GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in Florida Keys
Known as the Dive Capital of the World thanks to the crystal clear waters and reefs, many spots along the Keys offer diving, but also offer deep sea fishing excursions, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, glass bottom boat tours, swimming with dolphins, beaches, great restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and sunsets you can't imagine. Many of the Keys have fun things to do specific only to them.
Big Pine Key
Big Pine Key is the home of the Key Deer, a small deer that lives only in the keys and predominantly ONLY on this island. So, when you're driving between islands and the speed limit DROPS on Big Pine Key? It's because of the deer. Also, there's an old quarry that has been turned into the only fresh water lake in the keys, called Blue Hole. This is home to multiple types of fish, alligators, lizards, and the deer. A quick visit to this spot, and you will have a good chance of seeing them all.
Islamorada
This island has the Theater of the Sea, which in my opinion, rivals Sea World for its animal acts and aquariums. Also, the Beach Boys song, Kokomo? It was written here. The bar in the song is based on a bar that USED to exist where the Tiki Hut Bar currently is...but look at the surrounding views, and you'll see what inspired the song! The view, the atmosphere...it's all beautiful.
Our favorite place to eat and hang out on Islamorada, however, was Lorelei's Cabana Bar. While eating, you're right up on the ocean, wild egrets walk around while you eat, and fun islandy live music plays nightly. Also, they serve a mean Key Lime Pie drink, modeled after the Keys' famous desert.
Although, a close second favorite is the Hungry Tarpon. Also right on the water, this has good food and is in the same parking lot as a small island flea market selling keys souvenirs. The place is named after the HUGE tarpon fish that fill the waters around the restaurant. You can buy food to feed the tarpons from the piers. Only, be careful, those things JUMP!
Key Largo
Renamed to "Key Largo" AFTER the famous Humphrey Bogart movie, this island has some good nightlife spots including the dive bar, "The Caribbean Club," made famous as the inspiration and filming location of Bogart's movie.
Key Largo also has John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which is one of those locations mentioned above where you can snorkel, scuba, and parasail, among many other activities. It is actually known as America's only underwater park! One of the diving sight=seeing stops that should be on your list while visiting the park? The Christ of the Abyss statue can be found below Key Largo.
Many of the dolphin swim places are in Key Largo, like Dolphin Cove. There's also the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center which lets you view many species of birds while walking a wooden boardwalk thick in the dense mangrove forest. There's a side trail that goes to the shore in which I saw the most amazing sunsets of my life!
Christ of the Abyss by David Smith
Key West
Key West has lots to do, so this is a good spot to choose the hop on/hop off transportation buses. Besides the sites, you'll get to hear all of the history. You can tour Ernest Hemmingway's House, the first Pan Am headquarters (which is a tiny house), a shipwreck museum, and spot a small rental cabin that Robert Frost rented while writing his poetry.
If you like touring the old houses of the rich and famous besides those of authors, you can tour the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens, the one-time residence of famous ornithologist John James Audubon or Harry S. Truman's "Little White House," his home away from THE White House during his presidency.
Landmarks include "Mile Marker 0" aka the end of Highway 1 and the "Southern Most Point" for the continental US buoy. Also, be sure to be in Mallory Square for the sunset celebrations which take on a street festival meets carnival atmosphere complete with fire eaters, jugglers and other street performers. One of the most famous places to eat, that locals have been frequenting for years (including Hemmingway) is Sloppy Joe's Bar. Good food in general, but "when in Rome"...get the sloppy Joe!
Sloppy Joe's
Mile Marker 0
Duval Street, Flooded
Ernest Hemingway's House
Robert Frost's Rental Cottage
Custom House Museum
Pan Am's First Headquarters
Marathon
First of all, a helpful tip? Marathon was the only place that had normal places to shop, like grocery stores. Marathon is a city that spans multiple islands of the Keys. The Dolphin Research Center is in Marathon on Grassy Key and has plenty of animals to see besides just dolphins, like sea lions, manatees, and birds. Plus there's a fun splash pad and many educational shows and dolphin performances. You can even meet the dolphins up close. There's also a sea turtle rescue called Turtle Hospital and Rehabilitation Center that can be toured.
No Name Key
This is a really small island. The one factor that pulled me in was the famous, or infamous, "No Name Pub." Don't let the name fool you, this was good fun for the whole family and is known nationwide for its pizza...some of the best you will EVER have. Also, since the Keys is where Key Lime Pie comes from, this place is also known for its exceptional Key lime pie. Dollar bills hang on EVERY square inch of this place's walls and dangle from the ceiling with notes from previous customers, the waitress said this money is estimated around $100,000.
This pub used to have a reputation of being almost impossible to find and so had major cool factor in saying you'd been there because that meant you'd FOUND it. In today's world of GPS, it's admittedly easier to find, but no less cool!
