You will want to do your snorkeling in the National Marine Sanctuary not Penekamp. Penekamp's snorkel boats are very crowded. Hook up with a smaller snorkel operator in Islamorada or Key Largo.

I probably should post this as a separate question, but will the water be warm enuf in Oct. for snorkeling in the Keys? We plan to hit Largo the second week, Marathon the third week and Key West the last week of the month.

We dove and snorkled in Islamorada the first and second week of October last year and the water was a bit nippy. I'd take a shortie at the very least.

CF - Fantasy Fest is October 18th to the 27th. If that's the time you intend to be in Key West and you haven't already made reservations it's probably too late. You might want to start in Key West and end up in the upper keys.

Unfortunately I learned of Fantasy Fest while making my reservations. What can I say? We thought of reversing the itinerary, but it would have had a ripple effect on the entire trip. It was easier to grin and bare (LOL) it for FF than make a half dozen reservation changes.<BR><BR>Can you rent shorties? We're Caribbean snorklers and aren't equiped for colder water.

Though I haven't snorkeled in October I can't imagine your having trouble with cool waters. We're in Key West frequently in October and it's usually hot. Check out weatherunderground.com for average temps in October.

Looking for the best snorkeling area . Prefer a shallower area. will be staying in islamorada. thanks!

Oct is still hurricane season so the waters should still be on the warm side. <BR><BR>Patty take a charter to the reef.

Author: PATTY ([email protected])<BR>Date: 08/11/2002, 09:26 am<BR>Message: WHERE SHOULD WE STAY IN THE KEYS? WANT TO SNORKLE BUT PREFER TO DO SHALLOW SNORKELING AS FAIRLY NEW AT IT. WOULD LIKE TO BIKE RIDE, KAYAK AND SEE NATURE. LOOKING AT ISLAMADORA IS THAT A GOOD LOCATION TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS?<BR><BR>I would stay in Key West and take a day trip to Bahia Honda Park.<BR>