Key West

[wendyquat]

I may be the only person who has never been to Key West and we have decided to make the trip soon! I would like to hear of your Key West experiences, ie, good location to stay, restaurants not to miss and anything else to help me plan our trip. Thanks

[JB in TV]

Sorry I can't help, but I am anxious to hear what folks have to say as well. And how long a drive from the Villages?

[DougB]

About an 8 hour drive and unless you are interested in diving and fishing i wouldn't make the trip.

[jackz]

Alternative to the long drive is to drive to Ft Myers Beach where there is a Catamaran that goes to Key West and returns to Ft Myers.

You can make it a day trip or overnight and return the next day.

[DonH57]

We've had a great time in Key West. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo about 6 blocks from Duval street. Ate in some great restaurants and I hit some of the bars. There are lot of art stores and shopping. There are also beaches and museums. We found the Conch train to be an informative and fun.

[billethkid]

We stayed on Islamorada which is one of the islands in the Keys chain....second or third one from Miami. Then we day tripped to the oints of interest all along the keys and there are many. We consciously chose to have Key West as a day trip and not a destination.

Google the keys and read up on all the islands. They each have a different specialty they are noted for.

btk

[mainlander]

Key West:
I found the "Best Western" downtown a good place to stay, reasonable rates, nice pool and a short walk to the night life, parades, restruants (Duval Street). Just park and walk, you will not need to drive. A fairly quiet neighbourhood, yet close to the scene. the Hemminway house is worth the tour if only for the narrative. Loads of walking amusements and sights, well worth the trip imo. Enjoy. I have been down a few times and will likely return again in the future.

[Schaumburger]

I would definitely visit the Little White House that was used by Pres. Harry Truman several times as a getaway while he was president. Up until at least Pres. Clinton's term in office, this house was still used occasionally by presidents to host special events.

If you stay close enough to Duval Street you won't even need to rent a car. I believe Halloween is a big deal in Key West, and prices for hotels go up quite a bit right before Halloween. When I went to Key West a few years ago, it was a couple of weeks before Halloween, and the person running the B&B I stayed at remarked how much hotel room rates go up at Halloween.

There are lots of B&B's in Key West. If you have issues with climbing stairs (which I don't), that may be something to consider. I would definitely go back to Key West again -- very enjoyable.

[Applepie]

We stayed at a B&B on
Duval Street which is the main street in KW where all the action is. Would visit Hemingway's House and the Southern White House. Beaches for swimming are not real good. Enjoyed people watching and eating Key Lime pie. Lots of interesting shops on
Duval Street. Loved seeing the old restored homes. My mother was born in Key West.

[stuckinparadise]

We've been to Key West several times and loved it. My husband and I are retired military so we stayed at the NAS base there, it's only a few blocks from Duval Street. My whole family loves Ernest Hemingway, so we visit the Hemingway house every time we go there. We also go on the catamaran (sp) outings to snorkel during the day and at night we do the champagne cruise. We used Sabago for those trips. Have fun and let us know how you liked it.

[Madelaine Amee]

We love Key West, we go once a year after the winter season is over. We have driven and taken the Ferry, but now we prefer to fly South West out of Orlando and have a cab take us to our hotel of choice. We stay right on Duval Street at La Concha, which is considered a historic hotel on Key West. It is decorated in the old period style. Hemingway and all his buddies used the hotel as their "watering hole" and there are photos of him everywhere.

If you go make sure to get to Mallory Square every night for the sunset and free entertainment, and also to watch the chickens roost in the trees on the square. Also, for us, it is a must to eat at La Trattoria, a superb Italian restaurant right on Duval.

We don't bother with a car, you can rent a golf cart, use the Conch train which runs out of Mallary Square, and there are also bicycle cabs like rickshaws which are fun.

We miss a real night life and Duval street comes "alive" at night. We stay for about three days and get our night life fix.

[DonH57]

I forgot to include Truman's Little White house tour. The best breakfast lplace we found was the Blue Heaven restaurant if you like eating outside.

[njbchbum]

love, love, love key west! each of the tourist spots mentioned make the trip worthwhile! we also enjoyed the key west lighthouse and grounds - but sunset at mallory square took the cake! :) you might also want to add half shell raw bar 231 margaret st [just off duval] 305-294-7496 to your restaurant list - fresh, fresh, fresh! we stayed at the southernmost hotel and i can't say enuf about the goodness of the stay there! would have loved to be there in our younger days when we were more likely to do 'the duval crawl'! ;)

[OpusX1]

Key West is great. We go every year for a week. Fantasy Fest is the last full week of October, sometimes it hits Halloween but not always. Lodging is extremely high the week of FF.

Lots of great places to stay. Lots of B & B's We have stayed at Heron House on Simington and love it. Upper end hotels include The Westin, Hyatt, Casa Marina, Pier House and Southernmost on the beach.

So many great restaurants. We always go to 7 Fish on Oliva, Louie's Back Yard on Waddle for great ocean front dining, A&B Lobster on the bight harbor. We always try out at least 3 new places every trip. We never eat on Duval St.

Bars, lots of bars. Of course you have to stop at Sloppy Joes, Hogs Breath, Capt. Tony's , The Bull and Whistle, the 3rd floor is The Garden of Eden, a clothing optional bar. All these are on or just off Duval. Find Kelly's and The Smokin Tuna, fun places. Our first happy hour is at The Conch Republic on the bight for KW pinks peel & eats. if you like shrimp ask for royal reds hot with butter, just like lobster not on the menu. Alonzoes on the bight great HH with half price apps. Schooner Warf Bar in the afternoon with Michael McCloud playing. try to hit Louie' back yard the upper deck for a night cap. There are maybe 500 more bars that I have not mentioned :).
Check out Bo's fish wagon for lunch, great grouper sandwich. Try hogfish at The Hogfish Bar&Grill on Stock Island. Right on the docks.
The little White House and Hemmingway's tours are well worth it. Also the trolley tours are very informative and have get off/on privileges.
Get out on the water. A day sail or at the very least a wine and sunset sail. Lots of options, we like Danger Charters. Last trip we took a biplane ride. That was really cool.

We always drive. Love the trip through the Keys. We go from TV to Marco Island, Naples or Miami for the night. Leave around 10 the next morning. Lots of places to stop for lunch but our favorite is Sparky's Landing in Key Colony Beach. We always have fish taco's, the best we have ever had and fish grantee along with a couple spicy Bloody Mary's. Almost always stop at the world wide sportsman in Islemorada just to look at stuff. Another good stop is the Sunset Bar & Grill at the N end of the 7 mile bridge. On the way back from the Keys we take the Card Sound cut road and have Lunch at Alabama Jacks, a great dive bar/grill on the water.
Find a lot of information at trip adviser. Key West Forum, Travel Discussion for Key West, FL (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g34345-i53-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html)

[OpusX1]

Almost forgot but it is fun to do a ghost tour. Lots of haunted places in KW.

[cricket1]

When (not IF) you go to Key West, be sure to find "Kermit's" for key lime pie and all things key lime. YUMMY!

[George Bieniaszek]

Love Key West!! Been there many times. We took a 4 day cruise on Majesty of the seas and KW was one of their stops. All the posters above named the best places to visit. Duval Street is the most popular to shop, have a drink, etc etc. You can also visit Ernest Hemmingway's house, stop by Sloppy Joe's for a cold beverage, go to Fort Zachery Taylor for some beach time. They have a small diner on the beach to take care of the hungry tummy, go to Southernmost Point for the obligatory tourist photos and just enjoy.

They also have the Conch Train Tour where for an hour they will take you all around KW and describe all the attractions. You can even get a bus pass and map of all the main stops and do a mini self guided tour yourself. You can get on and off the bus all day as you go around the town.

Drive time is all of 8 hours. 5 hours to Miami and then approx. 3 more hours to Key West.

Have a Blast :)

[jpharmat]

My husband and I visited the Key West several years ago. I was so surprised at how far it was from Miami.... We stayed at Chelsea House and Garden B&B which was a beautiful B&B. As for Key West. I thought that it was nice to visit once, but once is enough. We did all the touristy stuff... tour of Key west, the Southern most point and visited the shops. I am not much of a bar hopper so that was not for me. We were glad that we went.
As a side note, we drove from Massachusetts, stopped in Deerfield Beach, then off to Key West for a couple of days... took Alligator Alley to the west coast, spent the night on Sanibel Island, toured the Ding Darling Preserve, went to Fort Meyers to check out where the Red Sox play in spring, stayed a couple of days at Disney and then to The Villages.

[gomoho]

If you want to see the REAL Key West go for FantasyFest at Halloween. You will never see the world in the same way again!!!!

[DonH57]

Never been there during fantasy fest but I've seen sights when we were there for new years. I do know what fantasy fest is all about.

[DougB]

Kind of like a 10 day Mardi Gras type celebration.

[paulandjean]

Never been there during fantasy fest but I've seen sights when we were there for new years. I do know what fantasy fest is all about.

Not for the faint of heart.

[CFrance]

Not for the faint of heart.

If you've ever been to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, multiply that by 10 and you have FF. If you go the week before ff, you get to see all the awesome decorations going up but miss the crowds, many of whom are wearing little more than body paint. Don't take you grandkids to FF!

We rented a house in KW for six winters because my husband traveled so much, and I could work from home. There is a get-together every evening at White Street Pier for people and their dogs. Great views and not nearly as crowded as Mallory Square, but no entertainment. It's a locals thing. And the Casa Marina area around there has some gorgeous old homes Just walking the neighborhoods of KW is interesting. It doesn't have to be all Duval St and bars.

Having said that, I always liked shopping at Fastbuck Freddies department store and having lunch outdoors (but under cover) at Willie T's, both on Duval. Great pina coladas and a good blackened grouper caesar salad. St. Paul's Episcopal Church at 401 Duval gives free concerts every noon. Their 9 o'clock Sunday service is full-on high church, with awesome music and choir, sung congregational responses, incense. It's a beautiful church, worth even just stopping in to see.

Sarabeth's Simonton at Southard has very unique breakfasts.

Before we started renting there, we liked a little place at 1015 Fleming. Built in 1924, completely renovated, owned by one person since the '70s. Very Keysian. Key West Hotels | Hotel in Old Town Key West | Eden House Hotel, Key West, Florida, 33040 (http://www.edenhouse.com/) Far enough away from the Duval crawl that it's quiet, and the buildings and grounds are awesome. One of the more moderate-priced places.

Don't forget the cemetery. Lots of above-ground burial sites, interesting statuary and epitaphs. the most famous, of course, is "I told you I was sick," but I like the one where someone's dog is buried: "Here lies ______ (forget). he was a challenge to love." the office has maps, and you can spend a couple of hours in there.

We also like the restaurant next to White St Pier, Salute! On the Beach. Indoor or outdoor covered dining on the beach.

I think Blue Heaven is overrated for anything other than breakfast. No reservations, long waits, and not very friendly service. The owner came over and chastised a friend of mine for touching a baby chick that had gotten separated from its mother. KW is overrun with chickens, and they're all over Blue Heaven, fighting you for your food. This is very KW, but beware. (The wait may be less now that it's off-season, but many Europeans love to come to the Keys in the summer, so it's not all that empty.)

I like the Commodore down on the water--very elegant surroundings, but pricey.

Look for a free magazine when down there that lists many restaurants and their menus, or go here The Menu - A Dining Guide to Paradise - Key West, Florida (http://www.keywestmenu.com/)

These posts are making me very nostalgic for KW. I smell a trip brewing!

[OpusX1]

We have been to six FF. Did the body paint, went to Kelly's Kinky Karnivlle, did the masquerade march on Fridays, marched in the Saturday parade. pretty much been there done that. If you plan on going to FF, Monday through Friday is a great time. Saturday the place gets full of drunk kids and is not as much fun. Last year we went down for the power boat races and had a great time.

[OpusX1]

Fast Buck Freddie's closed a year ago :( . Agree about Blue Heaven, we don' go at all. Around the corner on Pretoria is Le Creperie, some of the best Crepe's ever.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Key West:
I found the "Best Western" downtown a good place to stay, reasonable rates, nice pool and a short walk to the night life, parades, restruants (Duval Street). Just park and walk, you will not need to drive. A fairly quiet neighbourhood, yet close to the scene. the Hemminway house is worth the tour if only for the narrative. Loads of walking amusements and sights, well worth the trip imo. Enjoy. I have been down a few times and will likely return again in the future.

This is the same place we stayed as well when we went to Key West a number of years ago. Great location as mainlander stated - easy walking distance to many of the things you'll want to see..........and they had their own parking lot. Those are two things to keep in mind when considering where to stay - will you have to walk or drive to many of the things you want to check out.....and does the facility have off-street parking. Parking can get tough the closer you are to the high activity areas.

Very enjoyable trip for us!

Bill :)

[Finfan]

Key West is a must go. Blue Heaven for the Shrimp and Grits. If you just do not like to drive fly and rent a scooter that is the best way to get around town anyway not a lot of room for parking. I hope to go again myself. If you like to drink and have a good time go.

[CFrance]

Fast Buck Freddie's closed a year ago :( . Agree about Blue Heaven, we don' go at all. Around the corner on Pretoria is Le Creperie, some of the best Crepe's ever.

So much for the cruise ships bolstering the economy. But maybe it was a family issue?

[Barkay]

My advice is "Go". Find lodging a few blocks off of Duval so you can walk to most of the activities. Best advice is "ask a local". Over the years I have visited my best "finds" have been those places where local dine and drink. For example, El Sibonet is a family Cuban food restaurant with excellent roast pork, black beans, yellow rice and onions served with fried plantains (making my mouth water just remembering)- got our morning Cuban coffee at a laundromat where all of the city workers get theirs- excellent cafe con leche y pan con mantequela (pardon the spelling but it is Cuban flat bread toasted with butter and strong coffee with hot milk and sugar) at Sandy's Cafe, which is a window to the street at the M&M Laundry 1026 White Street. Walk by get the grub then enjoy a sunrise in the beach with a Key West delight. Oh, their Cuban Sandwich is also very good so swing by for lunch too!

If you're interested in water sports or want a unique way to see the islands, consider this local tour group specializing in ecology trips. See crystal clear waters with tropical fish, reefs and mangroves inhabited by rare birds. They offer daily back country tours that depart from Key West in sea kayaks to explore the northern islands of Geiger Key and Sugar Key. Tours last approximately six hours. 9 AM to 3 PM (pack a brimmed hat, sunglasses and waterproof sunscreen) Mosquito Coast Outfitters 310 Duval Street.

No shortage of things to do and yummy delicacies to consume (or drink) during a visit to KW. I am headed back with a buddy in September for a few days to soak up some Conch Republic "culture", diving, drinking and dining.

Just go and have fun.

[Jbirds99]

I may be the only person who has never been to Key West and we have decided to make the trip soon! I would like to hear of your Key West experiences, ie, good location to stay, restaurants not to miss and anything else to help me plan our trip. Thanks

Make sure u get to the Dry Tortugas. I personally always at the Crowne Plaza. My wife and I love the place and the location is perfect.

[coconutmama]

We stay at the Pier House for special occasions. It is pricey but is located at One Duval Street, so you are right there, near so much of the action. They have their own beach and a very nice pool area. No need to rent a car.

[Indydealmaker]

I may be the only person who has never been to Key West and we have decided to make the trip soon! I would like to hear of your Key West experiences, ie, good location to stay, restaurants not to miss and anything else to help me plan our trip. Thanks

Stop in for a meal, even breakfast at the Blue Heaven. Eclectic, looney and fun!
BLUEHEAVENKW.COM (http://www.blueheavenkw.com/)

[Jhooman]

I went to high school in Key West many years ago, 1969. My Fathers wife was a Conch or a Key Wester for many generations. The Conchs have a very tight community. We lived on Whitehead Street right down the street from Hemingway's home with a panoramic view of the ocean. Everyday the ocean had a different look, I feel so gifted to have had that experience.

For fun we would pool hop from motel to motel, when caught jump off their pier. The only time we could surf was during hurricane season, we had so much freedom. My main form of transportation was my bike, it took about 20 minutes to cruise the island. My first job was at the Strand Theater on Duval Street. Back then Duval Street had a lovely ambiance, not saturated with bars and tee shirt shops. We would have our teen dances at Mallory Square, then catch a few kisses from my boyfriend under a palm tree. Because my step-mom was related to everyone my teen troubles were minute.

Fast forward, my parents sold their home in Key West seven years ago and moved to The Villages. My Step-Mom missed Key West everyday until she passed away two years ago. She is buried in Key West with her son and grandson, she is home.

When you go to Key West and if your interested dig into the history of the island, it's fascinating. If not, enjoy the Duval crawl, food, tee shirt shops and beaches. But whatever you do enjoy Key West. I know that island has a special place in my heart and mind.

[jblum315]

Key West: Been there, done that. Years ago when my husband was alive, we used to stay in Islamorada and do a day trip to Key West. It was wonderful. Went last year in May with a friend. Not so wonderful. Really really crowded, impossible to park, impossible to find a restaurant, bar or cafe where you can just walk in and get a drink or snack. We waited 3 hours at Blue Heaven, wanted breakfast but by then breakfast was over and lunch wasn't so great.. I'm not saying don't go, but don't expect Key west to be easy or friendly.

[DonH57]

We will definately return to Key West at some point. We enjoyed breakfast at Blue Heaven. Great outdoor eating experience . We learned a lot on the conch train tour and had a great time as well.

[CFrance]

IMO, Blue Heaven is resting on its laurels. And I mean laurels from the early 2000's. But everybody tells everybody else to go there, so the myth gets perpetuated. Never cared for the food that much, except for the shrimp & grits.

But there are soooooo many good restaurants in KW. Just pick up the free resto magazine and read the menus. And make a reservation. I wouldn't want to go into a tourist town with no reservations for dinner. KW doesn't have so much of a down time because so many Europeans come over to visit in the summer. So reservations are the way to go.

Jhooman, I'm with your step-mom. I miss KW. Every time I think I'm over it, someone mentions it and I'm longing again. As much as I love TV and am perfectly content here, if we could afford to buy in KW, that would have been my first choice. Rented there for six years and just loved it.