Bring Your Own Jet Ski + Hire a Guide
You bring the skis. We provide the local knowledge. An FWC-permitted Six Fins guide leads your own jet ski (or skis) through the backcountry, sandbars, and channels — priced by the hour, no minimum, no maximum.
A guide-only service for your own jet ski
This is a guide-only service. You bring the ski (or skis); Six Fins provides an FWC-permitted local guide who knows the backcountry, the sandbars, and the channels — priced hourly, not per rental.
No minimum number of customer skis and no minimum or maximum booking hours. One ski or twelve, an hour or all day.
The Six Fins guide arrives on their own ski, included in the hourly guide-service price. You only pay for the guide's time.
Sandbar, sightseeing, backcountry, island loop, or freestyle — when legal, safe, practical, and guide-approved. The guide has final route authority.
Rendezvous with your guide at Cow Key on Stock Island. Free parking, food, beverages, and fuel available at the launch.
Perfect For
If you already have access to a jet ski and just want the local knowledge, this is built for you.
Towed your PWC down for the trip? Skip the guesswork on where the sandbars, channels, and no-wake zones actually are — ride with someone who knows the water.
Own a ski you keep down here but only ride a few times a year? A guide keeps you current on channel changes, seasonal closures, and where the fish and wildlife are that week.
Bring 2, 6, or 12 of your own skis and we scale the guide team to match — one guide covers up to 6 customer skis, with a second guide added automatically above that.
If you're confident on a ski but new to Key West waters, this gets you local knowledge without paying for a rental you don't need.
How It Works
Phone booking only — there's no online self-booking for this service.
Tell us how many skis, your preferred date, and how long you want the guide. (305) 906-2880.
Hourly, based on total customer skis: $100–$350/hr. The 20% gratuity is collected at booking.
Your ski must be registered, seaworthy, carrying required safety gear, fitted life jackets, and enough fuel to start.
Your Six Fins guide rendezvous with you at Cow Key on their own ski, ready to lead the route.
The guide has final route authority based on time, tides, weather, safety, and conditions — tell them your goals and they'll build the day around them.
Guide Rates by Group Size
Guide-service fee only — this is what you pay Six Fins for the guide(s). Your own skis, fuel, registration, and insurance are on you. A $10 ramp fee at Cow Key is paid directly to the marina, not included below. 7.5% sales tax and a mandatory 20% gratuity apply to the guide-service fee. Call to confirm availability and lock a time — (305) 906-2880.
1 guide. Solo riders, couples, and small families running their own machines.
1 guide. Sweet spot for friend groups and extended family running their own fleet.
2 guides. Larger groups that need a second set of eyes on the water.
2 guides. Full group runs and multi-family gatherings.
More than 12 skis? Call for a custom quote — (305) 906-2880.
Your ski, your responsibility. Every customer-owned ski must be currently registered, seaworthy, and carrying a fitted life jacket for each rider plus enough fuel to start the trip. Six Fins is not responsible for mechanical breakdowns — tow, recovery, and repair costs on customer-owned equipment are the owner's.
The guide runs the route. Our guide has final authority over the route, pace, and any decision to cut a trip short for safety or weather. Riders follow the guide's lead for the full booking.
Cancellation. Full refund with 48+ hours' notice. Inside 48 hours, the guide-service fee is non-refundable unless you added $25 Reservation Refund Protection at booking (usable up to 1 hour before). If Six Fins cancels for weather, you get a reschedule or a full refund.
This is a phone-booked service — call or text and we'll confirm a time based on guide availability.
FAQ
Yes. Six Fins offers a guide-only service for customers who already own a jet ski (or rented one elsewhere) and want an FWC-permitted local guide to lead the ride. You bring the ski; Six Fins provides the guide, the route knowledge, and the local expertise.
BYO guests are covered under Six Fins' personal liability insurance policy and complete the same waiver required for a standard Six Fins jet ski tour.
Pricing is by total number of customer-owned skis, not per person: 1–3 skis is $100/hour with 1 guide; 4–6 skis is $175/hour with 1 guide; 7–9 skis is $275/hour total with 2 guides; 10–12 skis is $350/hour total with 2 guides. Over 12 skis, call for a custom quote.
There is no minimum or maximum number of booking hours. The guide's own ski is included in the hourly price.
Cow Key on Stock Island. Parking is free. Food, beverages, and fuel are available at the launch location. Six Fins does not offer alternate launch points for this service.
Your jet ski must be legally registered, seaworthy, carry the required safety gear, have properly fitted life jackets for every rider, and arrive with enough fuel to start the trip. Six Fins may refuse an unsafe or noncompliant ski or rider.
You pay for your own ski's fuel during the trip; fuel is available at Cow Key.
Same rules as every Six Fins jet ski trip: minimum driver age 16, minimum passenger age 6, and any child passenger needs an adult 21 or older on the same ski. Your customer-owned ski follows its own manufacturer passenger and weight limits rather than the standard 530-lb Yamaha rental limit.
Any driver born on or after January 1, 1988 needs approved boating-safety education documentation. Drivers who need it can take the FWC-approved Temporary Boater Safety Course online ahead of time and bring proof — the fee is $9.99.
The Six Fins guide has final route authority. You can tell the guide your goals and preferences — sandbar, sightseeing, backcountry, island loop, or freestyle — and the guide builds a route around time, tides, weather, safety, legal restrictions, and local conditions.
The customer is responsible for tow, recovery, salvage, repair, and any related breakdown costs on customer-owned skis. The Six Fins guide will assist with the situation but does not assume financial responsibility for tow or recovery of a customer-owned ski.
A 20% gratuity on the guide-service fee is mandatory and required at booking — it is not optional and it is not taxed. Sales tax is 7.5% on the guide-service fee only.
Same as Six Fins' direct jet ski bookings: full refund if you cancel at least 48 hours before departure. Inside 48 hours, bookings are non-refundable except with purchased Reservation Refund Protection ($25, eligible for refund or transfer up to 1 hour before departure) or if Six Fins cancels for unsafe weather, which gets a reschedule or refund of the guide-service price.
Phone only — call (305) 906-2880. There is no online self-booking for this service.
Phone-booked only. Call or text to confirm guide availability.