A1A Watersports and Boat Rentals

A1A Watersports & Boat Rentals is family owned, on the bayside at 85970 Overseas Highway, mile marker 85.9, near Venetian Shores and just before the Snake Creek Bridge. They are open 8 to 5, 365 days a year.

The guided two hour jet ski tour is the headline, and it covers far more ground than the name suggests. Twenty six miles in all, with 20 to 30 minutes snorkeling the reef, a stop at a sandbar a mile offshore where the water is about a foot deep, a run under the bridge into the backcountry past roughly 18 islands, mangrove tunnels, and a full lap of Upper Matecumbe Key. Dolphins, stingrays, tarpon and turtles turn up regularly, manatees occasionally. Tours leave at 10:30 and 1:30, seven days a week, and snorkel gear is included. If you would rather set your own course, the one hour Freedom Ride gives you open water with a guide on hand.

On the boat side they rent center consoles, deck boats and bay boats for self guided days of fishing, cruising or sandbar time. Life jackets, safety gear, instructions and a map of the local waterways come with the rental, and boats leave with a full tank so you pay for what you use. Bring your own snorkel gear for these, because boat rentals do not include it. Renters must be 21 to sign, and anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 needs a Florida boating safety education card, which you can test for right there at the shop. Call (305) 664-8182.