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Key Largo Snorkeling & Dive Sites
French Reef | Key Largo, Florida
French Reef is a large, relatively shallow reef located about six miles offshore of Key Largo, just north of Molasses Reef. Stretching nearly a mile along the outer reef line, it features beautiful coral formations, sandy areas, ledges, and swim-throughs.
French Reef | Key Largo's Famous Swim-Throughs
French Reef | Description
French Reef is particularly well known for its natural swim-throughs and overhangs, including formations known as Christmas Tree Cave, Sand Bottom Cave, and Hourglass Cave.
Despite the names given to some of French Reef’s most popular dive sites, these are not true caves. They are open reef formations where sand has been washed away beneath portions of the coral spurs, creating openings that divers can swim beneath and through. Good buoyancy control is important when exploring these formations, helping divers maintain a safe distance from the surrounding coral.
The reef features a mix of sea fans, gorgonians, brain corals, star corals, and other reef-building corals. These formations provide habitat for parrotfish, damselfish, surgeonfish, moray eels, and many other tropical reef species. Nurse sharks are also regularly encountered at French Reef and may be spotted resting beneath ledges and around the larger swim-throughs.
Know Before You Go!
Sail Fish Scuba is proud to be a Blue Star Dive Operator in Key Largo, supporting responsible and sustainable scuba diving practices in the Florida Keys.
Through NOAA’s Blue Star program, we help protect the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary by promoting reef-friendly diving, conservation, and education for our guests.
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French Reef — Quick Facts
Exploring Key Largo’s Coral Formations
Location
~7 miles southeast from Key Largo
Depth Range
Reef Top: 15–20 ft
Caves & Swim-Throughs: 20–45 ft
French Deep: 55–80+ ft
Marine Life
Green, Hawksbill & Loggerhead Turtles
Moray Eels & Goliath Grouper
Nurse & Caribbean Reef Sharks
Southern Stingrays & Eagle Rays
Barracuda, Parrotfish & Angelfish
Spiny Lobsters
Snorkeling French Reef
French Reef is an excellent Key Largo snorkeling destination, with shallow sections of reef beginning around 15–20 feet.
From the surface, snorkelers can look down over coral formations, sandy channels, and the reef’s distinctive spur-and-groove structure while watching colorful marine life below. Sea fans, brain corals, star corals, and other gorgonians provide habitat for schools of yellowtail snapper, sergeant majors, blue tangs, parrotfish, and angelfish.
French Reef is also home to some of the larger marine life found throughout the Florida Keys. Snorkelers may spot nurse sharks resting along the reef, southern stingrays moving across sandy areas, or sea turtles swimming between coral formations.
Here at Sail Fish Scuba, we welcome both divers and snorkelers on the same boat. If you’re traveling with family or friends who prefer to snorkel, they can enjoy French Reef from the surface while you explore it below.
Turtle Identification | Key Largo, Florida
Green Sea Turtle
- Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas
- Maximum Size: Up to 4 feet
- Lifespan: 60–70+ years
- Habitat: Seagrass beds, coral reefs, and shallow coastal waters
- Diet: Young green sea turtles have a varied diet that includes small marine animals; adults feed primarily on seagrass and algae
- Identification: A relatively small, rounded head, smooth-edged shell, and one pair of scales between the eyes. Shells are typically olive, brown, or gray with mottled patterns
- Sightings: Common in the Florida Keys
- Behavior: Often seen grazing in seagrass beds or cruising along shallow reefs
- Did You Know? Green sea turtles get their name from the greenish color of the fat beneath their shell—not from the color of the shell itself
- Migration: Green sea turtles travel between feeding and nesting areas, with some making journeys of more than 1,000 miles to reach nesting beaches
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
- Scientific Name: Eretmochelys imbricata
- Maximum Size: About 3 feet (0.9 m)
- Lifespan: 50 years or more
- Habitat: Coral reefs and shallow coastal waters
- Diet: Primarily sea sponges, along with tunicates, crustaceans, mollusks, and other small marine animals
- Identification: A narrow, pointed hawk-like beak and a beautifully patterned shell with overlapping scales. The shell is typically a mix of brown, amber, yellow, and orange
- Sightings: Seen on coral reefs in the Florida Keys
- Behavior: Often seen searching for food along the reef, using their narrow beak to reach into cracks and crevices. Hawksbills may also rest beneath ledges or wedge themselves into protected areas of the reef
- Migration: Some hawksbills remain within the same general area, while others travel hundreds or even more than 1,000 miles between feeding and nesting grounds
- Did You Know? Hawksbills get their name from their distinctive hawk-like beak, which helps them reach food hidden within the reef
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys kempii
Maximum Size: About 2–2.5 ft
Longevity: At least 30 years; exact lifespan unknown
Habitat: Shallow coastal waters, particularly areas with sandy or muddy bottoms
Diet: Primarily crabs, along with other crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and jellyfish
Sightings in the Florida Keys: Rare
Behavior: Kemp’s Ridleys are the smallest sea turtles in the world and the only sea turtle species that routinely nests during the daytime. About 95% of worldwide nesting occurs in Mexico, where females may come ashore together in large synchronized nesting events known as arribadas.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Scientific Name: Caretta caretta
- Maximum Size: About 3.5 feet (1.1 m)
- Lifespan: Estimated at 60 years or more
- Habitat: Coastal waters, coral reefs, bays, lagoons, and the open ocean
- Diet: Primarily crabs, mollusks, and other hard-shelled marine animals
- Identification: Easily recognized by its large, block-shaped head and powerful jaws. The upper shell is generally reddish-brown, while the underside is pale yellow.
- Sightings: Common in Florida and regularly encountered in Florida waters
- Behavior: Young loggerheads spend several years in the open ocean before moving into coastal waters. Juveniles and adults often forage along reefs and other nearshore habitats, using their strong jaws to crush hard-shelled prey
- Migration: Loggerheads can travel hundreds or thousands of miles between feeding and nesting areas. Adult females generally return to nest in the same region where they hatched decades earlier.
- Did You Know? The loggerhead gets its name from its unusually large head, which supports powerful jaw muscles capable of crushing prey such as crabs and conchs
Join Us
Explore French Reef
Looking for a small, guided scuba diving experience in Key Largo? We keep our groups small, include an in-water guide, and are all about enjoying a great day of diving. If that’s your vibe, come explore French Reef with Sail Fish Scuba.
Sail Fish Scuba
Discover Key Largo scuba diving with Sail Fish Scuba, a small, family-run PADI 5-Star Dive Center offering daily guided trips to the Florida Keys’ coral reefs and historic wrecks. Whether you’re trying scuba for the first time, working toward your PADI certification, or an experienced diver looking to explore more of Key Largo, our focus is on small groups, personal attention, safety, and plenty of time in the water.
Since 2012, Sail Fish Scuba has welcomed divers from around the world to experience what makes diving in Key Largo so special. Our guests often describe our crew as patient, knowledgeable, professional, and welcoming, with many saying their dives feel more like diving with friends than being part of a crowded charter. Every recreational scuba trip includes a PADI professional in the water at no additional charge, along with complimentary underwater photos and videos so you can enjoy the dive while we capture the memories.
From shallow coral reefs filled with tropical marine life to some of Key Largo’s best-known wrecks, we’re here to help you experience the Florida Keys one dive at a time.
Daily Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Charters
Morning 2-Tank Dive Trip — Departs at 8:00 AM
Afternoon 2-Tank Dive Trip — Departs at 1:00 PM
Dive trips operate daily, year-round, with the opportunity to explore multiple sites along French Reef
