Biscayne National Park is primarily an underwater park. My visit to it was limited to a snorkeling trip run by the park sponsored concessionaire, Biscayne National Underwater Park, Inc. While I was a bit wary of them from their website, I was very pleased with the trip as a whole. To start off we had a brief orientation with a park ranger before we left on the boat. We also had a park ranger along as a guide for most of the boat trip out, as we dropped off and picked up the island tour on our way out.
The actual snorkeling area was over a very shallow reef, and we were always close to the boat. While we technically were supposed to have a buddy, I was told that I didn't need to stick with the couple I was supposed to be tripled with, as they were having a lot of problems adjusting to their gear and adjusting their flotation vests. While these vests aren't life jackets, they help you find neutral buoyancy. As we had both the boat captain and a master drive instructor watching us, I felt safe not being glued to a buddy. I did regularly check my bearings in relations to the rest of the group and the boat, and after a bit also learned some of the reef formations to tell where I was.
This was my first experience snorkeling in an actual reef, however I have been scuba diving on a reef once. Since this reef was so close to the surface I saw much of the detail I saw when scuba diving. After I adjusted to bobbing in the waves, and swimming in place in the current, I enjoyed watching fish dart about and the coral move in the currents.
We had about an hour in the water, which was the perfect amount of time for me. I was wearing my long sleeve titanium-lined kayaking rash guard, and was starting to feel a bit chilled and ready to get out right when they called us back in. They do offer wet suit rentals (if they have your size), but my time in the ocean earlier helped me ascertain that I would be fine in the mid-70s water.
On the boat ride back we saw tons of feeding cormorants and some terns. I had plenty of warm clothing for the ride back, but many of the other snorkeling passengers didn't.
Even though I was unsure at first of including this in my trip, I'm very glad I did. It was well worth the time and expense to go snorkeling out on the reef, and thankfully we had good weather conditions for it.
Vital Stats:
Time: 1:30-3:30, with a 1:00 orientation and check in prior to orientation
Cost: $45
