Blu Chi Charters - Key West, FL

Sarah S.

Booked a private sunset cruise and it was absolutely worth it! The motor boat was clean and got us all around the keys! Great way to see the whole area and watch a beautiful sunset. Captain Donnie was super friendly and knowledgeable about the area. The process was super smooth navigating to the dock. Good instructions provided. We brought light snacks and drinks. There was a cooler with ice set up for our beverages. It was definitely worth the price for such a fun experience!

Mitchell S.

Spectacular sunset cruise with a great, knowledgable, and experienced captain in some of the most unique and tricky conditions I’ve ever experienced. Capt. Donnie was professional, knowledgable, prompt, and gave us a great tour of Key West from the Gulf side of the island and set us up for an amazing sunset on the Atlantic side.

Conditions were a bit breezy and it was low tide so the channel between the Gulf and Atlantic was extremely shallow, Capt. Donnie let us know all of this at the beginning but maneuvered is and navigated our boat safely and expertly to make sure we had a great time.

I’m sure there are sunset charters that are more expensive that offer different amenities and I know there are cheaper charters that offer a more booze cruise atmosphere, however for my money I’d go back out with Capt. Donnie in a heartbeat.

Cannot recommend this tour more strongly. If you’re thinking about a private sunset charter this is the one to take.

Kathleen U.

Blu Chi Charters is the best. We were supposed to do a 3 hr boat charter but the weather was not cooperating. The winds were so strong even the shrimp boats couldn’t safely go out. So the folks at Blu Chi offered to do the food, art, and bike tour. It was amazing. All the restaurants were fantastic. And, we were not easy on them. We had one person with a gluten allergy who also doesn’t eat fried food and another person with a shellfish allergy. No one batted an eye at this. Options were available for everyone. And the food was to die for!

One Love is a dream. We started at this lovely, hidden gem. I swear we tried everything on the menu. My favorites: The jerk chicken was the most flavorful and tender that I have eaten. Period. The conch fritters were great. The Ethiopian beef tacos were awesome. And, I crave the Jamaican beef patties all the time now. Our group also had the tuna tacos, but I did not try them bc I was leaving them for the folks in our group with dietary restrictions. Those who did, loved them.

El Mocho was REAL, authentic Cuban food. We had tender, grilled pork chops with caramelized onions on top, Cuban bread, super crispy beef and chicken empanadas that make you realize all other empanadas you have eaten have been a lie, and rice and beans. The chicken empanadas were my personal favorite. The seasoning on the chicken was unique and delicious.

Our last food stop was Hogfish bar and grill. Here we had generous plates filled with scrumptious seafood fare. One plate contained grilled, blackened, and fried hogfish that melted in your mouth. Another plate had chips, seafood ceviche, conch ceviche, and tasty boiled shrimp. The last plate had the house signature fish dip (you’ve gotta try it), crackers, and grilled shrimp and scallops with an amazing sauce on top. All of it was mind blowing and SO fresh. But, my favorites were the grilled shrimp, the fried hogfish, fish dip, and the conch ceviche.

When I go back to Key West, I am definitely going to hit all of the restaurants again on Stock Island and take my friends.

For the art portion, the art at the Art Shack fun and funky. The Art Shack was where we started and ended the tour. The local artists’ work made for great gifts for our friends back home and keepsakes for us. I’m still wishing I had purchased the painting of the lighthouse I saw. Make sure if you do this tour that you save room in your luggage for the unique finds that abound at this little art oasis.
During the bike ride we saw several other local artist murals and work areas. There are also live art events at One Love from time to time.

And as a special treat for me for my birthday, Jackie and the Captain Tim took us briefly around the harbor in their boat and gave us a bit of local history. They knew how much I had wanted to go out and what a bummer it was that the the wind was so high. They really do their best to make everything special for the tours.

I highly recommend Blu Chi Charters. This IS NOT a tour to miss!

Mike L.

We found Captain Tim through searching for a big enough boat that had a restroom on it since we would like to take a longer than 4 hour charter. Tim answered the phone late in the evening, when we were expecting to get a voicemail. He was very nice and helpful about describing the type of experience we could have on the charter. After speaking with him, we decided to book the charter for later in the week. On the day of the charter, we met Tim at the marina and he was already there which was great. He gave us a brief synopsis of what would be on the itinerary for the day. We ended up going out to an awesome reef and going snorkeling for a bit. After that we took a trip to the mangroves and then ended up at a sandbar for the rest of the day where we found starfish and did some paddleboarding and kayaking. All in all it was the highlight of our 4 day trip. I highly recommend Tim and Blue Chi Charters if you are going to be in Key West for any amount of time and want to get out on the water!

Steve W.

Only had two hours to go out with my 10-year-old daughter. We ended up catching up barracuda and Captain Tim fried up some other fish we caught. Saw some dolphin, Manatee, Tarpin. Wonderful time!

Tammy M.

I found Blue Chi Charters through recommendations from friends. It was my first time out on the waters, and Capt. Tim made it a memorable experience! He was very accommodating, and found the perfect spot for me to catch my first fish. I will definitely be coming back! Love love love

JP J.

We had a great time on this little boat trip. We've done sailboats before and this is not a sailboat. It's a very comfortable boat and was well suited for our needs. We were able to enjoy a little speed as we got into the Atlantic part then a nice smooth cruise in the Gulf. Captain Don was well informed and shared a lot of information about various points around Key West. He was a very competent and safe captain as well as informative. We started out at the Perry Hotel Marina but were staying at Oceans Edge. He kindly dropped us off at the dock there so we didn't have to get transportation back. I highly recommend this outing.

K C.

We thoroughly enjoyed our sunset cruise despite challenging weather (wind) conditions. Captain Donnie was informative, accommodating and respectful of the weather conditions by not taking us too far out where the winds and waves were more rough. We highly recommend Captain Donnie with Blue Chi Charters. We can’t wait to come back! Thanks Captain Donnie. It was a lot of fun.