We went to Grecian Rocks, and were amazed at the vast amount and variety of fish we saw. Robert and Brian did a great job teaching snorkeling basics on the boat to anyone interested, and helping us have a good experience. My daughter and I are prone to motion sickness, but as I said, water was pretty calm, and we had no trouble on the half hour boat ride each way. The staff at John Pennekamp were all so helpful with answering all of our questions, us being newbies. Everyone but me got fins, and were glad they did. Initially we weren’t sure what kind of snorkels to get, but the cheapo ones worked fine. I hate to be cold in the water and didn’t want to risk it though. I was concerned we’d be cold, but it wasn’t a problem at all! Several of us rented half wetsuits which was well worth it, although my husband and 15yo did not and said they got used to the water fine. Our family of 7 (my husband and I, and 5 kids ages 8-18) had a great first-time snorkeling experience at John Pennekamp on January 6th! The weather was 70 and sunny water was calm and temp of 75. Overall, I felt our kayaking and snorkeling experiences were much better in Key West. I get the economics of it, but it is not tourist-friendly. If 13 other people didn't sign up by 3 pm, there would be no trip, and they would have wasted basically half a day. Some other people had signed up, right before noon, for the 3 pm. We were told that the 12 noon tour was definitely going out. However, people could waste hours here waiting for a tour that never happens. The water was very rough, which apparently it is in December. The third day, we took the snorkeling trip. Great!!! Also, as I stepped out of the kayak, I noticed nearby a bottlecap that had been in the shallow water long enough to have rusted. When we mentioned to the guy who took the kayak that the map was bad, he said he had heard that from a lot of other people. One channel with mangroves looks exactly like the next one! We did half the trails and decided to call it a day, as the other section would be more of the same. In addition, there was virtually NO signage.

They give you a map (coated with plastic), but unfortunately, the map does not depict the area correctly, nor does it cover the entire area where one could kayak. The second day, we rented kayaks and went kayaking in the mangroves, something we had also done in Key West. The other trail was closed for maintenance.

Excellent film! We also took a short walk to the historic key lime grove, which was ok but nothing exciting. The first day, we saw the hour-long film about the coral reefs and all the creatures inhabiting the reefs. We went to this park three days in a row.

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