Living Aloha Excursions

Living Aloha Excursions runs private, build your own charters out of the Caribbean Club at mile marker 104 bayside in Key Largo. Nothing about the day is preset. You tell the captain what you are hoping for and the itinerary is put together around it, whether that is a slow float at a sandbar, a snorkel stop, a run into the backcountry with rods, or a combination of all three. Trips run anywhere from an hour to a full eight hour day, which makes this an easy fit for both a quick afternoon on the water and a proper all day outing.

The boat is the Aloha Friday, a 28 foot Bennington with a 300 horsepower Yamaha and room to actually spread out rather than sit knee to knee. Because it books as a private charter for a small group, the boat is yours for the day and so is the plan. Onboard you will find coolers for whatever you bring, snorkel gear, fishing tackle, a freshwater shower for rinsing off, underwater lights for after dark, and WiFi. Licenses and permits are covered, so there is nothing to sort out before you arrive.

The menu of possible days is long. Bayside departures put Florida Bay and the Everglades backcountry within reach, with dolphins and manatees regularly in the mix, and the reef and mangroves off Key Largo are the other direction. Snorkel trips visit the waters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Anglers can work the flats and channels for tarpon, snook, redfish and spotted seatrout, or head out to the patch reefs for yellowtail, mangrove and mutton snapper, grouper, hogfish and porgies. There are also sunrise and sunset runs, moonrise and full moon floats, and shrimping.

The part that sets this operation apart is simple and hard to find elsewhere: the Aloha Friday is a dog friendly boat. If the vacation plan includes your dog rather than a kennel, this is a Keys day on the water you can actually take them on. Call ahead to talk through the trip you want and to lock in the schedule.