Key West Sandbar & Dolphin Trip: A Backcountry Day With Lunch and an Open Bar

Ask a local what to do with a free day in Key West and most will say the same thing: go to the sandbar. A few miles into the backcountry the water goes from blue to the green of a swimming pool, the bottom comes up to meet you, and you can stand waist-deep in 85-degree water a mile from the nearest island with a drink in your hand. This is the boat that takes you there and brings you home past the dolphins.

This page covers what the day is like, what it costs, who it suits, and when the water is warm enough to make it worth five hours.

Why this made our list

Sandbar trips are a Keys institution, and this is the biggest and best-run one in Key West. Three reasons.

The sandbar. The boat anchors at a secluded bar in the refuge where the water is knee to waist deep over soft sand. Paddleboards, kayaks, floats and snorkel gear come off the boat, the music comes on, and you have two hours to do as little as you like. It is the closest thing to a Caribbean beach day in a town with no real beach.

The food and drink. Lunch is a proper buffet, Cuban sandwiches and chicken tenders and wraps and fruit, served on board, and the bar is open from the harbor to the dock: unlimited draft beer, wine and mimosas. Nothing on the island includes more for the money.

The dolphins. On the way home the captain runs to the dolphin playground, the stretch of flats where the resident pods feed, and idles while they surface around the boat. It is a real sighting on most trips, not a drive-by.

And the record: 4.8 stars across more than 23,000 reviews, the most-reviewed day trip in Key West.

Why this operator

Several boats run sandbar days from Key West, and we compared them on sandbar, inclusions, crowd and reviews. This one won on value and the dolphin stop. The south-shore resorts run a well-liked sandbar party with a similar open bar and dolphin watch, a good pick if you are staying at the Casa Marina or the Reach. The schooners run a sandbar, snorkel and sunset sail, smaller and quieter, for guests who want the sandbar without the party, and the naturalist boats add a sandbar stop for a very different, low-key version.

What the sandbar and dolphin trip is like

The day runs about five hours, 11 am to around 4. Here is how it goes.

1. Check in at the Seaport. Find the booth on the dock at 201 William St, 30 to 45 minutes before 11.
2. Board and settle in. The catamaran has a shaded cabin, open decks and a bow net. The bar opens as the boat clears the harbor.
3. Cruise to the sandbar. About 40 minutes north into the backcountry, past the mangrove islands and over flats where the color of the water changes every few hundred yards.
4. Two hours on the bar. The boat anchors in the shallows and the crew launches the paddleboards, kayaks and floats. You wade down the ladder and do as much or as little as you like. Lunch is called on board partway through.
5. The dolphin playground. On the way home the captain heads for the flats where the resident pods feed, cuts the engine and lets them come around the boat.
6. Home by 4. Back along the islands and into the Seaport in time to shower before sunset.

Prices and what you get

The trip runs from about $129 per adult plus tax and booking fees, with youth and child rates. That covers five hours on the water, the lunch buffet, the open bar, all the water toys and the dolphin stop. Gratuity for the crew is extra.

If you want more variety, the Do It All pass from the same dock is a six-hour day with a parasail flight, jet ski time, a snorkel session and the waterpark. It is more action and less lounging; see the parasailing page for details.

Who it’s for (and who should skip it)

Groups of friends, bachelor and bachelorette parties, couples who want a lazy day, and families with kids who can stand in waist-deep water. The sandbar is big enough that the loud end and the quiet end are well apart, and the crew keeps it friendly.

Skip it if you want a nature trip with a naturalist; that is the dolphin watch and snorkel tour. Skip it in January and February if swimming is the point; the water is in the low 70s and the day becomes more wade and drink than float. And skip it if getting into and out of the water by ladder is hard for you.

Where to check in and how to get there

Check-in is at the booth on the dock at the Historic Seaport, 201 William St, a 10-minute walk east of Mallory Square along the Harbor Walk. Arrive 30 to 45 minutes before the 11 am departure. Parking is scarce; use the Caroline Street garage. The live calendar is on the booking page.

Best time to go

Time of year. May through September is the sandbar at its best: 85°F water, flat seas and long days. April and October are nearly as good. The trip runs year round, and a warm winter day can be lovely, but the water is in the low 70s from December through February.

Time of week. Weekends in summer bring local boats to the same sandbars, which makes it a bigger party. Weekdays are quieter.

Local tips before you book

• There is no shade on a sandbar. A hat, a long-sleeve sun shirt and reef-safe sunscreen reapplied after lunch. The sunburn on the ride home is the one regret in the reviews.
• Pace the mimosas. Five hours in the sun with an open bar is a marathon, not a sprint. Drink water between rounds.
• Eat when lunch is called. It is a buffet and the first wave gets the best choice.
• Bring water shoes if your feet are soft. The bar is sand, but the edges have seagrass.
• Get on a paddleboard. Flat water, knee-deep, nothing to hit. It is the easiest place in Key West to try one.
• Book the sunset sail after. You are back at 4, which leaves time to clean up and walk to Opal Key for the Wind & Wine sunset sail. For a full week, see things to do in Key West.

The verdict

For a Key West sandbar trip, this is the one we would book: the best bar in the backcountry, lunch and an open bar included, every toy on the boat, and dolphins on the way home. Go between April and October, wear a hat, and book the sunset sail for the same evening.