Cow Key Marina

The person that greeted us was very rude. Asked where the best place was to view Manatees (the place was advertised as being a Manatee sanctuary). Her response was “They’re not on payroll honey”. I responded, “Well obviously but is there a particular location where we could park and potentially see them”. She goes, “you’re welcome to park and get a beer, ice cream and walk around, but this is a restaurant we don’t control the Manatees. They’re wild animals” 🙄
You can’t have a website advertising authentic Manatee experiences then be rude when people ask about it. I never once made any comment implying that the Manatees should be “on call”. I simply asked where the best spot to view them would be. Very rude. Didn’t stay to have a beer/food as we simply wanted to potentially see wild Manatees in a place that was advertised as being a high likelihood sighting area. 10/10 do not recommend.

We embarked in our charter from this marina. The employees at the meeting were exceedingly helpful. The Marina itself is beautiful with convenient location to either the Gulf of Mexico or the Straights of Florida, aka the Atlantic Ocean.

Fuel is cheaper than other places. However it is a very shallow entrance. If you draft more than 4 feet I would not attempt it unless you really know the entrance and only at high tide. Still the same. Entrance is very shallow. Bar there is very good.

We rented a Pontoon deck boat from Cow Key Marina. We had a great time. This was the best deck boat I've ever rented. It had an appropriately sized engine (unlike the typically puny engines common PM rentals). The staff did a very thorough job demonstrating safety features and equipment for the boat. They also helped us chart some great swimming and snorkeling locations around the area. Everyone had a terrific time. When we return to the Keys we will return here for Boat Rentals. They also offer rentals worth considering.

We came here to ride a jet ski tour with sunset watersports and that was the best experience. Steve our guide was awesome and super accommodating 🤙🏽