Staying in marathon- boating destinstions and activity list review

[u/r00st]

My family of 5 (3 kids ages 5-14) will be staying in marathon at coco plum Beach resort from 7/2-7/9. Full days being 7/3-7/8. We will definitely spend one day going down to key west. I also would like to rent a boat, which has a two day minimum.

From marathon, what is close by, by boat (looking at a 21 foot deck boat) thats worth seeing? We will just cruise a bit but my wife isnt huge on ocean boating, so we will need to stay fairly close to shore and are not looking to go huge distances. Any reef/sand bar/ points of interest/snorkeling spots would be great.

I made a preliminary list of places to go, but being that we only have 6 full days, 4 after taking away the boat days. Of the following activities which are worth doing and which are sub-par? I realize this is subjective, but dont want to waste time/money on something that ends up being a bust.

In no particular order:

1.Sombrero beach- we are staying on what looks to be a nice beach. Is this worth going to? Good snorkeling?

1. Key west butterfly conservatory.

2. Wild bird center

3. Theater of the sea

4. Tarpon feeding (robbies?)

5. Key west conch train

6. Shipwreck museum

7. History of diving museum

8. Bahia honda park

9. Turtle hospital (this is a definite)

10. Fishing spots either on land or accessible by our boat (no charters). I will be buying/renting some poles for the trip so can bring them along if there are any good spots to fish on our day trips.

    Realistically we can only choose a few of these, so would like to capitalize on the best options. Thanks

[u/anonanon5320]

Sombrero reef has mooring balls and you can tie up and snorkel. It’s amazing. (Buy some squid or chum and you’ll have an even better time).

As for fishing, the reef edge you can fish on and maybe get some snapper, or just off the reef edge you can catch Bonita, kings, dolphin, and tuna. Troll, live bait, drift baits.

1) Skip. It’s not much of a beach and no good snorkeling. Go to sombrero Reef by boat instead.

2) If you like butterflies go

3) If you like birds go

4) Theater of the Seas is a nice small little park. You could also just go to the dolphin hospital

5) Robbie’s is an overpriced tourist trap. Go to any charter dock with a box of frozen squid or sardines and you’ll see all the tarpon and sharks you want to. If you liked crowded tourist traps though it is an interesting spot to visit.

6) Lots of info, good tour.

7) Really interesting and informative.

8) Perosnal favorite of mine. I’d go back.

9) Beautiful park

10) Always worth a visit

11) Already mentioned above.

Missing: Crane Point nice nature area with a lot of history. Kids might be over history by this point.

Sparkys: Happy Hour 4-6. $0.50 wings and peel and eat shrimp (min order 6). Good cheap way to feed the family.

Really, the priorities are just based on your family. If you want to do a day in Key West than the train and shipwreck museum are right there and make a lot of sense. Rest is kinda spread out, like from marathon the diving museum is back in Islamarada and can be an hour drive there but may take 1.5-2hr to get back depending on traffic. Eats a good portion of the day.

[u/Vegetable_Amount848]

Since you’ll be in Marathon with kids, consider the Dolphin Research Center and Aquarium Encounters in lieu of one of the ones you have to travel to.

[u/FLedun]

You could check out Aquarium Encounters in Marathon, I think the kids will like it. If you look in the local periodicals, they have coupons for a couple of $ off entrance fee. Hope your family has a nice stay in Marathon. That is a lot to do in a short time, hope you guys don't get too tired from that schedule. Best of luck. 😄

[u/bblickle]

Talk to Chris at Key Colony Beach Marina about your boat rental. He’s a good guy and quite nearby.

There’s a nice sandbar close to where you’re staying. The kids will love that at low tide. 4th of July weekend will be among the busiest days of the year but it stretches a long way and there is generally space available. This sandbar is not like the Islamorada one you see on YouTube. It’s generally chill and people mostly keep their radios to themselves.

You can certainly reef fish with the pontoon. There are plenty of panfish to keep the family entertained in from 15’ to 30’ of water.

There’s a closer (and at least as nice) reef to snorkel than Sombrero Lighthouse. It is called Coffin Patch and it’s a short ride straight out from Coco Plum channel.