Key West Afternoon Snorkeling with an Open Bar

For an afternoon on the reef with the drinks included, book Sebago’s Afternoon Snorkel Sail with Unlimited Cocktails. It leaves at 12:30 from Sebago’s office on Lazy Way Lane at the Historic Seaport, lasts three hours and costs $60 per person on Viator (prices on this page checked November 2026). With 1,621 reviews on Viator, averaging 4.4, it is the most reviewed reef snorkel on this site. If you want a slightly higher rating for the same money, Sunset Watersports’ Dip & Sip leaves at 13:00 for $59 and is rated 4.5 from 492. Our review

The afternoon boats are the social ones. Expect a busy catamaran and a bar that does most of its business on the way home.

The afternoon trips side by side

What “open bar” means on these boats

Fury and Sunset Watersports keep the drinking for after the swim. Fury states it outright: no alcohol until the snorkeling portion is over, and guests who turn up under the influence are not allowed on. Sunset Watersports describes free beer, soft drinks and water as you sail back to the dock; its GetYourGuide listing for the same trip says soda and water throughout and draft beer on the way back. Sebago’s listings sell cocktails, beer, wine and soda, and require drinkers to be 21 with valid ID.

So on these two the open bar is mostly the ride home. It suits groups and couples who want a lively sail after a swim. It does not suit anyone who wants a quiet boat or a long session on the reef.

One pricing trap: the same Sebago trip on GetYourGuide shows a headline price of $45, but on its first bookable date the real price was $60. Compare the price on your date, not the banner.

Picking by what matters to you

If you want the busiest, best-documented boat, Sebago at 12:30 has the review count. Its low-star reviews mention a crowded deck on full sailings, choppy or cloudy water on windy days, and a snorkel site changed for the weather. Read them before you book. Our Sebago review

If you want the same style with a slightly higher rating, Sunset Watersports’ Dip & Sip sails the 65-foot Sandie Cat from 201 William Street at the Historic Seaport, with snorkel instruction and freshwater showers on board. Some reviewers of the GetYourGuide version mention about 30 minutes in the water and a crowded boat. Our Dip & Sip review

If you want margaritas at the lowest price, Fury’s afternoon departure is $57 on GetYourGuide from the dock behind Opal Key Resort & Marina at 241 Front Street. Fury’s listing gives snorkel time as about 30 to 60 minutes, and you must know how to swim. The Viator copy of this trip is rated lower, 4.2 from 704 reviews. Our Fury review

If you care more about the reef than the bar, Floridays’ 13:00 sailing costs $79 and the listing describes about an hour at the reef. Drinks are included there too. Our Floridays review

If you want two snorkel stops, Fury’s Double Dip sails at 14:00 from 631 Greene Street for $73. See the Double Dip page.

If you want to finish at sunset, the 15:30 option on Danger Charters’ half-day schooner trip sails back to Key West with the sunset, after kayaking and snorkeling in the shallow backcountry of the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. It is not a reef trip. For a sunset with the reef, see the sunset snorkel page.

If you would trade the bar for a meal, Sebago’s catamaran snorkel with a seafood boil and open bar is four hours, $70 on GetYourGuide, and one of the few listings to name Sand Key; it has only 22 reviews so far, rated 4.6.

Afternoon or morning?

No authority publishes hour-by-hour wind or visibility for the Key West reef, and no operator here claims the afternoon is rougher or the morning clearer. Choose by your day. Afternoons suit late risers and anyone who wants the morning for sightseeing or the beach. A 12:30 or 13:00 sailing is back around 15:30 to 16:00, with the evening free for Mallory Square. Mornings come with breakfast; see the morning snorkeling page and our morning vs afternoon guide.

Practical notes for an afternoon trip

Eat lunch before you board: none of the open-bar catamarans lists food. Bring a towel, which Fury and Sebago do not supply, plus sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. Fury requires reef-safe sunscreen and hands it out free; the city’s sunscreen ban never took effect, so this is an operator rule and a NOAA recommendation, not a law.

Tips are not included on any of these trips. Fury adds an automatic 10 percent gratuity for groups of eight or more, and several low-star reviews complain about crews asking for tips as you leave the boat.

Fury provides no parking. The city’s Old Town garage at 301 Grinnell Street charges $6 an hour or $48 a day plus tax, as does the Key West Bight lot on Caroline Street, a short walk from the Historic Seaport docks.

Seasickness and the bar

The afternoon catamarans spend most of their three hours under way, and the reef is about seven miles offshore. If you feel queasy on boats, follow the CDC’s advice: sit away from the bow, watch the horizon, skip the phone, take motion-sickness medicine before you board (try it at home first), and limit alcohol. On an open-bar trip that last one takes some willpower, but it makes a difference on a choppy day.

Children on the afternoon boats

The open-bar trips take children. Sebago asks that children come with an adult, and infants ride on a lap. Fury requires an adult to sign the waiver for anyone under 18 and an adult on board with children 14 and under, and every Fury guest must be able to swim. Fury and Sunset Watersports hand out flotation vests or noodles. If you are travelling with younger children, the family snorkeling page covers sandbar trips with kayaks and floats.

Which network to book on

Several afternoon trips are sold on both Viator and GetYourGuide. Sebago’s is $60 on both once you look past the GetYourGuide headline, and Viator’s copy has far more reviews (1,621 against 276). Sunset Watersports’ Dip & Sip is $59 on Viator and $60 on GetYourGuide, and rates higher on Viator. Fury is the exception: its GetYourGuide listing is rated 4.5 from 615 reviews against 4.2 from 704 on Viator, at the same price. All of them allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before.