Honest Eco’s Squid Kids camp returns with outdoor adventures, boat days

Honest Eco’s Squid Kids Summer Camp is returning to Key West for a third year, giving families a free-range, outdoor-heavy option when school is out from June 15 through June 19, 2026. The Monday-through-Friday camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and costs $485 per child.

The camp is designed for children ages 7 to 12 and is built around a simple idea: keep kids outside, keep them moving and give them room to explore. Honest Eco describes Squid Kids as a chance to step away from over-structured playtime and into a day shaped by nature, small groups and a supportive crew. In practice, that means a mix of land-, sea- and boat-based activities instead of a fixed schedule inside one building.

Two of the biggest draws are boat days aboard Honest Eco catamarans, where campers will snorkel, kayak and island-hop. Other days may include building forts in the sand, inventing games, making art, playing in local parks and spending time in the island landscape that surrounds Key West. The company says the daily schedule rotates through different locations, with drop-off points varying by day and emailed to families one week in advance.

Honest Eco says the camp includes organic snacks, a hydration station and water, details that help separate it from a typical day camp logistics sheet. The operation is based at Key West Bight Marina and is tied to the company’s broader eco-tour business, which it says was created by biologists and focuses on the Key West ecosystem and the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. Its tour lineup includes dolphin watching, guided snorkeling, kayaking and sunset sails, and it describes its signature Squid catamaran as 37 feet long.

For Monroe County parents comparing summer-childcare options, the county also runs School Break Camps in the Upper Keys, Middle Keys and Lower Keys for children ages 6 to 12. Those programs are held at Plantation Key Community Center, Big Pine Key Community Park and Bernstein Park. Honest Eco’s camp fills a different lane: less recreation center, more island immersion, with water, wildlife and open-ended play as the main attractions.

That distinction matters in a county where childcare remains a financial strain for working families and a difficult market for providers. In the Florida Keys, where tourism operators often serve residents as well as visitors, Squid Kids offers a summer option that doubles as environmental education and day care, with the local landscape itself doing much of the work.