Snorkeling in Florida: Best Snorkeling Beaches and SpotsThe best snorkeling beaches in Florida have calm, clear water, and something interesting to look at within a short swimming distance from the beach. Rocks or a hard scrabble bottom with corals, sponges and sea fans make the best snorkeling because they provide habitat for all kinds of marine life like crabs, fish and shells. Calm water is preferred. Calm water is usually clearer than rough water and its definitely easier to breathe through a snorkel in calmer water. Rough water will bang you into rocks or pier pilings or any other solid object near you. It's also easier to stay in one place to observe marine life when the water is calm.
Clear water is essential. What good is a mask if the water is so full of sediment and suspended particles that you can't see three feet past the end of your nose? And we all want something interesting to look at. Staring at a white sandy bottom gets boring after a short while. Rocks, sea grasses and coral make the most interesting snorkeling. These environments attract all kinds of fish species that we love to see. Old pilings are good attractors of marine life as are old shipwrecks. You can snorkel from most any beach in Florida, but you'll have more fun if you pick the beaches with the best snorkeling potential. I have not snorkeled at all of these spots. The purpose of these snorkeling pages is to bring together the best information I can find and to link to it to make your internet research easier and less time consuming. If you are seriously into snorkeling and have high expectations of clear, warm water with lots of corals and tropical fish, you only have one real choice: the Florida Keys. The best snorkeling in the Florida Keys takes place several miles offshore on the coral reefs, so you'll need to take a snorkeling charter (unless you have your own boat and have experience boating and snorkeling around coral reefs.) There are very good snorkeling beaches in the Florida panhandle and on the southeast (Atlantic) coast. There are a few interesting snorkeling locations on the southwest coast beaches. What is the best time of year for snorkeling in Florida? Most people prefer the warmer months. The water can get pretty chilly in Florida during the winter months, especially north of Tampa Bay on the Gulf side, and north of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic side. See the average water temperatures in Florida, by month, for the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Cautions:
This list of snorkeling beaches focuses on spots that are within two hundred feet or less of the beach. Following are popular snorkeling spots that are easily accessible from the beach: |
