kenbur...@yahoo.com wrote:

I'll suggest the obvious, John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo.
http://www.pennekamppark.com/index.html

Cam

Few, very few, very, very few people chose to snorkel, or dive for that
matter, in the Everglades.  The everglades is a sawgrass marsh pocketed with
canals and deep water, pretty much all of which contain alligators, large
snapping turtles and  snakes, including poisonous varieties.  There's one
guy, you may have seen him on TV, that thinks snorkeling with alligators is
a good idea.  He's making money off of it because everybody else thinks that
he's nuts.

In the Keys, things are a bit different.  There's plenty of good snorkeling
pretty much the full length of the island chain.  By the way, Key Largo and
Key West are the names of cities as well as the name of the islands they are
on.  They are not keys named Largo or West.  No big deal to me, but the
people that live there care and you might as well get it right if you are
going.

All of the good snorkeling in the Keys requires a boat of some kind.
There's nothing I consider quality snorkeling within safe swimming distance
of shore.  Safety from boats is a factor in that statement.  There are a lot
of boaters in the Keys and not all of them are as alert to people in the
water as they should be.  You can take any of the dozens of commercial
snorkeling boats, you can rent a boat for a day or half day and you can rent
a kayak for some of the diving.

If you're going to take a commercial boat, pretty much any will do.  They
all have access to some sites you'll like if the visibility and sea
conditions are favorable.  None will get you to anything you'll particularly
like when the weather is bad.  Just make sure you're on a snorkeling boat
and not a dive boat that takes snorkelers.  In the Key Largo to Islamorada
area, I like the Christ Statue both for the statue and for the nice reefs
surrounding it.  It's not the best anywhere, but it's nice.  I also like
Hens and Chickens.  If you rent, or bring, a kayak, there's a very nice
patch reef directly off shore from the Islander Motel.  It's a no motor
zone, which makes it even nicer for snorkelers willing to paddle around a
bit.  There are similar patch reefs here and there that are pretty easy for
a kayaker to find, but not quite as easy to locate as the one off the
Islander.  Coral patch reefs will appear to be various shades of brown from
the surface.  White bottom is usually sand, sometimes shallow, and dark
bottom is usually grass, which I don't find particularly interesting.

Snorkeling under the bridges, those that don't allow fishing only, please,
can be interesting too, but you'll have to be very alert to boat traffic and
currents.  When the currents are running under the bridges, even a strong
swimmer can be swept away.

I don't do much snorkeling in the Bahia Honda area, but I'm pretty sure the
patch reefs are comparable to those in the Key Largo and Islamorada areas.
There are grass flats along the old section of the Bahia Honda bridge.  The
water tends to be clear and calm and, if nothing else, you can see some
large starfish.  You may also see one of several larger than average sharks
that hang out around the bridge.  A particularly large hammerhead is known
to drop in occasionally and bull sharks are, reportedly, common in the area.
You feelings about large sharks will govern whether you want to snorkel
there or not.

Probably the best known, and one of the best places to snorkel is Looe Key.
Looe Key is not a Key, it's an underwater park located off Big Pine Key.
For two or more snorkelers, it's nice to rent a boat and run out to Looe Key
on your own.  You can, and will want to spend more time here than the
commercial services allow.  If there are four of you, you'll save money too.

I've never been snorkeling around Key West.  Somebody else will have to help
you with that.

There are a few things you need to be sure to know.
1. Florida law requires you to fly a diver down flag when snorkeling from a
boat and to have a towable diver down flag on the surface at all times if
you're not in a boat.  Sometimes heavy boat traffic would make it a good
idea even if it weren't required.
2. Coral is protected.  Don't hit it with your boat, anchor or allow your
anchor line to run across it (anchor in the sand or to a mooring buoy where
available, stand on it or touch it more than is absolutely necessary.  We're
real serous about protecting our living coral and you won't like the fines
if you aren't careful.   Depending on the day of the week and time of year,
some of the snorkelers or divers you see will be working law enforcement
officers.
3. Spearfishing is a no-no in large portions of the Keys.  If you expect to
spearfish, check the regulations carefully.  In some areas, it's a violation
to even carry a speargun in a boat.  If you're going to spearfish, please,
know what is legal and what is not, type, size and number.
4. If it's not lobster season, leave lobster alone.  If it is, learn the
rules and obey them.  The fines for illegal lobstering are only second to
those for damaging coral . . . and they can take your boat, trailer and car
if they want.

Lee