Theater of the Sea - Islamorada

Just down the road from where we were staying in Key Largo in February is a place called Theater of the Sea. We've passed it by often in many visits to the area but never took the time to visit. In talking with someone we met at our complex, it was highly recommended as long as we didn't expect a Sea World experience. When our son and his family came to visit, we all packed into the van and went to check it out. Are we glad we did!

No, it is not Sea World but we thought it was in many ways better. The shows were great and we were much closer to the animals performing than we would have been in a bigger venue. Your ticket covers all the shows which includes a dolphin performance, sea lion show, a ride down the canal where the dolphin joins you, a couple of nature walks, and a parrot show.

The park area is landscaped beautifully and quite shady. There are several pools which hold turtles, rays, fish common to the area, and the ever popular nurse sharks which the guide feeds as you watch. I wasn't sure I'd want to get my hands as close as she did even if they were the more placid nurse sharks.

There were also a few pens with alligators although those are a little more exciting to see in the wilds of the Everglades National Park. And the parrots were on display between shows.

Everything was well organized. We went from show to show almost as a group. If you arrived later in the day, you joined in at a different time but still got around to all the shows. It takes about 3 hours to see it all and you could do it over again if you got there right at the beginning of the day.

 For the adventurous and those with deeper pockets, you can pay extra to swim with the dolphins and interact with the sea lions. A lunch patio is convenient for those who want to eat on site and on your way out, you can peruse the large gift shop.

All in all it was a great day as you can see from the pictures which describe better than I can with words this time.


[Postscript: We had lunch at Burger King after our morning outing at Theater of the Sea. To my husband's dismay, he discovered that we could have save 15% with a coupon from BK. The BK is just 2 miles south of the Theater. Worth the trip to get the discount coupon.]

He's smiling. Really!