it seems you have a chance to see any one of those types of sharks when snorkeling in the Florida Keys!
👆 Snorkeling at Looe Key in the Florida Keys: Spot the shark!
There were also a lot of sea fans to be seen at Looe Key.
You can see the sea fans swaying with the movements of the ocean.
You can watch the sea fans and the fish swimming by!
When I was swimming around a boat, there was someone on the boat that asked me if the grouper he saw earlier was still there.
Umm… I don’t know because I don’t know what a grouper looks like. 😝
He said it’s a big fish and made it seem like it would have been obvious if I had seen it.
Well, I have since looked up what a grouper is and I definitely did not see a grouper. 😆
But apparently, you do have a chance to see groupers when you’re snorkeling in the Florida Keys at Looe Key!
(And also know what a grouper looks like before you go!)
How to go snorkeling at the Looe Key reef
You can snorkel at Looe Key by boat!
Looe Key is only accessible by boat.
So you can’t go snorkeling Looe Key on your own by swimming from shore.
So for the average tourist, the way to go snorkeling at Looe Key is to do a Looe Key snorkeling tour.
Doing a Looe Key snorkeling tour also means a boat ride out to the reef with amazing views.
And then once you have arrived at the Looe Key reef, you can either jump into the ocean or take the ladder down to start swimming!
There is even a Looe Key Reef Resort that dedicates itself to taking trips out to go snorkeling Looe Key… and also diving Looe Key too!
I did a Looe Key snorkeling tour from Bahia Honda State Park.
Unfortunately they don’t always run their snorkeling tours though.
The day I did it, it was said that it was the first snorkeling tour that went out in like 5 weeks! (It is unclear if visibility and other snorkeling conditions are the only reason that the snorkeling tours had not been running…)
If it was more reliable, I would recommend going to Looe Key from Bahia Honda State Park.
I found it to be really convenient since I was camping in Bahia Honda State Park.
As the time for your trip to the Florida Keys gets closer, you can give Bahia Honda State Park a call: 305-872-3210
When I did a Bahia Honda snorkeling tour in May 2022, the only way to make a reservation was to call.
Bahia Honda State Park is located around an hour north of Key West.
If you are arriving for a day trip to Bahia Honda State Park, you do also need to pay the Florida state park entry fee on top of the cost of the snorkeling tour.
If you do the Looe Key snorkeling tour from Bahia Honda State Park, you also get to take a boat ride right through the split of the iconic old Bahia Honda railway bridge.
If you find that the Bahia Honda snorkeling tour is cancelled, then try Captain Hooks for their Looe Key snorkeling tour.
And if you end up doing a Bahia Honda snorkeling tour, then you can also test your luck after the tour to see if you can see marine life by snorkeling in Bahia Honda State Park from the beach!
More snorkeling in the Florida Keys
- Best snorkeling in the Florida Keys from the beach
- Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling from shore
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park snorkeling
- What to pack for snorkeling in the Florida Keys
Cost of snorkeling Looe Key from Bahia Honda State Park
The cost of a Looe Key snorkeling tour is around $30 per person. See current fees.
The cost of the Bahia Honda State Park entry fee to get to the Looe Key snorkeling tour meeting spot is around $8 per car. See current fees.
Snorkeling gear is not included in the cost of the snorkeling tour.
You can bring your own snorkeling gear, or you can rent snorkeling gear at Bahia Honda State Park.
The cost of renting snorkeling gear for Looe Key is around $13. See current fees.
More pictures below of some of what I saw snorkeling at the Looe Key reef!
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What can you see snorkeling the Looe Key reef?
See the pictures below!
In short, when you go snorkeling at the Looe Key reef, you have the potential to see lots of fish, sea fans, and maybe a shark or more!
My snorkeling trip to Looe Key was in May 2022.
Your experience may vary!
My underwater pictures were taken with my phone.
I put my phone in a cheap waterproof phone case.
This does have its annoyances and you won’t be able to take as crisp of photos as a proper camera.
But if you don’t want to buy a real waterproof camera, then you might be happy with what it can do!
I have found that it’s easiest to take lots of video, and then if you want to make it into a picture, then take a screenshot from the video!
Many of the pictures above of snorkeling at Looe Key are screenshots from video taken with my phone. And these pictures are also optimized for the web aka the quality is reduced.
Whether you get a cheap waterproof phone case or a proper waterproof camera, also get a camera float to attach to it!
Then, if you accidentally drop your phone or camera, it won’t sink to the bottom of the ocean!
See more for your Looe Key snorkeling trip:
- How a cheap waterproof phone case for snorkeling works
- More of what to pack for your Looe Key snorkeling tour
And that’s a bit about snorkeling the Looe Key reef!
More snorkeling in the Florida Keys:
- Best snorkeling in the Florida Keys on your own
- Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park snorkeling
- What to pack for snorkeling in the Florida Keys
HAPPY SNORKELING AT LOOE KEY REEF!
There are partner websites included in this post. I may earn a commission.