At 210 feet in length, the The Adolphus Busch Sr. stands upright and completely intact in just 110 feet of water. The ship that put Big Pine Key on the wreck diver’s map. This island freighter was purchased by the local dive community in 1998 with the generous assistance of Adolphus Busch IV.

This spur and groove reef formation sitting 5 miles off of Big Pine Key, in the Florida Keys, is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Due to its protected status reef life is very healthy and active here.

6 miles to the south of Key West is Cannonball Cut. This dive site does not have a mooring ball which makes it a good place for drift diving. This site consists of continuing fields of coral. Maximum depth is 18m/60 feet. This site is good for drift diving as well as lionfish hunting.

15 minutes south of Key West is the Western Sambo Reef. This reef is one of two Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Ecological Reserves. It is fully protected from all types of fishing. Depth runs from 7-40 feet.

20 minutes directly south of Key West is the Eastern Sambo Reef. This reef is located inside the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve and is fully protected from all types of fishing. The reef is approximately nine square miles of spur-and-groove type coral formations. The reef ranges from 10-4 feet’ in depth.

This is the middle reef dive site that makes up the Sambo Reef area near Key West, Florida. These reefs lie in a marine reserve and are home to healthy coral and lots of fish.

It’s called the “Horseshoe“ located at Mile Marker 35 in Big Pine Key. It was an old quarry which the dugout coral was used to build the Overseas Highway. At about 30 ft/10m deep in the middle, there is an ambulance and a small boat. Divers and Snorkelers use the location during poor sea conditions.

Haystacks lies on the reef area known as the Western Sambo reef and is an excellent, shallow boat dive. Perfect for snorkelers and all levels of divers.

Stone wall, steep drop. Protected harbor but also prone to oily residue from the boats. Suitable for night dives. Shore entry possible. Not a notable dive spot although many locals appear to lobster here.

Training lagoon for College of the Florida Keys. Permission and fees required for use. Restricted to use by the college or local dive shops after screening.