Florida Keys Scuba Diving, Scuba Instruction and snorkeling tours with Sail Fish Scuba

Key Largo Tour Operators Price Differences

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Guided Tour Prices Verses Low Price Tours, No Guide In Water

When shopping for a tour in Key Largo, Florida Keys there are many options.
How does one tell the difference between Sail Fish Scuba and other operators?
What makes them different is mainly Guided or No “in-water-guide” and price difference.

When first looking at tours with Sail Fish Scuba Key Largo Tour Operator, many folks say the price is higher.

Why is the price higher?

What do the tours at Sail Fish Scuba offer that makes the tour price higher than 90% of the other shops in the area? What value am I going to get?

This blog is about to give you the answers and much more to think about when booking a tour with a Key Largo tour operator.

Do I really need a guide in the water with me for my scuba tour?

Let’s chat about this a moment.

How many dives have you already done in Key Largo, Florida Keys?

If your answer to this is hundreds of dives on nearly all the dive sites, then maybe you don’t need or want a guided tour.

If your answer is you have never been to any of the sites before, then YES for sure you want to have a guided tour.

But why you might ask would I want a guided tour

Many of the operator sites claim the boat captain will give you a good description of the site upon arrival.
Then the captain will buddy you up with the stranger sitting next to you and assist you into the water.
At this point you and your new dive buddy you just met need to find the reef yourselves.

Hope you have your compass with you!

Do you know how to use a compass perfectly in all conditions? If the boat captain gives you a compass heading to find the reef can you do this?

If you are only Open Water Diver Certified than you only ever learned how to do a simple surface compass out and back and the same underwater.

From my experience I’ve only seen about 10% of certified divers travel with a compass.

So that means if you don’t request to rent a compass for your unguided scuba tours, you will be at said dive site with no compass.

Is boat captain a certified scuba diver?

Make sure you ask the boat captain giving you the dive site briefing this question.
“When was your last dive at this specific dive site?”

Experience proves around half of the local boat captains don’t even scuba dive or have not done so in over a decade.

Is this the person to trust to give visiting divers a completely honest dive briefing of the site?

Maybe ask the captain if they have at least snorkeled these sites post hurricane Irma.
Because hurricane Irma sure rearranged many of the sites in Key Largo September 2017.

Guided dives at Sail Fish Scuba includes in purchase of scuba tour for $119 or snorkeling tour for $89 price a professional guide.
This guide in the water will lead guests from the boat around the sites and back to the boat.

During this tour the guide will be looking for interesting points of interest and taking fun photos.
Guides shoot a bunch of photos of all you see and of you during these guided tours.

Post tour these fun photo memories are yours for FREE as they are part of your tour rate.

Isn’t it still cheaper to book with the unguided operators and request to add a guide?

The next point we will cover is cost of adding a guide to the starting point lower price tour operators. When you look at our website Sail Fish Scuba, you are seeing rates quoted to you with the guide built into the rate presented.

Key Largo Tour Operators Price Differences vary greatly we understand.

Break down cost of Unguided plus adding the guide tour.

Most scuba tour operators in Key Largo are currently offering 2 tank unguided tours for $85 in 2018.

Look at their website fine print for adding a dive guide to this tour.
Notice on all of the sites this statement: “The first person wanting to be guided add $50 to 2 tank tour price. For each additional person to be guided in the group add $25 per person guide fee.”

Do the math

Unguided 2 tank tour for $85 and add guided fee of $50.
Now this 2 tank tour costs $135.00.

At Sail Fish Scuba the exact same guided 2 tank tour costs $119.00.

Plus you’ll get the FREE set of tour photos!

Who is the better value?

There is not much to compare really. Hands down Sail Fish Scuba wins each time.
At Sail Fish Scuba they also never sell all the seats the boat is USCG rated for. This means you are not subjected to a packed full boat during your tour.
Less crowded and better customer service is what Sail Fish Scuba strives to deliver daily to guests.

Key Largo Tour Operators Price Differences. Guided Snorkeling tours, really? Why?

Every single day we at Sail Fish Scuba have families walk in our shop and tell us the same thing.
We thought we could save money by booking onto a snorkeling tour with a cheaper Key Largo snorkeling tour operator.
However, we just wasted that $55 per person because this operator took us out to the open ocean turned off the boat blew an air horn and announced: “Pools Open, when you hear this air horn blow again in 1 hour you better be back on this boat!”

Then these folks go on to explain to us that they then asked the crew for the rental wetsuit to wear since they could see all the jellyfish moving around on the surface of the water they were about to enter. Only to be told: “You are snorkelers, we don’t rent wetsuit. Just get in and dodge the jellyfish.”

Next, they go on to explain to us that the next thing they asked this crew was to: “fit them with snorkeling gear and give them a how to snorkel lesson”.

We then are told by the tourists that the crew points to a 55 gallon sawed in half jug at the end of the boat overflowing with assorted masks, fins, and snorkels.
Advising these folks to root thru this jug for something that may fit them, put it on, grab a snorkel vest and put it on, then jump in the ocean.

It’s easy the crew says, just put your face in the water and look around.

Check the difference cost and service by visiting our website page on our guided snorkeling tour.

Snorkel Trips in Key Largo

Sail Fish Scuba gives a how to snorkel lesson right on our dry erase board in our classroom when guests arrive.

Guests at Sail Fish Scuba are introduced to their snorkeling guide upon arrival.

Sail Fish Scuba Rental Gear

The guide will take them outside to our extensive sheds filled with wetsuits and fit them with just the right size.
Sail Fish Scuba rental is stocked with suits to fit everyone from infant to a 500 pound adult.

Guests are then fitted with a mask and snorkel.
Sail Fish Scuba rental selection is stocked with over 20 different sizes and shape of masks and snorkels to fit every face.

Fin fitting is the next part of the process before we get on the boat. Sail Fish Scuba is proud to offer 3mm booties in sizes youth 2 to adult 15.
These are then fitted with open heel strap fins.

OR

For folks who don’t want to wear the 3mm booties, there is an extensive selection of full foot rental fins.
These are in sizes from youth 9/11 to adult 13.

At this point with the snorkeling guide at Sail Fish Scuba guests are prepped on proper swimming/snorkeling procedures.

Not Good Swimmers?

Sail Fish Scuba can fit snorkel guest with clip front jet ski type life jackets.

There is much more Sail Fish Scuba does for snorkeling guests to make sure they enjoy their money spent.

Value in Sail Fish Scuba snorkeling tour includes the fact all the rental gear for snorkeling tour is included in tour fee.

Additionally snorkeling guest get the FREE tour photos in their tour rate.

Guided Snorkel Guide to Guest Ratio

Guest to guide ratio for snorkeling is normally 6 to 1.
If your 2 families all booked together and you all want to stay together as 1 group we will increase this.

What if you do NOT Know Swimming?

If you don’t know how to swim, no worries. Just add a private guide to your snorkeling tour fee for $69 additional and we will take you on our snorkeling tour.

It is extremely important for non-swimmers to be honest.
Try to save a few bucks and pretend to know swimming is quickly to be discovered at the first site.
Human life is worth way more than $69.
One on one is an extremely important ratio for non-swimmers to join a tour in the open ocean.

We sure hope this information has been helpful today.

The crew at Sail Fish Scuba dive shop strive daily to provide the best possible photo guided Key Largo scuba and snorkeling tours.

We sure hope that you will plan to join us for a tour and experience the enjoyable level of customer service we provided.

We do always try to provide all our guests an all around perfectly pleasant day in the Florida Keys, and we can’t hardly wait for you enjoyed it with us.

Where to go for Lunch/Dinner after your tour:

Check out these coupons for local restaurants. Show the virtual coupon upon your arrival at each restaurant to get the great discounts. If you visit any other restaurant in Key Largo, show them these coupons & ask if they will match it for you and suggest to them to contact Jen Kerr owner of Sail Fish Scuba to have their restaurant added to this great tourist savings page for FREE! – https://sailfishscuba.com/key-largo-information/coupons/