Wife and I are looking to go to Key West last week of October… looking for suggestions on where to stay, places to go, places to eat etc
OT - Key West
- Thread starter Leeshouldveflanked
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Coach Leach says...
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Take a boat or plane ride out to the Dry Tortugas. Best part of the whole experience to me. As to restaurants I am sure there are more culinary minded humans that will chime in.
Fort Jefferson. Amazing place. If you go make sure to snorkel or dive off the piers located around the fort great place to run into all kinds of marine life.
Another vote for the Dry Tortugas. We rode the boat (Yankee Freedom) out there a few years ago and spent the day snorkeling & exploring the fort. Definitely needs to be on your to do list.
We stayed at Santa Maria Suites Resort and really liked it, nice pool/bar area.
Charter on Fishmonster(great FB vids too you can check out), Good restaurants at AB MARINA there too. Snorkeling on Fury I think but didn’t do the Tortugas bc of the time it would take. You may want to try and avoid the time of year when sargassum is prevalent.
Charter on Fishmonster(great FB vids too you can check out), Good restaurants at AB MARINA there too. Snorkeling on Fury I think but didn’t do the Tortugas bc of the time it would take. You may want to try and avoid the time of year when sargassum is prevalent.
My wife and I are going in 3 weeks. Staying at the lighthouse hotel. We are looking for more things to do as well.
As others mentioned Dry Tortugas is worth visiting. If you plan on going, check their website now to see if reservations are available. Im not sure what its like in Oct, but they fill up quick in the spring and summer.
Fort Zach is probably the nicest beach in KW.
If you have a car, ride up to Bahia Honda Beach. Its an hour North of Key West. Its the best beach in the Keys. The whole place looks like a post card. You can get snorkel charters out of there that are typically cheaper than when you find in KW. The only reef in the US runs just off the beach. Its worth seeing if youre into that sort of thing.
Blue Heaven is my favorite restaurant there. Ive never had a meal there that was less than great. You might need a reservation though as they stay pretty busy. Moon Dog Cafe is really good for lunch or dinner. I liked Rams Head for breakfast. Tavern n Town is really good, but its not cheap.
Assuming its your first visit, you would want to stay in Old Town near Duval Street. Thats the western side of the island and you would probably want to stay on the NW side. More hotels, restaurants etc right around there. The whole city is walkable and feels pretty safe at night so I would look at prices and reviews for the dates your going and make your decision based on that.
Fort Zach is probably the nicest beach in KW.
If you have a car, ride up to Bahia Honda Beach. Its an hour North of Key West. Its the best beach in the Keys. The whole place looks like a post card. You can get snorkel charters out of there that are typically cheaper than when you find in KW. The only reef in the US runs just off the beach. Its worth seeing if youre into that sort of thing.
Blue Heaven is my favorite restaurant there. Ive never had a meal there that was less than great. You might need a reservation though as they stay pretty busy. Moon Dog Cafe is really good for lunch or dinner. I liked Rams Head for breakfast. Tavern n Town is really good, but its not cheap.
Assuming its your first visit, you would want to stay in Old Town near Duval Street. Thats the western side of the island and you would probably want to stay on the NW side. More hotels, restaurants etc right around there. The whole city is walkable and feels pretty safe at night so I would look at prices and reviews for the dates your going and make your decision based on that.
Dry Tortugas is a must see. Would go back in a second. Also agree on Blue Heaven. Love sitting outside under the trees. Simple, but a truly great experience. Hemingway’s house is a pretty cool tour. Disappointed in Mel Fischer’s museum. Ok, but not as good as I thought it would be. Hog’s Breath Saloon seems to always have the best music. Sloppy Joe’s not so much.
All the food is ho hum and incredibly overpriced for anybody that lives near decent seafood. Bagatelle’s was hands-down the best food we found, by a mile. Brunch and dinner. Everything down there is obscenely priced. Should be fun if you like to drink and spend a pile of $. Drink before you drop a lot of coin on meals, though. It’ll make it easier.
While I haven’t had the skirt steak, I will second El Sibonay. A great little Cuban restaurant tucked away in a residential area of Key West several blocks east of Duval.
Bars
The Green Turtle and Captain Tony’s. A stop in Islamaroda is my personal spot and I would recommend a fishing charter out of Whale Harbor Marina. Best fishing in the Keys by far.
The Green Turtle and Captain Tony’s. A stop in Islamaroda is my personal spot and I would recommend a fishing charter out of Whale Harbor Marina. Best fishing in the Keys by far.
Louie’s back yard - outside dining easily #1 for sunset. Book a table early.
Blue heaven good
Santiago’s Bodega and Bagatelle good
Dauntes adult pool for a scene
Danger Charters for wind and wine cruise or kayak and snorkeling
Indoor Butterfly zoo
Beaches suck
Duval st is like Bourbon st
Stop at Sloppy joes for a drink
Take walks and bikes
Done
Blue heaven good
Santiago’s Bodega and Bagatelle good
Dauntes adult pool for a scene
Danger Charters for wind and wine cruise or kayak and snorkeling
Indoor Butterfly zoo
Beaches suck
Duval st is like Bourbon st
Stop at Sloppy joes for a drink
Take walks and bikes
Done
I agree with this. Blue Heaven underwhelmed me. If you live in the southeastern US, you have much better chain breakfast places (ie Maple Street Biscuit Co, Ruby Slipper, Broken Egg). I highly recommend Moondog as mentioned above. Cuban Coffee Queen is good for coffee and breakfast. The Breakfast Club Too looks pretty good as well. If you drive down from Miami, eat on the highway and drink on the water.
There is plenty to do. Definitely go to Dry Tortugas. Take a sunset cruise. Rent bikes and ride around town.
It’s pricey, but if you can swing it, take the seaplane. You’ll get there 3-hrs before the boat (and lots of people) arrive. Basically you and the few other people on the planes will have the area to yourself until the ferry gets there. And you can still go on the ferry to buy food/drinks…
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My wife and I stayed at the Casa Marina Resort Hotel and really liked it. The old part of the hotel was built in the 1920’s so it has the beautiful hardwood floors and other finishes of hotels of that era. It was a Waldorf-Astoria resort for years, and it is now a Hilton property. The excellent beach service is one of the many features which separates the Casa Marina from other hotels in the area. https://casamarinaresort.com/
I did not care much for Key West. I went down there in 2020. It was super touristy. I drove down to Estero, Fl, which is God's waiting room first day. That sucked since it was a full day drive. Then I spent a day crisscrossing south Florida fishing canals and almost got bit by a water moccasin in the Florida Panther refuge. Ate at Joe Stone Crab in Miami Beach. Then drove to Islamorada. Stayed in a house boat I rented from Bud and Marys Marina. Bonefished. Yellowtail snapper fished. Ate so good at Lazy Days there. Conch is not that great. Stone crab is.
Then I drove down to Key West and it was super not good. Captain Tony's is OK. Sloppy Joe's is like an Applebees. The Mel Fisher museum is the only place I really liked. The old speakeasy with the wood carvings about booze and cards was neat. But not great. The conch train was informative and interesting. Key West pink shrimp are great, but if you go to the wrong place you will pay too much.
Driving down kind of sucks. You will be behind garbage trucks, Sysco trucks, and people trying to pull a 35 food boat behind a tacoma with a 4 cylinder and a 35 foot boat. It's a full day from Key West back up to Orlando.
Then I drove down to Key West and it was super not good. Captain Tony's is OK. Sloppy Joe's is like an Applebees. The Mel Fisher museum is the only place I really liked. The old speakeasy with the wood carvings about booze and cards was neat. But not great. The conch train was informative and interesting. Key West pink shrimp are great, but if you go to the wrong place you will pay too much.
Driving down kind of sucks. You will be behind garbage trucks, Sysco trucks, and people trying to pull a 35 food boat behind a tacoma with a 4 cylinder and a 35 foot boat. It's a full day from Key West back up to Orlando.
My wife and I went in March of last year. Below are my thoughts:
-First and foremost, pay the extra money to stay on the west end of the island. We stayed at The Reach and we were able to walk everywhere we went.
-Second, Key West is expensive. Come to terms with that now so that you can enjoy the trip.
-I thought Dry Tortugas was cool to see, but I did not think it was worth it. It eats up an entire day and most of that is on the boat. And the water was too cold and too rough to snorkel when we went, so we were left to walk around the fort and then just sit on the beach...I was bored out of my mind by the time we finally left. If it's something you really want to do, I'd recommend taking the plane if you can swing it.
-One day we rented a jeep and drove to Isla Morada to kayak through the mangroves. This was a lot of fun and you get to see a lot of the undeveloped keys on the drive. I highly recommend this.
-One day we rented a scooter and explored the island which was fun.
-We thought the food was fantastic. Below are the places we ate, and they were all very, very good.
Bagatelle
Hot Tin Roof
Santiago's Bodega
7 Fish
Latitudes
Louie's Backyard
Blue Heaven for breakfast (highly recommend)
Key West is like a clean, upscale, beautiful, crime free version of New Orleans. It's a great trip. Enjoy yourself.
-First and foremost, pay the extra money to stay on the west end of the island. We stayed at The Reach and we were able to walk everywhere we went.
-Second, Key West is expensive. Come to terms with that now so that you can enjoy the trip.
-I thought Dry Tortugas was cool to see, but I did not think it was worth it. It eats up an entire day and most of that is on the boat. And the water was too cold and too rough to snorkel when we went, so we were left to walk around the fort and then just sit on the beach...I was bored out of my mind by the time we finally left. If it's something you really want to do, I'd recommend taking the plane if you can swing it.
-One day we rented a jeep and drove to Isla Morada to kayak through the mangroves. This was a lot of fun and you get to see a lot of the undeveloped keys on the drive. I highly recommend this.
-One day we rented a scooter and explored the island which was fun.
-We thought the food was fantastic. Below are the places we ate, and they were all very, very good.
Bagatelle
Hot Tin Roof
Santiago's Bodega
7 Fish
Latitudes
Louie's Backyard
Blue Heaven for breakfast (highly recommend)
Key West is like a clean, upscale, beautiful, crime free version of New Orleans. It's a great trip. Enjoy yourself.
Look at Southernmost Beach Resort, numerous pools / bars on site
Eat:
Little Pearl
Latitudes (like to go for lunch, boat to and from)
Hot Tin Roof
Santiago's Bodego
Nine One Five
As mentioned by others, El Sibboney is great cuban food
Happy Hour:
Thirsty Mermaid
The food is amazing everywhere there. Did not have a bad meal. A few that i remember that stood out was Hot tin roof, Better than sex (its not but its really really good), the conch shack.... Most of the time we just walked around and tried different places and all were great.
Hemingway's house was cool, the treasure museum was ok, there is a butterfly sanctuary that was really interesting.
One of the best trips ive taken.
Hemingway's house was cool, the treasure museum was ok, there is a butterfly sanctuary that was really interesting.
One of the best trips ive taken.
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