Key West Snorkeling & Sandbar Tours

North America has exactly one living coral barrier reef, and it's sitting a few miles off the end of Key West. It's shallow, it's warm, the visibility is often absurd, and it is absolutely packed with things worth looking at — parrotfish, angelfish, sea turtles, rays, lobster tucked back under the ledges.

Because the reef here is shallow and calm, it's about as gentle an introduction to snorkelling as exists anywhere. Flotation vests come standard, Rio is in the water keeping an eye on everyone, and nervous first-timers tend to forget they were nervous inside about five minutes.

The other half of the day is the sandbars — those improbable patches of knee-deep, bath-warm water in the middle of nowhere. We anchor up, everyone gets out and stands around in the ocean, and it becomes obvious why people move to the Keys and never leave. Add light fishing or some dolphin spotting on the way if you want.