Experiences | Florida Keys Conservancy

Recommended Field Trips - Youth & Adult Environmental Education

FKC staff members may be available to accompany your group on some of the following trips, at little or no cost, depending upon availability and scheduling. Prices and conditions for each trip listed may change with no notice. Be sure to visit each website before you plan your trip, and schedule your environmental education experience directly with that organization. Some of our strategic alliances offer FKC a discount from their regular prices. If you are part of our FKC family, please remember to treat our friends with the utmost courtesy and respect. If you are accompanying young children, make sure they are well behaved, especially around wildlife.

Meet the Sea Turtles at The Turtle Hospital

Cost: $35 per adult (13+) and $17.50 for children (4-12), with children under 4 free.

One of the most inspiring stops for families is The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. This incredible facility is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured sea turtles. Kids will be captivated by the chance to see turtles of all sizes, learn about their life cycles, and discover how humans can help protect these gentle ocean dwellers. Guided tours offer interactive talks and up-close views of the turtles, making it an unforgettable educational experience.

Visit Dolphins at Dolphin Life, Key Largo

Cost: General admission day pass $20 Ages 5 and Up. Children 4 & Under Free. Private, all-inclusive swim experiences for $350 per person (with a 3-person minimum or $1,050 total), featuring personalized, intimate access to the dolphins in their natural lagoon. These sessions run twice daily at 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM, providing a more exclusive alternative to standard dolphin encounters.

Relax & Explore: Hang out lagoon-side, watch dolphins play, chat with our dolphin-loving team, and join a behind-the-scenes tour with a day pass.

Get in the Water: Choose from dockside encounters to thrilling deep-water swims - all small groups and all-inclusive.

Go All In: Spend a half or full day shadowing trainers, snorkeling with dolphins, and helping care for them behind the scenes. Every visit is different, but the impact is the same: unforgettable memories for you, and improved lives for dolphins in our care and in the wild.

Come See our Feathered Friends

Cost: Generally offers free admission, though a $10 per person donation is suggested to support the center. Specialized, in-depth guided tours are available for $20 per person, and private behind-the-scenes hospital tours cost $100 per group.

The Florida Keys Wild Bird Center offers both self-guided and guided tours with customized education programs for all ages, making them suitable for school field trips. Self-guided tours are a casual option, open sunrise to sunset daily with educational signage along the boardwalks to learn about native birds. No scheduling is required, though a $10 donation is suggested. In-depth, guided tours and customized education programs for groups are available, including a look at the feed station and a nature talk. These tours must be scheduled at least three days in advance by contacting the outreach team.

REEF Field Survey Trips

Cost: Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) Field Survey Trips vary in cost based on destination, with deposits of $250 required for trips under $1,000 and up to $1,000 for trips over $5,000. General, non-educational, snorkeling trips to reef locations (like John Pennekamp in Florida) cost around $50-$60 per adult, while multi-day liveaboard reef trips often range from $400 to over $1,000.

REEF Field Surveys Trips are a great introduction to marine life identification for new REEF surveyors, and a fun way for experienced surveyors to build their life list while interacting with fellow fish watchers. REEF coordinates Field Surveys to locations throughout our project regions each year. These projects are led by REEF staff and other REEF instructors and feature daily classroom seminars and a full diving schedule.

Visit Everglades National Park, John Pennekamp State Park, Adam’s Cut, and Florida Bay.

Cost: Everglades Echo Tours from $25-$69. Sunset Cruise from $69. Private Everglades Tour from $369.

An old acquaintance of FKC is Captain Sterling’s Everglades Eco-Tours, who have been in business in Key Largo for over 30 years! Their tours run out of Dolphins Plus, 101900 Overseas Highway in Key Largo, Florida. Let them show you our little piece of paradise. In Adam’s Cut, one can see a million and a half year old reef, cut in half. Their captains will teach you about the Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, and the Mangrove Jungle. You may see Manatees playing in our pristine waters, or our Dolphins frolicking in the Bay. Birding and local lore is their specialty. This tour is also available for private charter with ONLY YOUR PARTY ON BOARD!

Bottle Key: porjoe key As previously noted, this island in Florida Bay is a premier spot for seeing roseate spoonbills, which are actively nesting between November and April. Access requires a kayak or shallow-draft boat from nearby outfitters like those at Robbie's Marina or the Islamorada area.

National Key Deer Refuge and The Nature Center

See the smallest deer in the United States on Big Pine Key.

The smallest deer in the United States is the Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium), a subspecies of the white-tailed deer found only in the Florida Keys. Standing only about 26 to 32 inches tall at the shoulder and weighing roughly 45 to 80 pounds, they are roughly the size of a large dog or a small goat. If you wish to see Key deer, they can often be found at dusk along the back-roads of Big Pine and No-Name Key. Unlike their northern cousins, Key deer are typically unafraid of people, so if you ever have the privilege of seeing these wonderful animals, please remember it is illegal to feed or pet them. Self guided tours are possible but we recommend you stop at the nature center.

Key West Aquarium

Cost: The Aquarium features a wide variety of fish including grouper, moray eels, barracuda, tropical fish, tarpon, parrotfish and much, much more. Daily turtle feedings. Touch Tank offers guests hands-on experience. Adults $19.94, children $11.39.

Touch, live sharks, stingrays, conchs, and sea stars in the touch tank at the Key West Aquarium.

The Key West Aquarium, located in Mallory Square, is one of the island's oldest attractions, offering an intimate, educational experience with marine life from the Florida Keys, including sharks, turtles, and tropical fish. It features interactive touch tanks, guided tours with feeding demonstrations, and exhibits on local ecosystems, making it a popular spot for all ages to learn about and get up close with sea creatures like stingrays, conchs, and sea stars.

Key Mangrove Restoration Projects/Expeditions & Eco-Tours

Cost: Many opportunities to plant mangroves are on a volunteer basis and there are no costs. Contact tour operators recommended below for mangrove kayak tours.

Relax & Explore: Mangrove restoration in the Florida Keys focuses on rebuilding coastal ecosystems devastated by Hurricane Irma (2017), with initiatives like CoastLove and Plant a Million Corals (PAMC) planting thousands of red mangroves. Volunteer-driven projects at sites like Summerland Key and Pigeon Key involve collecting, growing, and planting propagules to protect coastlines, improve water quality, and foster marine nurseries. Residents and tourists can participate.

Guided tours, such as those in Key Largo and the Boot Key Mangrove Tunnels, offer opportunities to explore these vital ecosystems, providing education on the four types of mangroves—red, black, white, and buttonwood. AppleSeed Expeditions provide hands-on science trips focusing on mangrove ecology, data collection, and conservation techniques

Dive Jules' Undersea Lab

Cost: 1.Minimum of 2 divers; maximum of 6 divers. $110 per diver plus tax. Includes tank & weights; rental gear available. Sessions at 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM. 2.Ages 8 and up. $53 plus tax per person. 2 person minimum; maximum of 6 people. Includes snorkel gear. Sessions at 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM. Advance reservations required. 3.Includes meals, unlimited diving in the lagoon from Jules’, and optional specialties. An overnight stay is from noon until noon the following day. Advance reservations required.

SCUBA dive into the world’s only undersea research station open to the public! Includes guided tours of the lagoon’s artifacts, let marine science instructors teach you how to snorkel and learn about our undersea world or spend the night in Jules’ Undersea Lab and experience what it’s like to live in the sea!

Recommended Adult - Dive Jules' Undersea Lab, SLEEP Underwater or SNORKEL with a Marine Biologist

Running with the Bulls

Cost: Hemingway Days in Key West (typically in July) features a mix of free events and ticketed activities, with specific costs including a $50 entry fee for the 2026 Look-Alike Contest. General admission to the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum is approximately $18 for adults, while special events like the 5K run cost around $55. Hotel rooms very, early bookings are highly recommended.

Adult History- Running with the Bulls at Hemingway Days Key West & Look Alike Contest. Hemingway Days is an annual, multi-day festival in Key West, Florida, celebrating the life and legacy of author Ernest Hemingway, held around his July 21st birthday. Famous for the "Papa" Look-Alike Contest at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, it features literary readings, a marlin tournament, a "Running of the Bulls" spoof, and street fairs.

Coral Planting Dives

Cost: Some volunteer programs are free, while other programs may be associated with various costs, including rental equipment, and participation fees. Visit websites below.

Opportunities to plant corals in the Florida Keys exist through several specialized organizations focusing on restoration, offering hands-on experiences for volunteers, divers, and interns to combat reef decline. Key programs include Reef Renewal USA, the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF), based in Key Largo, which operate the world's largest in-situ coral nurseries and offer opportunities to assist with restoration, and Plant a Million Corals, which utilize techniques like micro-fragmentation and in-water nurseries to outplant corals. Education & Tours: Join programs supported by NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, such as the "Iconic Reef Guardians" program, which connects divers with restoration partners.

Participate in "Coral Planting Dives" that are crucial for reef structure and have been devastated by disease, such as: Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis) Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) and Various Boulder Corals

Experience and Learn Key West’s History and Vibrant Art

Cost: Varies between time of year, profit and nonprofit destinations, and individual attractions. Visit each organization's website to determine availability and expense.

Learn Key West history by combining specialized museums—specifically the Custom House Museum, Sails to Rails Museum, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, with the best overview taking a narrated trolley tour for context. For deeper immersion, visit the Truman Little White House, Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, Key West Cemetery and the Dry Tortugas National Park (home to Fort Jefferson, accessible by boat or seaplane).

To experience the best of Key West's art scene, participate in the monthly “Walk on White” art stroll, visit the Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House or the Key West Art & Historical Society. Residence and tourist can also explore the working artist studios at The Studios of Key West.