Scuba Diving in the Middle Keys, Florida

The Middle Keys was a new area in Florida for us to go scuba diving. We were excited at the idea since we had done some diving around Key Largo and Key West before and loved it. So, we figured that the diving in the Middle Keys would also be excellent. What’s more, we had heard and seen beautiful videos of the Sombrero Reef, which is a protected marine sanctuary.

On top of that we had a voucher for two free hotel nights, and we could use them at the Courtyard Marriott in Marathon, so we decided to book a mini diving vacation. We were very impressed by the Courtyard hotel which exceeded our expectations for this hotel category. Perhaps it’s because of all the recent renovations to the hotel but I’m sure that the friendly and helpful staff contributed to our impression. There isn’t a beach on the premises, but Sombrero Beach is only a short drive away, as was our dive operator.

Diving on the Sombrero Reef

The Sombrero Key Sanctuary Preservation Area is about 4 miles offshore from Boot Key, near Marathon, and is easy to spot with the Sombrero lighthouse at its center. The finger-shaped reef is easy to navigate. The Sombrero reef is healthy and full of life, but the dive conditions weren’t ideal when we visited. It’s also very shallow and a popular snorkeling spot. As divers we usually prefer deeper dive sites, but maybe that’s just us!

We were hoping to dive a few sites in the area but spent the weekend diving on the Sombrero Reef. It seemed that this was the only area our dive operator would take us to. Maybe it was to accommodate the snorkelers on board, who knows?

Unfortunately, on both days the visibility was terrible: 3-5 ft on the first day and 10-15 ft the following day. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw but driving all the way from Miami for that was disappointing to say the least and far from ideal for underwater photography. I suspect that the tides affect the visibility, especially when the green water of the Gulf of Mexico moves in deteriorating the conditions. When the blue water of the Atlantic moves in, visibility improves, as it did on our second day of diving.

See our list of South Florida Dive Sites

On our way to the Sombrero dive site we passed under the famous Seven Mile Bridge, but unlike the popular Blue Heron Bridge there isn’t any diving allowed under the Seven Mile bridge which we heard is a popular bull shark hangout.

I really don’t like diving in murky water since I enjoy taking photos of the creatures that live on and around the reef. Luckily, I did manage to capture an octopus swimming. When he spotted us, the octopus squirted some ink at us. Pretty cool to see! Also, it was the first time I saw one outside of its hiding place. Octopuses are usually more active at night but maybe it thought it was nighttime since the visibility was really bad that day (3-5 ft)! We also briefly saw a turtle… one second it was there and then it was gone…

Octopus

Octopus Ink

When we got home, we saw a news report that a 16-foot great white shark was also seen in the area. Thankfully it didn’t appear out of nowhere like that turtle!

Staying dry

Aside from diving, we also got to eat some key lime pie, and enjoyed some of the local restaurants. Nearby are the turtle hospital, a bird sanctuary, and even the dive museum up in Key Largo. We had been to most of these multiple times, so we just dove, relaxed and ate, but if it’s your first time to the area these are all definitely worth doing.

Conclusion

For sure the diving didn’t match our expectations but perhaps we had set the bar too high. Maybe the dive conditions were unusual. We heard that the visibility on the Sombrero Reef can be 75 ft at times which would certainly make the diving much more enjoyable and create a totally different experience. One thing that crossed our mind after the trip was that had something happened, rescue in those waters would also be particularly difficult. We stayed close as a buddy team, but definitely not ideal conditions and potentially unsafe.

Overall, I’m glad we went to the Middle Keys, as many businesses were affected by Hurricane Irma back in 2017. Some are still struggling and really seemed to appreciate our support.

The Florida Keys & Key West

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