Florida Keys

Florida Keys and Key West

The drive from the Upper and Middle Keys to the Lower Keys is really lovely - the Seven Mile Bridge is amazing. If you're going to the keys during a holiday like Memorial Day, however, anticipate a lot of traffic, especially on the Seven Mile Bridge since it's only a two-lane highway. If you rent a car, get a convertible - it's definitely worth it! There are lots of parks and roadside pull-offs that are perfect for picnicking along the way. The Middle and Lower Keys are pretty undeveloped, very mellow, and very nice for lazing about.

Key Largo: Key Largo is very low-key (pun intended) and there's not much nightlife, but for the best diving and snorkeling in the Florida Keys, Key Largo is the place! You can do both at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which is unlike most U.S. state parks -- it's under the sea! You can snorkel along an underwater trail if it's not too windy. If it is windy, you're very limited in where the boat will take you. If you don't want to snorkel, you can take a scuba or glass bottom boat tour or rent a canoe, sea kayak, or power boat and explore on your own or just spend a tranquil day relaxing on the water. The park also has full-facility sites for tent and RV campers, and no, these are not under the sea so there's no need to strap pontoons on your tent or RV. BUT if you do want to stay overnight under the sea, it's possible at Jules' Undersea Lodge! Note that there isn't a lot of sandy beach area on Key Largo. Getting to Key Largo from Miami can be problematic because of traffic. If you're day tripping, try NOT to do it on a weekend.

Marathon Key: Marathon Key is "The Heart of the Keys" due to its location at the mid-point of the island chain. It's pretty populous, and you can find a nice assortment of seafood restaurants there. Don't be shy about eating dolphin. Marathon is a good place to stop and eat on the long drive between the mainland and Key West. Snorkel, jet ski, sunbathe, swim - all of these are possible on Marathon. Be aware, though, that the water is really affected by the wind so sometimes snorkeling trips are cancelled and you can't rent a jet ski. If you're looking for a place to spend the night, Valhalla Point Beach Resort is an option - not fancy but quiet and casual.

Bahia Honda Key: Unspoiled, almost completely undeveloped, and home to Bahia Honda State Park, this key is a real tropical destination with beautiful beaches and excellent snorkeling. There's also a nature center, and campsites and cabins are available for overnight or longer. An unusual sight at Bahia Honda is the old bridge that used to connect the island with West Summerland Key. You can follow a trail to the old bridge that leaves near Logger Head Beach.

Big Pine Key: Big Pine Key is the main shopping hub of the Lower Keys, but there's plenty of nature to enjoy as well. Here you can visit the National Key Deer Refuge, and jump-off points for snorkeling and diving trips to Looe Key reef are available. There's also some interesting hikes on Big Pine Key's trails.

Key West: Key West is the end of the road, rich in history, and known for its sunsets. Outdoor activities include jet ski tours around the island, boating, sailing, fishing, and golf. These activities can be more expensive than on the other keys, though, and you may be required to undertake them as part of a group with accompanying tips to the tour guides. Also note that there isn't a lot of sandy, beachy area on Key West. Hemingway fans can visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum where the author lived and wrote for more than ten years. Watch the sunset at Mallory Square, and enjoy Key West's carnival-like atmosphere. Cruise ships dock in Key West so be prepared for ridiculous amounts of foot traffic during the day. If you drive around a bit, you'll see a lot of contrasts - housing projects with chickens running around the streets next to dive restaurants where tourists line up to eat and lots of tacky shops on Duval Street. Key West is pretty big so if you don't have a car or don't want to rent bikes, you should get a hotel near the center of town. Places to stay include The Grand Guest House, the Duval House, and the Comfort Inn. There are lots of good restaurants - try conch fritters and tropical fruit pancakes, and there are more types of fish than you can imagine. From Key West it's possible to take a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park aboard the Yankee Freedom. The scenery on the boat ride is pretty cool, and breakfast and lunch are provided. You can tour Fort Jefferson, swim, snorkel, or just walk around and explore the beach and nature.

Comments:

I liked Big Pine Key for its nice beach area. I rented a jet ski at Bahia Honda Key for pretty cheap, but if there's a wind advisory you won't be able to do much water sports except for snorkeling on your own near the beach. I wasn't too keen on Key West - after the tranquility and peacefulness of the other keys, it was a little too hectic for me. All in all, Key West is bright and sunny, but too damn crowded. In Key West I stayed at the Grand Guest House. It was easily the cutest hotel room I have ever stayed in, and the owners' miniature schnauzers ate breakfast with us every morning. We negotiated the price of the room down because May is low season.

We stayed at the Duval House in Key West, and we also stayed a couple days at the Valhalla in Marathon - very quiet, just what we needed. Sounds like Key West is a bit more crowded and tacky than when we were last there. I did enjoy Ernest Hemingway's House and its many six-toed kitties, and no matter where in the world I am, I love a sunset party.

The Middle Keys are definitely more interesting than Key West. Key West was a bit tacky but not that crowded when I was there. There was the lesbian fest going on so it was interesting. The bars are cool, but I couldn't imagine it during spring break or when it's crowded. The dolphin is great, and so is the conch. I remember a great meal at Papa's - great outside setting and great lobster. Rent a bike and explore the island - it really is pretty cool.

We were there some years back and did all the typical Key West stuff. I actually liked Key West quite a bit (cool cemetery!). Key West has pleasant guest houses and such. We ate at a fantastic seafood place in Marathon that was recommended to us. Delicious food, but what we both remember is how this server guy knelt down by our table with a burning cigarette as he went through the lo-ong list of seafood choices.

Key West was fun - good weather, interesting shops and lots of place to eat. Always wanted to rent a scooter to get around town but seemed a bit dangerous. I can't imagine filling much more than a few days there, though.

I liked Key Largo best - I'd never been snorkeling before and adored Pennekamp Park. I liked Marathon and Big Pine Key. I wasn't super-keen on Key West, although we stayed at an adorable B&B with friendly resident dogs. If you get to the Middle Keys, you will find soft sand where you can sunbathe. The water is pretty shallow so swimming isn't that great. You won't find many tourists or clubs or anything so the beaches are pretty isolated. The food is phenomenal - I think I ate the best meal of my life in Marathon.

I spent a day in Key West, and the beaches were just okay, IMHO. Lots of bars and wild chickens - Kind of like Bourbon Street without Louisiana (at least the main drag). Good food. Leave your paraphernalia at home - that place seemed to have more head shops than practically any place I've visited.

The Keys are nice. The beaches suck, and for anything south of Big Pine Key, the beaches are not "sandy" in the sense of southern California sandy beaches. They're more pebbly and small. It's an issue of topography and wave action more than anything, I think. I liked the snorkeling around Marathon the best; they have nicer corals, and the fishing is better up there as well. Key West is touristy but fun. Key West restaurants are nice, and the bars are cool. One very cool thing to do is to take the boat out to the Dry Tortugas National Park. The only downside is the cost for the all-day trip. Water is brought in, since there is no source of fresh water. There's only a dozen people who live in the fort. The fort is amazing, and you can spend 3 - 4 hours just in that. The snorkeling is very cool; there's an old pier that was destroyed, and I found the best snorkeling around the old posts, etc. When I went, there were two other small connected islands, one of which was off limits due to the endangered birds. There are only two ferries (and not your typical ferry - they're pretty fast) that service the island, although you can do the fly option which is more expensive but I think landing on the water would be much cooler.

Trip Report - Key West, May 2007

How we got there: Key West has its own airport, but since this was our first visit to Key West, we wanted to experience the long drive over all the keys and bridges from Miami so we flew into Miami's airport and rented a car. The drive to Key West takes about 3.25 hours.

Where we stayed: The Inn at Key West is a lovely hotel on the east side of town, about 5 - 10 minutes' drive from Duval Street, depending on the route you take to get there. The hotel has a shuttle, but it's pricey and we had a car so we didn't use the shuttle. The hotel rooms look exactly like the ones on the website, and the pool area is beautiful. The beds have pillow-tops, and we had the best nights' sleeping of our lives on our king-size mattress. It was also very quiet -- I was concerned about this when we were given a corner room facing the pool, but we didn't hear a peep out of anyone at anytime as they passed by on their way to swim, etc. We had a friendly welcome on arrival, and our room was always immaculate so service was excellent. There's a tiki bar at the pool and a casual open-air dining area nearby where we had breakfast one morning. The buffet was substantial with cooked-to-order entrees, and the food and service were good. It wasn't cheap, but breakfast lasted us all day until happy hour so we thought it was worth the cost.

What we did: We drove into town each day and left our car in one of the lots on Greene Street. The price per day for parking varied -- sometimes $10, sometimes $15, and we didn't know why it was different on different days. If you use these lots, plan on leaving the car all day because if you leave and come back, you'll have to pay another $10/$15. We walked everywhere, from the northernmost point of the island to the southernmost and to Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park, but you can rent bicycles, motor scooters, and electric cars if you'd rather not put so many miles under your feet. We watched an absolutely perfect sunset from Mallory Square and spent an afternoon at the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park where the beach is more pebbles than sand. We toured President Harry Truman's Little White House which is interesting if you'd like to know more about Truman's time in American history and his life in general. Our only complaint was that the guide injected too much of his own personal political viewpoint into his narrative. We also took a ride on a glass bottom boat out over a coral reef, and it was cool to see the fish and the reef and to get a view of Key West from the water, plus I always love a boat ride. We wandered in and out of souvenir shops, meandered along the harbor walkways, and stopped for drinks here and there, including Sloppy Joe's, a Key West institution where happy hour starts at 9 a.m. My husband went fishing for a few hours one evening from White Street Pier, and though he didn't catch anything, he enjoyed trying it out. To get a fishing license, go to the Harvey Government Center at 1200 Truman Avenue.

Where we ate: For breakfast, besides the cafe at our hotel, we also ate at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) next door to the hotel. Because we ate big breakfasts, we didn't bother with lunches, but there's no shortage of all kinds of restaurants in Key West in all price ranges. If it's a hot day and you're craving some gelato, stop at Flamingo Crossing on the southern part of Duval Street. There was a line out the door when we stopped in, and the line just kept growing so that tells you how good it is. So yummy! They have some unique flavors like sour sop, ginger, and key lime. For dinners, we concentrated on eating seafood, and we had some of the best seafood ever on Key West. We recommend Conch Republic Seafood Company with its open-air patio, live entertainment, great service, and Key West Pink Shrimp; A&B Lobster House for terrific tuna and other seafood delights; and Two Friends Patio where you can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner and Key Lime Pie for dessert -- yum! Don't miss that when you're in Key West. It's fabulous.

Overall impressions: We loved Key West. It's a very laid back, "anything goes, have a good time, forget all your troubles and stress" kind of place -- very good for soothing the weary soul. We definitely hope to return someday.

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Last Updated: June 2007