Miami Ocean Rafting

I would not recommend this outfit. I am on a trip to Southern Florida to see all the National Parks down here. I carefully arranged all my excursions at Everglades, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne for which Miami Ocean Rafting advertises prominently on their website. I booked my trip for two on December 12, 2015, very excited to do what they offered.
Today was the most beautiful day on my trip, you couldn’t hope for better weather. On the way to start the excursion, I called to confirm their location only to suddenly learn they had canceled my trip, but never notified me. They said they rented their boat to some filming company. On the most beautiful day of my trip they left us high and dry. I cannot fathom how they couldn’t have noticed they had a reservation for the day, or why they were even booking trips so close to when they were going to take a hiatus from taking folks out into the water.
The very worst was the fact that the trip out into the water was scheduled at 1pm, very late into the day to find and alternative. Everything else in the Miami area was sold out. We spent two hours trying to get out into the water to no avail. So we had to view Biscayne National Park from land, even though it is well known to be a marine park. (BTW the National Park Service does not rent kayaks or canoes if you make it their visitor center)
Nothing on their website today, January 26, 2016, even suggests all their January trips were cancelled and they still advertise the trips into the park very prominently. So on very carefully planned and scheduled trip we spent the best day of it driving around and/​or on the phone.
This completely careless way they treated us really left a hole in our vacation and actually cost us more money than we needed to spend. We could’ve cancelled a night’s hotel reservation since we didn’t need to spend a day wasting our time begging to be taken out into the water.
Pick another company or risk having them ruin your vacation.

Incredibly beautiful. Although it was a rare day that the water was a bit murky, I was still able to see so much wildlife such as sea turtle, schools of fish, nurse shark, and more! The shipwrecks were amazing and there are just so many critters hiding inside. Though the package was a bit pricey at $ 149, it includes a information about the local area, fish, rentals, guide around snorkeling, lunch at an AWESOME seabank (like a lagoon), and was 4 hours long! I gave it a 5 stars because service was just incredible. Because our GPS had gave us a different time as promised, we were about half an hour late but they were very nice about it. Not only that, I had also lost my snorkel tube but they didn’t charge me extra for it. I will definitely recommend this place. Plus, I definitely always support family owned companies.
P.S Please please do NOT use oxybenzone sunscreen. They kill coral reefs. Instead, use zinc oxide sunscreen such as Badger. Here’s the link to the source:

I was very disappointed of that trip. at first everything went well besides that bill (tour guide) was so faszinated about me beeing black that he always refers to my origins and where my parents are from and if I speak German fluently … I mean we told them that we German several times and if I feel home when I see the ocean … but okay that’s a blame on America and not on him that’s not the really bad thing. The bad thing is that we came to snorkel and chill after at one of the islands. We were snorkeling and everything were fine as soon as we hit the island we wanted to chill on. The mosquitos literally attacked us I got stitches everywhere. I’m happy that it was my last day cause I would not feel comfortable to go out that way. So the captain (forgot his name) stumbled «we don’t charge you for that» and told us to come back on the boat. Then suddenly he had the idea to show us around to fill the time and cruised around with us to show us some boring houses in the water and the house of the movie «Miami vice». I did not ask for that and I was sure we get a refund since we were only 30 minutes snorkeling and the rest was nnot what we paid for. But after the boring tour he came up ad hoc he tried to motivate everybody by saying «wasn’t it the best time in Miami?» And stuff like that. And when I asked him about a refund for everything but the snorkeling he said «everybody enjoyed it and I can change the plans if most of them are on the boat we stop snorkeling» … what the hell is that? I thought we are in America and not in some socialist country I paid for my fun and all I got is 30 minutes snorkeling and huge stitches… that’s just disrespectful and highly unprofessional and I don’t think that this is legal

Best Snorkeling I’ve ever done, the shipwreck was phenomenal to see up close and lots of marine life.
Lunch was very good it was perfect after the snorkeling activity and I will never forget our first visit to Biscayne National Park. Absolutely a fantastic experience.

Great afternoon trip out to Biscayne Bay National Park! Snorkeling the Mandalay shipwreck with the best gear, tons of fish and reef, so bring an underwater camera. Scotty and Bill are great, really the best way to see the park.

A gem. Four hours on Biscayne Bay make for a fantastic day with Miami Ocean Rafting. This crew is as good as it gets – big warm American spirits, as large as the Bay you sail on – coupled with some pretty detailed historical insights and first class boating skills, too. Snorkeling was also pretty great – we had a surprisingly authentic experience, substantial waves and chop included. And even though we didn’t have the gentlest of waters, we visited a shipwreck and braved those waves. Scott prepares a nice lunch on Boca Chita, with all the fruit and soft drinks you could ask for. Bring sun tan lotion. This is great stuff from a great crew on Key Biscayne, highly recommended, and well worth every penny.

Biscayne National Park has only recently become a popular diving adventure and not that many people know their way around it like Scott. What’s not to like? Unbelievable crystal clear water makes it easy to spot barracuda, pyjama fish and monster slow moving rays. We stopped at a remote island pristine sandy beach after a dive I won’t forget for a long time. Check it out.