Last summer, my sister graduated from high school, so for her senior trip, we wanted to see as much of the FL Keys as possible. My family is accustomed to road trips, and we make the most of them by seeing as much as possible along our route. We decided to take that frame of mind and apply it to our trip to the Keys, which turned out to be the best way possible to experience what each island has to offer.
We started our trip by flying into Miami International Airport, renting a car, and heading out to explore the southern part of Miami and Homestead. An absolute must-see on your drive from Miami to the Keys is the Everglades National Park. Not only should you drive into the park and explore the different visitor centers and hiking trails, but you MUST book an airboat ride in or near the park. We booked a ride through Everglades Airboat Tours and had the absolute best experience! This may have been one of our favorite experiences of the entire trip. You will be surprised by how smoothly the boats glide through the glades and how close you get to wild gators!
Inside the park, make sure to drive into the Flamingo Visitor Center. This is where we saw A TON of manatees. We had heard about them our entire trip, but had yet to see any. One walk over to the boat dock at this visitor center, and we were amazed. We were the only ones there as well, so we had them all to ourselves. We probably sat there for almost an hour, just mesmerized by these interesting creatures.
After our airboat ride, we stopped at Farmhouse Miami for lunch, and let me tell you this was SUCH a good place to eat. We also stopped at Roberts Fruit Stand, a place you cannot miss. This place is extremely unique, boasting some of the coolest fruit and the best milkshakes ever.
One thing we did in southern Miami that I do not necessarily recommend is ZFW Miami Wildlife Experience. My sister LOVES animals, so when we found this unique experience, she had to do it. We chose to do the “special wildlife experience”. In my opinion, this is not worth the money. We were under the impression that we would be in a small group for a quick tour of the facility, and the majority of the tour would be holding their animals. This was not the case at all. Our group was extremely large, and 3/4 of the tour was a tour of the facilities. This only left a short amount of time to hold the animals. Another frustration that hindered our time with the animals was that our large group was met by two other large groups, tripling the number of people all trying to hold a small number of animals. Although we tried to enjoy our short time with each animal, this was not the experience we thought we would be getting when we shelled out the money for the tour.
Arriving in the Keys
After exploring the Everglades area, we headed to the first island, Key Largo. My inner Beach Boys fan girl was screaming inside as we crossed the bridge from the mainland to the Keys. Key Largo has such a unique feel to it; you just have to experience it for yourself to understand. We stayed the night at Sunset Cove Beach Resort, which was such an adorable find. For dinner, we tried the Fish House. This restaurant was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and I try to find a few places featured on the show each time we travel. This place did not disappoint. This place matched the feel of the rest of Key Largo, with classic old fishermen’s town charm. We also stopped at Key Largo Chocolates for some chocolate-dipped key lime pie, and if you’re wondering whether or not you should waste your calories on this, yes.. yes, you should.
While in Key Largo, we checked out John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We were told that this was a fantastic place to snorkel, but unfortunately, our snorkel tour was cancelled due to thunderstorms. However, if you get the chance to snorkel, I have heard it’s some of the best in the Keys! We were still able to enjoy the beach area, which offered calm water, and we also saw many people kayaking.
The next island, Islamorada, has its unique charm as well. Here, we chose to explore Theater of the Seas, which was so fun and highly recommended. We did the Sea Lion encounter, and let me tell you, we loved this. The encounter took place in a natural saltwater lagoon. We were in a group of 6 people, and we got to kiss, float, and swim with our lovely sea lion friend. Our ticket to swim with the sea lion included a pass to explore the rest of Theater of the Seas, which has many other sea creatures and their respective shows (similar to SeaWorld), a parrot show, and beautiful tropical gardens.
We also went deep-sea fishing in Islamorada. We went on a fishing trip with Robbie’s, the famous marina where you can feed the tarpon (they’re seriously massive). While our fishing trip was less than exciting, feeding the tarpon was exhilarating (and slightly terrifying). I recommend stopping at Robbie’s to feed the tarpon and experience the unique “seaside shantytown” atmosphere; however, I’d pass up on going on a fishing trip with them and their restaurant. Our fishing trip was very disappointing. The crew did not do much to help everyone on the boat catch fish, partly because there were so many people on the boat that they couldn’t help everyone. We did catch a few fish and were able to have them processed for us to take down the road to a local restaurant for them to cook for our lunch. As for the restaurant, we chose not to eat here due to the fishing crew members’ suggestion not to, which was enough for me.
While in Islamorada, we stayed at La Siesta Resort and Marina. This was one of my favorite stays in the Keys. The room was so spacious, and they let you use their sister resort facilities during your stay. Our resort had a pool, but we ventured over to their sister resort and had the option of using their equipment to paddleboard and swim in their protected lagoon.
We ate dinner at Islamorada Fish Company. Being from southwest Missouri, of course, we had to try one of Bass Pro Shops’ restaurants! Overall, the food was pretty good here! Maybe not my favorite food of the trip, but I could have made a meal out of their conch fritters.
Next stop on the island hop tour, Marathon. We did not stay the night here, but we did make a stop at the Marathon Turtle Hospital. As I said, my sister is an animal lover, and since this was her senior trip, we did our best to get as many adorable animals in front of her as possible. I quite enjoyed the tour of this cute little hospital. I now follow them on social media so I can keep up with the rescue and release efforts.
Finally, we made it to Key West. While the other islands had fewer people, they also had less to do. In Key West, I was blown away by how much there was to see and do on such a small island. I typically do not enjoy crowds and tend to be drawn to the areas where there are fewer people while on trips. However, this was not the case on this trip. I LOVED Key West. Its history, culture, nightlife, and touches of modern flair were unlike any place I had visited before. Key West is divided into old town and new town. We chose to spend most of our time in the old town. This is where the famous Duval Street is located, as well as many of the must-see highlights of Key West.
We stayed in two different hotels while in Key West, Crown Plaza Key West La Concha was beautiful, and its location was fabulous. Much of what you must see on your first trip to Key West is within walking distance of the hotels in the ‘Old Town”. This hotel was right off Duval Street, so it was great for walking to restaurants and attractions. The second hotel we stayed at was theKimpton Ridley House. This was my absolute favorite stay of the trip. I just thought it was adorable! The only downside, which proved to be very annoying, was that there was no parking. We had to pay to park our car a few blocks away from the hotel, which we did not like at all. However, it was the epitome of Old Key West charm.
Like I said before, many of the attractions in Key West Old Town are within walking distance from its hotels. You can also rent bikes or mopeds to use while visiting. This is great since parking space is very limited on the island, especially in Old Town. It’s best to park your car when you arrive at your hotel and leave it there until you check out, unless, of course, you are traveling somewhere not within walking distance. Even excursions that may leave from somewhere in New Town or not within walking distance of the many Old Town hotels offer shuttle services that will come pick you up at your hotel, which is so convenient.
I recommend starting your time in Key West with a ride on the Key West Conch Train. It may look a little silly, but it’s a great way to see a large portion of Old Town and its many attractions earlier in your stay, so that you can make note of what you want to walk back to and where it is located. The conductors also offer narration on the history of Key West, which I found very intriguing.
Some other must-see attractions in Key West include The Hemingway House, Key West Butterfly Museum, and The Little Truman White House. The Hemingway House offers a tour of the grounds, which are stunning, and you can’t miss a chance to see the famous 6-toed cats (yes, they really have 6 toes). The Butterfly Museum is SO pretty. The Little Truman White House offers a narrated tour of the history of the grounds and Old Key West. The Southern Most Point Buoy is kind of a cliché place to take a picture while in Key West, but I still think it’s worth a stop. Be prepared, as there will be a line to get your picture next to the famous buoy, but the line moves quickly, and now you can say you have been to the southernmost point of the continental USA!
While in Key West, we took a guided kayak tour through the famous mangroves. If you like kayaking at all, this is a must. I’m used to river or lake kayaking in southern Missouri, but this was way better. We saw conch shells, baby sharks, sea turtles, jellyfish, and tons of fish on our WAY to the mangroves. Once in the mangroves, we paddled around what felt like an endless maze of beautiful mangrove trees and saw crabs, jellyfish, and tropical fish in the water beneath us. Seriously, one of the coolest excursions I’ve done.
Some places to eat that you MUST try while in Key West include Conch Republic Seafood Company. This was my favorite meal of the trip. The seating is right on the water, and it’s fantastic seafood. Kermits Keylime Shoppe is another must while in Old Town. Their store is famous for its key lime pie, and they sell a variety of other key lime-inspired cooking ingredients as well. I brought the key lime steak seasoning and BBQ sauce back as a souvenir, and it did not last long (so good!).
From Key West, you can take a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. I have a separate blog post about our time here. We did not reserve tickets far enough in advance to take the boat out to the island, so we had to wake up before the sun and wait in line to write our names on the standby list. It was an experience, but worth every minute of my lost sleep. Be sure to check out my post on this if you plan to go to Dry Tortugas.
From Key West, we headed back up to Miami to catch our flight back home. The Keys are a unique place everyone must try to visit in the U.S.A. I hope this snapshot of our itinerary helps with some ideas of things to do, or maybe not do, during your trip to the Keys. Thanks for reading, and happy traveling!