key west, Fl.

Lodgings

My first visit to Key West began with myself, my brother, Niles and his son Nick gathering in Fort Lauderdale. This was an auspicious occasion with Nick just graduating.  We picked up our rental car at FLL and began our road trip down thru Homestead and then hopping the keys one at a time as far south as you can go. It's a solid 4hr drive with no stops. For those who want to get there quick there are flights direct into Key West (EYW). 

 Seriously though, the overseas highway is a great way to relax and unwind. An easy drive across miles and miles of blue water and bridges. Just watch the speed limits and your departure flights on the way out to be sure you have adequate time for driving back to civilization.  From personal experience we have left early and taken another night in Fort Lauderdale so we didn't have to rush that return drive.  

We have since returned to Key West a number of times and had lodgings at several different places. But our preferences are to be near sunset pier and old town.  One of the nice things about staying near the old town area of Key West is that everything is within walking distance.

We drove from Miami a few times as well as flew into the tiny airport. As for lodging Courtneys Place is centrally located, has rooms, cabins and even a few houses complete with kitchens. Great concierge service as well. It is only a couple of blocks off Duval.  Once we asked our hostess Nikki to find us a half a bushel of  oysters while we were away jet skiing. Nikki was an excellent host and we found our oysters iced down just as we had requested. Later that evening we fired up the grill for several rounds of the succulent Drago Style Char Grilled Oysters. She was more than happy to oblige and was able to obtain some of  Apalachicola's finest oysters. 

Southern Most Beach Resort is another good choice for a few nights in a hotel. Great location at the end of Duval, very near the southernmost point of the continental US. They also have a private beach and cafe/bar right there on the beach. They have beachfront and interior rooms. There's also a French Pastry shop on Duval that's just a block or so. Unbelievable, delicious quiche but more about LaGrignote later. 

Parrot Key is on the Western side but isn't the best of locations. It's priced reasonably and has decent rooms. It is surrounded by lush gardens and sandy areas for sunning or sitting in the shade but water access is limited to a pier. The pools in the interior areas of the hotel are nice and overall the facility is well kept. 

Kimpton has a number of properties there. We stayed at Kimpton Winslows Bungalos and found it to have a good location and to be very well managed as well as being superbly landscaped. The rooms are small but very nicely appointed. Many have balconies or patios. The bar inside the hotel property was great as well as being adjacent to one of the pools. All the staff was helpful, friendly and knowledgeable.  

All in all there are hundreds of places to find lodging. B&B's, rentals, hotels, motels and resorts as well.   

Attractions

Duval Street is the main thoroughfare in the middle of Key West old town. This is where a large number of restaurants, bars and other shops are located.  All time favorites are Captain Tony's, Sloppy Joe's and  Rick's which is a kind of and entertainment complex not all for children. Which by the way, I would not recommend taking children to the Duval St area.  

 One of the nice things about staying near the old town area of Key West is that everything is within walking distance. Restaurants, bars, shopping, literally anything and everything and sometimes nothing you would want.

Hemingways Home and Museum is open 9-5 if youre a fan. We have always wanted to go but for some reason we've never been. Just know admission is cash only. There's the home and museum along with plenty of cats.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park 
This is a great place to spend the day. In fact its one of the public few beaches on Key West. Higgs Beach and the adjacent county beach are ok but in my opinion Fort Zachary has it all with shade and sun. Even a snack bar which is pretty good with drinks. The line gets really long at times but they do have a decent selection of snacks and drinks. 

The fort is a good destination as well. Similar to other military sites it was originally constructed around the Civil war era then updated  around WW2. 

Key West Legal Rum Distillery

Fort Jefferson
There are many sights to see in the Florida Keys but for me personally, my favorite is Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park. The "dry" name might seem odd but it refers to the lack of fresh water. Plenty of salt water, but NO fresh water.  It is a fabulous area about 70 miles west of Key West and can be reached by boat, ferry or plane. There are restrictions for private boats so be sure and check before making that trip. Our favorite is the Yankee Freedom Ferry that leaves daily. I recall it being a good two hour ride from departure. It has a bar (on return trip only) and souvenirs, maybe some snacks but no real food. 

The waters are simply amazing as you pull up to the Fort. Even more amazing is how people survived here for nearly thirty years as the Fort was built. The Dry Tortugas are named so because there is NO fresh water. The five acre masonry brick fort is the largest in the Northern Hemisphere. Construction began in 1830 on the massive structure intended to protect the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Fort Jefferson is simply fascinating from a historical perspective as well as an engineering point of view. Construction was halted due to the invention of "rifling" in cannons. Old cannon balls would bounce off the thick brick walls but not so much rifled artillery shells. At any rate it served a number of different purposes since its completion or should I say non-completion.  I know for a fact there's great snorkeling and I believe camping as well. The camping though is subject to a myriad of regulations and requirements.  See the site here. It's an all day experience. We were hungry, tired and sunburned when we returned. We had a great time! 

Tuesday was another hot day and being the only day we had no real plans we decided to rent jet skis. There was discussion of  taking the jet skis somewhere and snorkeling. I went and  spoke to our hostess Nikki and she recommended the Island Tour  Charters out of Hurricane Hole Marina. An great concept where a guide leads a pack of wild and crazy touristas on  jet skis all the way around Key West. The guide leads the way and stops frequently to check on everyone and give historical perspective as well as make humerous remarks. There's plenty of "play time" for gunning round on the skis and its well worth the $120 fare and lasts about 2 1/2 hours.  Complimentary draft beer is served after the ride. The hot wings are optional.

A&B Lobster House

Great service, good food and fantastic location. This place checks all the boxes. Recommend balcony seating at sunset. Make your reservations accordingly.