A good place to spend the night would be Marina del Mar. A little pricey (3.00 per foot plus electric) but a very calm marina and lots of stuff to do within walking or biking distance. Home to African Queen (boat used in Bogey movie of same name). There are 3 pools on site, two restaurants (Coconuts also has live entertainment weekends, and good drinks and bartenders), and a continental breakfast comes with the slip. Showers at two locations depending on what side of the marina you are on, and both excellent. Laundry facilites as well Best local restaurant off site would be Ballyhoos about 2 miles south of the marina. My normal morning activity is to get up early and watch all the fishing and snorkeling boats departing the marina. if you do want to snorkel or dive, Molasses is best and closest, and best time to go is between 11:00 and 1:00 (the commercial boats have all returned to their docks prepping for afternoon run). If you decide to go talk to Candi, the dockmaster, and tell her the captain of In-T-Mate recommended the marina. No financial advantage for me, but it gets me good points when i do show up, and I stay there a lot. Good luck and smooth sailing. K. Conners
On Monday, July 12th, we headed southwest between the reef and the island chain on Hawks Channel. One of our favorite marinas is Marina Del Mar in Key Largo. It is pricey at $3.00 a foot. However, we like the resort feel and opted to pay the price. We were going to continue on to Duck Key and Hawks Cay Resort, but after doing the turtle speed this far, we decided to just stay put and spend 3 nights at this marina. The dockmaster, Candi, is a knowledgeable and helpful host. If you do not want to pay resort prices, you can always anchor to the south on the lee of Rodriquez Key. As you enter Port Largo Canal follow the red channel markers. It is very shallow (hitting 3-feet at low tide). Make sure to do a security call on channel-16 as you enter the canal and again as you approach the 45-degree turn known as crash corner. There are some large commercial vessels who call this canal home. So the security call is a must for safe passage. The three hotels at the end of the canal (Marina Del Mar, Holiday Inn, and Ramada) are owned by the same group, so marina guests can use facilities at any of the hotels. We like the pool and Jacuzzi at Marina Del Mar (just steps from our slip). The restroom and laundry facilities are clean and well maintained. As a marina guest, you can partake of the resort’s complimentary continental breakfast. There are lots of dive shops to service your needs both on the canal and just steps away on US-1. A Dollar Store and a Service Station are just outside of the marina for small grocery purchases. A real grocery store is further away and would require a cab on a bicycle. Key Largo is the closest of the Keys to the mainland and has numerous mobile mechanical services available. There was a small but gregarious live aboard community at this marina. They said we could have bargained for a lower slip rate. I find it hard to believe. Unlike Pier 66 there were very few open slips. Just a few steps down the dock is Ocean Divers. They run two dive boats from there. They have a full-service dive shop. They have the least expensive fuel we saw anywhere. Right next to Ocean Divers is a local hangout called Sharkeys. Their happy hour is great fun. Coconuts is a fun bar and restaurant with good food right next to the Marina pool. Jeff and Michele Prahm
We have cruised into Key Largo Canal many times. Marina Del Mar is an excellent facility. You must make reservations in advance to reserve a slip in the winter. We have experienced “crash corner”. Just call ahead on channel 16, announcing your approach. No problem Ron Hollander
Weʼve been around crash corner 4 times with no problems. Listen closely to your VHF as all commercial vessels announce their intent and location. Bob and Toni Dorman
$3.50 per foot per night/$18 per foot per week for <16 ft beam, $4.50 per foot per night/$22 per foot per week for over 16 ft beam. All plus 7.5% tax
Type of dockage:
fixed wooden slips and face docks in eastern basin, and floating concrete decked slips in western basin
Live Aboards Allowed:
yes
Monthly Dockage Rate:
Min 30 ft: $25/ft/mo, 6 mo lease: $24/ft/mo, 12 mo lease $23/ft/mo. Min 55 ft: $28/ft/mo, 6 mo lease: $26.50/ft/mo, 12 mo lease $25/ft/mo. Plus 7.5% tax.
Monthly Dockage Rate Notes:
Utilities: 30A/50A/100A metered electric, $30/mo water, no charge for Satellite TV and WiFi. Plus 7.5% tax.
Total number of slips/berths:
54
Dockside Power Connections:
30/50/100 amp power hookups available
30/50/100 Amp Notes:
Per night: 30A/$9, 50A/$10, 100A/$12 + 7.5% tax
Dock. Fresh Water Connections:
Available.
Showers:
Available. Climate Controlled
Laundromat:
Available.
Swimming Pool:
Available.
Restaurant:
3 on-site
Restaurant Recommendations:
Pilot House, Calypso’s Glass Bottom Bar, American Legion (breakfast every morning)
Provisioning Possibilities:
Take taxi to Publix supermarket 2 miles away or walk to Dollar Store or Walgreens drugstore
LPG (Propane) Availability:
Available. LPG tank exchange on-site
Waste pump-out:
Available. $5.00
Wi-Fi Internet Access:
Free WiFi Available
Fuel Availability:
Gas & Diesel Available
Fuel Notes:
ethanol free/90 octane
Fuel Prices (All Taxes Included)
Reporting Date:
April 18, 2024
Fuel Notes:
ethanol free/90 octane
Gasoline Price:
Call marina for fuel prices
Diesel Price:
Call marina for fuel prices
ValvTect Dealer:
Yes
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Reviews from Cruisers (4)
Don Brown- July 18, 2012 - 1:06 pm
Both Ed and Lucy of “I Love Lucy” are wonderful people to be around. They are always positive and enjoying life. This is one of the reasons we at the Pilot House love “Cruisers” in general and why we strive to make Cruisers comfortable during your stay at Pilot House Marina, in the heart of Downtown Key Largo…the Dive and Fishing Capitol of the World. Our latest improvement for Cruisers….A covered outdoor lounge for potlucks, socializing or just plain lounging around! Warm Regards….Don Brown
The “I Love Lucy” is presently in Key Largo. We have great diving and snorkeling. We are at the pilot house marina, and they are very [cruiser] friendly,having a [cruisers’] lounge with a book exchange and large screen tv. Ed & Lucy Guillard
We stayed at Pilot House Marina 5 days. The first morning our coffee maker died. I went to the ship’s store and explained the problem. The lady went to the resturant and made a pitcher of coffee for us. To our suprise, a pitcher of coffe was provided all the other mornings too. A VERY enjoyable stay and a caring and knowedgable staff!
We’re on a 46′ Sea Ray and stayed at Pilot House Marina for four days… thoroughly enjoyable! The approach is a canal that looks tricky but is not. The staff at Pilot House is knowledgeable and attentive, especially Dockmaster Don Brown (who even pulled our dog’s tennis ball out of the water not once, but twice!). There are two restaurants on site (one with a glass-bottomed bar), and a dolphin research center and a community park (with swimming pool, tennis courts, and fitness track) are within easy walking distance. Pilot House is not for the resort-minded, but is a casual, very friendly, and comfortable marina with unequalled sunsets. Kim and Terry “Hawkeye”
entrance channel will be discovered west-southwest of Hawk Channel’s marker #39; marina lines the northern banks of a wide pool of water, into which the entrance canal flows
This marina is almost always full with about 20 slips, mostly live aboards. Next to Curtis is Blue Waters Marina a live aboard marina. sometimes you can get a slip there. Our draft is 4.5ft & we had no problem. Stay to your port in the deeper water before coming in the markers to the channel. Steve
lies along the eastern shores of Upper Matecumbe Key, east of the easternmost channel crossing under the long, the Upper Matecumbe-Lower Matecumbe Bridge/causeway
Just spoke with a very nice lady from Caloosa Cove Marina. She remarked and we discussed the depth for their marina, which is maximum 5 feet at high tide. Repeat; MAXIMUM 5 feet at hight tide. This is very different from the 5.5 foot depth reported here.
Alma’s Spanish Restaurant (305) 743-7000, Beach Grill (305) 743-5215, The Terrace (breakfast and dinner buffet)
Provisioning Possibilities:
Dockside store
Waste pump-out:
Available. free
Wi-Fi Internet Access:
Free WiFi Available
Fuel Availability:
Gas & Diesel Available
Fuel Notes:
91 mid-grade/ethanol free-closed due to hurricane-unsure when they will reopen/possibly by the end of summer
Fuel Prices (All Taxes Included)
Reporting Date:
April 18, 2024
Fuel Notes:
91 mid-grade/ethanol free-closed due to hurricane-unsure when they will reopen/possibly by the end of summer
Gasoline Price:
Call marina for fuel prices
Diesel Price:
Call marina for fuel prices
Any Boat/US Discount:
Available. 10 cents per gallon on 100 gallons or more
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Reviews from Cruisers (3)
rene- July 6, 2014 - 3:08 pm
This has been my 4 times , firts time without childrens, need tq be see,, the only bad things the showers are not realy clean, but the place have every things, pools, lake, this is a quiet place not to party, a little expensive but that the price to pay.
Anyone traveling to the Keys ,now or in the future, should consider a stop on Duck Key at Hawks Cay Marina . It is just fantastic. It’s worth the splurge on the slip fee. http://www.hawkscay.com/ The dockmaster, Beverly, is very helpful, along with everyone at the resort. As part of the slip fee, you will have access to all of the resort amenities. They have done an excellent job of catering to both adults and children without compromising one for the other. We can’t say enough about our 3 day stay last month. We are already making reservations for our return trip in February. (We are currently 13 miles away at Sombrero Marina and Dockside Grille in Marathon, 1/2 the price of Hawks Cay with less than 1/100 of the amenities.)
We just left Hawks Cay marina a couple of days ago. We thought it was terrific. The staff was as helpful as they could be and the resort makes all their facilities available to guests at the marina (although they did charge a resort fee). The marina is very well protected even with the high winds and seas that we saw last week. We will be back to stay again. Sheldon Gawiser
Reviews from Cruisers (1)