Reviews: Downtown Sanford Marina

Reviewed by: David Mann , Now or Never, on Mar 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 4.7'

Rating: 5

Concrete floating docks behind a series of break walls make for secure, stable dockage. Great staff and friendly environment. Very secure feeling with locking gates. Clean power dockside. Nice ships store which carries the basics including t-shirts and beer! Amazon provides great service in this community with many items arriving over night. Exceptional opportunities exist for good food, shopping, and entertainment in the immediate area. Expansion and improvements are mapped out to occur in this city owned but professionally managed facility.

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Reviewed by: nils&frances , Pivot, on Mar 18, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 34'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

The friendly staff person Debra alerted me to an open slip upon my request. I stayed three nights. Mostly quiet, lots of foot traffic on the docks diring the day. The live aboards at the marina are kind and welcoming. I was delighted to witness a rocket launch taking off from Cape Canaveral while on my boat at the dock. Town highlights: pharmacy and grocery 6 minute walk downtown with lots of shops and restaurants is 5 minutes walk. My pick is the pub/eattery duo: Celery City Brewery for beers and Sushi and Seoul for Korean chicken wings.

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Reviewed by: John Chant , Wild Goose, on Mar 15, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 5

The marina was full when we tried, but called back next day and squeezed us in. We had a nice covered slip, docks in good shape and each dock is secured with a special lock. Brand new commercial grade laundry and nice showers. Excellent location to downtown Sanford, full of arts & culture, fun events and excellent restaurants. We enjoyed Hollerbach's German Restaurant, complete with live accordion music. The city is full of beautiful street art on buildings a sculptures throughout. The riverwalk is very nice. Access to necessities within a reasonable walk. We enjoyed our stay very much.

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Reviewed by: david kanzler , Hygge, on Feb 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 29'
Draft: 2.5'

Rating: 4

Location for exploring Sanford is excellent. Sanford downtown is nice "Old Florida" with several excellent restaurants. We liked the Old Jailhouse place. Marina staff is friendly. rates are not expensive. Showers and bathrooms are not that great, but acceptable. Docks were floating and nice.

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Reviewed by: Bill Kight , Cookie, on Mar 7, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 27'
Draft: 2.2'

Rating: 3

The location cannot be beaten— right close to town with lots of nice restaurants. Two that we enjoyed were "Fuel" (BBQ) and Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe (genuine German).

The marina docks were in good condition and power and water functioned as expected. However, the bath and shower facilities were substandard, not well maintained and a long walk from docks. Marina personnel were pleasant.

We stayed the last week of February 2022 and the current operators were in the process of closing out their lease. The city is taking control in May 2022.

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Reviewed by: Barney B , Barney B , on Feb 12, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 30'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 3

Sanford is a wonderful port to visit. Nice easy transit down the Saint Johns River, highly recommend. Sanford is wonderful good restaurants breweries and zoo. Monroe Harbour Marina has good fuel prices and reasonable fees. The marina is not well maintained. The marina restrooms/showers are not clean and worn out. This would be a five star place to visit if the marina was in better condition.

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Reviewed by: Waterway Wanderers , New Bearings, on Apr 18, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 4

We thoroughly enjoyed this stop at the end of our St Johns River cruise. What a beautiful riverfront town. They have taken full advantage of the waterfront with a bulkheaded walk way that extends for miles with pubic bathrooms along the way. Just a couple blocks up from the marina the main street has nice shops and restaurants. There are 2 restaurants right at the Marina.
There is a free trolley that goes all the way to the Sunrail Station if you want to take the train to Orlando super cheap. The Amtrak Auto Train leaves from Sanford and goes all the way to Washington DC if you want to transport you car to and from FL.
There were several places to walk the dogs and a couple places were off leash safe for a good run.
We got the feeling they didn't have many transients. We ended up in a slip with only 30 amp service and had to run the generator a little each day. But, a $1/foot we didn't care. This is worth the trip.

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Reviewed by: Ronald A , HIGH COTTON, on Oct 27, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 28'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

We stayed here recently for the third time. This is the end of the line for the St. Johns River.

The docks are floating concrete in decent shape. We didn't see a lot of the staff this time because of Covid, but in the past they have been friendly and helpful.

As someone mentioned, the shower and head arrangement is a bit less than ideal because they are in a separate building outside of the fenced in docks and once you walk there, you may find that someone is in the facility and has locked the door. Maintenance in the head area could be a bit better.

Sanford is a very nice town and the downtown area has been restored and is vibrant and full of life. There is an excellent German Restaurant that is almost worth the trip up river. There is also a small grocery store within walking distance.

I should also say, dockage is very inexpensive and a lot of people store their boats there so be sure and call to make sure they have room.

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Reviewed by: James Morgan , Taurus, on Jul 9, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 31'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Really nice marina within walking distance of Sanford with restaurants at the marina. The docks were excellent and well protected. Staff is professional and helpful. Showers and restrooms were limited and too few for the size of the marina. I highly recommend staying here.

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Reviewed by: Warren Hayes on Dec 11, 2019
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 5

Great marina. Well maintained and constantly updated. Boaters have been friendly and helpful.
Showers are older but clean and well maintained. As mentioned before Sanford has many activities through the year - an easy walk from the marina. Lots of depth (8 feet at this writing) for our 4.5 ft draft. Wifi can be weak but is useable. Highly recommended as a destination.

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Reviewed by: Technomadia on Jun 21, 2019
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

We came for a week in late fall, and ended up staying 4 months for winter we loved it so much.

The facilities and docks are on the 'just fine' scale - a little bit in disrepair and on the old side, but quite manageable. But the rates are awesome.

The draw here is the access to downtown historic Sanford - which is one of the most charming places we've found in over 13 years of full time travels. So much to do with non-stop festivals, great dining, live music, two local theaters, bars, breweries and more.

And the amazing liveaboard community.

Just be aware of the midge flies - which can be quite severe when swarming. And the spiders that come out after them. And the birds that eat them and then poop on your decks. It can be a real problem.

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Reviewed by: Tom Hale on Dec 8, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 38'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 4

The docks and utilities are fine. The fAcilities are old. Very short walk into town with several restaurants and about 6-8 brew pubs. Sanford is very active with festivals and events designed to draw in people from the surrounding area. There is always something going on. The historic district is lovely and makes for an nice walk from the marina. It is about 1.5 miles to Winn Dixie. It is about 3 miles to the Sun Rail station which takes you directly to Orlando. Willow Tree Cafe, the German restaurant draws the dining crowd from Orlando. On weekends a dinner reservation must be made 6 weeks in advance. Great oompah band Thursday through Sunday.

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Reviewed by: Capt. Sterling , Sterling Lady, on Mar 26, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 36'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Nice floating docks, does not monitor VHF 16, inexpensive transient and montly dock rates.

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Reviewed by: Capt. Sterling on Sep 30, 2017
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Good floating docks, close to down town, lots to do there, good rates.

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