New Snorkeling Trip to Looe Key Considered Second-Best Key West Snorkeling After the Dry Tortugas

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The newest snorkeling trip out of Key West, out to the natural reef on Looe Key, is being compared to snorkeling out in the Dry Tortugas, which many locals and visitors consider the best Key West snorkeling available.

The newest snorkeling trip to depart from Key West, the Looe Key excursion, is considered one of the top two Key West snorkeling destinations along with the famous snorkeling out in the remote islands of the Dry Tortugas. The Dry Tortugas Information Center, the leading center for camping and day trips out to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, can provide Key West visitors with information on booking snorkeling excursions out to both the Tortugas and Looe Key.

Both these Key West snorkeling excursions are actually not located in Key West: Looe Key is about a 1.5-2 hour boat ride and the Dry Tortugas are about 2-2.5 hours from the coast of Key West. Yet these are the considered by locals and visitors alike the absolute best destinations for a Key West snorkeling experience.

The Dry Tortugas offers snorkeling that is directly off the beach. Snorkelers need only swim a matter of yards to start seeing the colorful display of coral reefs and marine animals. Looe Key's snorkeling is great because of its diversity of reefs and reef systems. In the small area of Looe Key, you can find five different types of reef systems. Snorkeling at Looe Key allows you to see a truly impressive variety of marine life.

"Everyone who comes to Key West and likes nature needs to see the Dry Tortugas National Park, but we are also now giving customers who go to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson the chance to experience a different type of Key West snorkeling out at Looe Key," says Jenna McCoy, a reservations agent with the Dry Tortugas Information Center.

Two ferries currently provide daily excursions out to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson for a full-day trip that includes snorkeling, breakfast, lunch, and a guided tour of the historic fort. Looe Key trips are also now running daily and include two different stops for snorkeling, a buffet lunch, and an expert on-board crew that will show you the best ways to snorkel and the best spots in which to do so.

For more information on both Dry Tortugas and Looe Key day trips, call the Dry Tortugas Information Center at 1-877-243-2378.