North America · United States
Key West
The Vandenberg wreck plus shallow sanctuary reefs
Photo: Juliancolton · Public domain
Key West, the southernmost inhabited island in the Keys, sends its dive boats to the coral reefs of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and to the USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a 524-foot (160 m) ship sunk as an artificial reef. Reef trips visit sites such as Sand Key, Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key, while Western Sambo is a protected reserve and Joe's Tug a tug wreck on a reef.
About diving in Key West
Diving from Key West is by day boat. The reef lies 6 to 8 miles offshore, and trips run as morning or afternoon two-tank outings; an afternoon reef trip makes two one-hour dives at different reef locations. The reef sites lie inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which protects their coral and fish life. The Vandenberg is dived on separate wreck trips.
Underwater, the Florida Reef is the only living coral barrier reef in the United States, and most reef dives run 20 to 35 ft (6 to 11 m) deep. The Vandenberg is a different setting: the ship landed upright on a hard, barren bottom with no coral, in nearly 150 ft (45 m) of water. Western Sambo holds nurse sharks, groupers, barracuda, hogfish and spiny lobster among hundreds of soft coral sea fans.
New divers have the shallow inshore reefs, while on the Vandenberg advanced divers find the most interest in the deep water of the lower wreck sections. Visibility swings with the blue line where the warm, clear Atlantic meets the brown, murky Gulf of Mexico. The line can move up to 30 miles overnight with the tide, so 100 ft (30 m) of visibility one day can drop to 6 ft (2 m) the next.
Best time to dive Key West
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 26°C79°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | 25°C77°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 28°C82°F | 26°C79°F |
| Rain | 45 mm1.8 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 61 mm2.4 in | 106 mm4.2 in | 215 mm8.5 in | 147 mm5.8 in | 204 mm8.0 in | 211 mm8.3 in | 131 mm5.2 in | 73 mm2.9 in | 61 mm2.4 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 23°C73°F | 23°C73°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 25°C77°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 45 mm1.8 in | 33 mm1.3 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 61 mm2.4 in | 106 mm4.2 in | 215 mm8.5 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 26°C79°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 28°C82°F | 26°C79°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 147 mm5.8 in | 204 mm8.0 in | 211 mm8.3 in | 131 mm5.2 in | 73 mm2.9 in | 61 mm2.4 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
Boats dive all year; May to October brings the warmest water and best visibility, but August to October is hurricane season.
Key West water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 23 °C (73 °F) in January to 31 °C (88 °F) in August. It is 24 °C (75 °F) or warmer from March to December. Most rain falls from June to October, peaking at about 220 mm (8.7 in) in June; it stays largely dry from December to April. Daytime highs reach 31 °C (88 °F) in August and drop to 25 °C (77 °F) in January. The coldest water here is about 23 °C (73 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
Green turtles, eagle rays and Caribbean reef sharks are summer sightings from May to September, while December to April brings spotted eagle rays, nurse sharks and lobsters. Barracuda, grouper, jack crevalle and cobia are the bigger fish.
- Wreck
- Reef
- Drift
- Reef sharks
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Eagle rays
- Sea turtles
- Reef fish swarms
Best dive sites in Key West
- 1
USNS Vandenberg
Sunk in 2009, with its masts trimmed to leave 40 to 45 ft (12 to 14 m) of water above the top.
- 2
Sand Key
A former island worn down to a sand patch ringed by coral, inside a Sanctuary Preservation Area.
- 3
Eastern Dry Rocks
Reef close to Sand Key and Rock Key, so one outing can cover several reefs.
- 4
Rock Key
Reef whose crevices, deeper and wider than on most coral reefs, hide grouper and moray eels.
- 5
Western Sambo Reef
Ecological Reserve reef 15 minutes south of town, fully protected from all types of fishing.
- 6
Joe's Tug
Tug wreck scattered across a reef in 18 to 21 m (60 to 70 ft), with an eel in the stern and yellowtail at the bow.
- 7
Cannonball Cut
Six miles south of town, with no mooring ball, which makes it a site for drift diving.
Site guides
Goliath grouper and turtles on a 5-9 m reef fifteen minutes from town
Reef
Fields of coral drifted to 18 m with goliath grouper and sharks
Goliath grouper inside a 56 m hull that sank under tow in 1985, upright at 27 m
Coral fingers and sand canyons on an SPA reef a mile east of Sand Key light
Swim through needle-shaped coral heads on a spur-and-groove outer reef
Reef
Hammerheads, bull sharks and eagle ray formations on the park's outer edge
Unusually deep, wide reef crevices that hide grouper and morays
An eroded island's sand patch ringed by shallow reef under Sand Key Light
A forest of deep-water sea fans on the north face of a lone coral mound
The world's second-largest artificial reef, sunk in 2009
Hundreds of sea fans and unhunted grouper in a fully no-take reserve
A small piece of the wreckage still breaks the surface
How to get to Key West
Key West International Airport (EYW) is 3.9 mi (6.3 km) southeast of downtown, and the Vandenberg lies about seven miles south of the airport.
Photos from Key West
SNORKELINGDIVES.COM · CC BY 2.0
Questions divers ask
What certification is needed for the Vandenberg?+
Guides are on hand for all divers, and the superstructure and upper decks make a 50 ft (15 m) beginner dive. Advanced Open Water divers with their own dive computers may explore the wreck without a guide.
Can someone without certification dive in Key West?+
Yes, on a Discover Scuba Diving experience over the shallow inshore reefs. Its 40 ft (12 m) depth limit rules out the wreck dives, which reach about 70 and 100 ft (21 and 30 m).
Is there a bad time to dive in Key West?+
Diving goes on through the August to October hurricane season, but weather and ocean conditions can shift quickly, and trips may be cancelled or rescheduled for storms.
Sources
- Key West Scuba Diving — Official PADI 5 Star Center — Key West Scuba Diving
- Daily reef dives — Captain’s Corner Dive Center
- FAQs — Captain’s Corner Dive Center
- Diving the Vandenberg — Florida Keys & Key West tourism council
- Sand Key Lighthouse — ScubaGo
- Eastern Dry Rocks — ScubaGo
- Rock Key — ScubaGo
- Western Sambo Reef — ScubaGo
- Joe’s Tug — ScubaGo
- Cannonball Cut — ScubaGo
- Best Time to Scuba Dive in Key West – The Ultimate Guide! — Captain Hook’s Dive Key West
- Key West — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Dune path with a rope fence and palm trees leading to Smathers Beach at dawn in Key West by Juliancolton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Clear turquoise water over a shallow patchy coral reef near the Dry Tortugas off Key West by SNORKELINGDIVES.COM, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
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In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- How a dive computer calculates no-stop timeBody & health · 10 min read
- DPV diving: what an underwater scooter changesGear & kit · 10 min read
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