Snorkeling Bahia Honda State ParkSnorkeling Bahia Honda State Park is hardly worth it if you plan on going from the beaches. It is pretty much just sea grass, rocks, and a few immature fish. There is no coral to see. We still snorkeled it, and enjoyed getting in the water, but we won't snorkel from the beach there again. The better snorkeling that takes place from Bahia Honda is the boat trips that take folks out to Looe Key Reef. Snorkeling Looe Key Reef is a different story all together. It is fantastic and you don't want to miss it. It is a highlight of all the keys snorkeling. (But we actually prefer to use a different boat company that is closer to Looe Key, so once again, going to Bahia Honda for the snorkeling is not our suggestion.)
Besides hanging out on the beaches, one of the nice things to do is to walk up to the end of the old bridge and enjoy the views. See the picture below? See the broken bridge? That is where you walk up to. It is a great spot.
Snorkeling Bahia Honda is a good option for someone who wants to learn how to snorkel, because it offers some protected shallow waters. If you are going to beach snorkel here most folks do it from the bay side (from the beach on the side of the park where the boat docks are - see the picture below).
If you snorkel toward the bridge there are some rocks and a wall that hide some fish. The wall at the end of the beach is a popular spot for snorkelers to explore (see pic below). Take note though, there is a strong current that cruises through the channel under the bridge. So be cautious if you snorkel toward that channel from either side.
Snorkeling Bahia Honda from the Atlantic Ocean side beach (pic below) tends to have more waves and is generally not much better. And actually if you snorkel anywhere but on the bay side, the park requires you to have a diving flag with you snorkeling, which they conveniently sell or rent from their store.
We sometimes do enjoy snorkeling in sea grass and rock environments because you get up close and personal with immature fish and a variety of other creatures you would not normally pay much attention to in a bigger coral reef environment. This time we found an occasional lobster in the grass, a couple of Spotted Scorpionfish, an immature Drum, and some small skates. But still, it is pretty mediocre snorkeling. If you have looked around this site you know we take lots of underwater pictures. Below are the only pictures we got from snorkeling from the beach at Bahia Honda (and they are pretty bad pictures). Yep, that is a rock in the first one. You can see a hiding lobster in the second and the immature Drum in the third.
Did you have a different experience snorkeling Bahia Honda from the beach than we did? Please tell.
Now check out the amazing Looe Key Reef
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