The Miss Islamorada is the cheapest full day on the water in Islamorada, a 65 foot Coast Guard inspected party boat at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina that drifts the reef for snapper and sells seats by the person. At $110 a head with the license, gear, and fish cleaning included, it is the budget, walk on way onto the water here, and the only everyday full day party boat in the port. It earns a fair middle place in the ranking as a value trip, pulled down on the day by crowding and by reports that the best stern spots go to the regulars.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 6.9 the Miss Islamorada lands in the mixed band: a genuinely good value trip with real caveats, and the fifth ranked boat in the port. Its strength is value and access. For $110 you get a full day on the reef with the license, rod, bait, tackle, ice, and cleaning covered, and a Coast Guard inspected boat with proper heads and a shaded cabin, which is hard to beat for a first timer, a family, or a budget angler. The caveats are what hold the score back. The boat carries up to 35 anglers, so a full sailing gets crowded and lines tangle, and a recurring complaint in the reviews is that the productive stern positions are kept for regulars while walk ons fish the slower rail. Book it for a cheap, sociable day of reef fishing with the right expectations, not for a shot at a billfish, which is what the private boats such as TAN MAN Charters and the Sea Horse are for.
The boat
The Miss Islamorada is a 65 foot party boat, also called a head boat, built to carry many anglers who each pay a per person fare. It is a U.S. Coast Guard inspected vessel with two marine heads, an interior shaded area, a color fish finder, and live wells, which is the right setup for a full day of reef fishing in comfort and the reason boat and equipment is its best hard factor. The flip side of a boat this size is the crowd: it is comfortable when it sails 15 to 25 anglers and tight when it fills toward 35, and the experience on the rail depends on how busy the day is.
The fishing and what you target
This is reef and bottom fishing, not offshore trolling. The boat runs about 3.5 miles out to the reef line and anchors or drifts for yellowtail, mutton, and mangrove snapper, with grouper, porgy, triggerfish, and kingfish in the mix. The reef holds snapper year round, so there is no truly dead season, but the Atlantic shallow-water grouper closure runs January 1 to April 30 in 2026, so a winter trip is a snapper box, not a grouper one. Confirm the current snapper and grouper rules with Florida FWC, since the limits and the closure shift year to year.
Trips and prices
The Miss Islamorada is sold by the seat, which is what makes it the budget option. A full day, roughly 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., is $110 per person, with the fishing license, bait, tackle, rod and reel, a cooler with ice, and fish cleaning included, so the fare is close to the all-in cost. A minimum of 10 anglers is needed to sail, and the whole boat can be booked privately for $3,500 with a $1,500 deposit. That all-inclusive, clearly posted fare is why value and transparency is the boat’s top score. Our cost guide sets a party boat seat against a private charter, and the party boat versus private charter guide works through which suits your group.
The crew
The crew is where the sentiment splits, which is why captain and crew sits in the middle. On the good days, reviewers name a captain and mates who put people on fish, keep the bait coming, and rig and unhook for the inexperienced, and several anglers who have tried other party boats call this the best crew in the area. On the off days, the complaints are consistent: a promised rotation of positions that does not happen, crowding that tangles lines, and the sense that regulars get the productive water. That spread is the honest read on a busy head boat, and it is why track record and service sit below the private boats.
Booking and what to know
Book through Bud N’ Mary’s Marina by phone, and check that the boat is sailing, since it needs 10 anglers to go. It leaves from the marina at mile marker 79.8 on the ocean side. Because the gear and license are covered, you mainly need a soft cooler for the fillets, sun protection, and motion sickness medication if you are unsure of your stomach. To improve your odds on a crowded day, arrive early for a better spot at the rail.
How we scored it
The Miss Islamorada scores 6.9, the mixed band, on strong value and access as the cheapest full day in the port and a properly equipped, Coast Guard inspected boat, pulled down by crowding, an uneven crew experience, and the recurring report that the best spots go to regulars. See how we scored this boat, and see where it sits against the full Islamorada field.