Need the LR's Help: FL Keys

[mbFSU7]

My wife will be traveling to South Florida for work. Since she has a free flight there and back I'm thinking about flying down myself to meet her and spending a long weekend at the Keys. We'd have 3 full days (Sat, Sun, Mon) in mid July.

Neither of us have been to the Keys. Is it worth the trip? 3 days enough time? Any must-see/do things? We like to be pretty active during the day (kayaking, snorkeling, etc), but neither of us are into fishing.

TIA.

 

[SWFNole]

My wife will be traveling to South Florida for work. Since she has a free flight there and back I'm thinking about flying down myself to meet her and spending a long weekend at the Keys. We'd have 3 full days (Sat, Sun, Mon) in mid July.

Neither of us have been to the Keys. Is it worth the trip? 3 days enough time? Any must-see/do things? We like to be pretty active during the day (kayaking, snorkeling, etc), but neither of us are into fishing.

TIA.

In short, yes.

 

[KeysNole]

Make sure it's not the last week in July. That's mini season. It's a zoo.

In terms of what you want, Key West or Islamorada are going to be your best options.

 

[Imtotallynottribe]

Make sure it's not the last week in July. That's mini season. It's a zoo.

In terms of what you want, Key West or Islamorada are going to be your best options.

Is Islamorada recovered from Hurricane Irma? I haven’t been back since the Hurricane and I know it got hit pretty hard. I know Robbie’s in particular got tore up and that was one of my favorite stopoffs.

 

[gwgwi]

Is Islamorada recovered from Hurricane Irma? I haven’t been back since the Hurricane and I know it got hit pretty hard. I know Robbie’s in particular got tore up and that was one of my favorite stopoffs.

Yes but places on the east side are gone. There in March.

 

[JohnnieHolmesNole]

Keys are fine as long as you adjust your expectations accordingly. “Keys Disease” is real, and it infects tons of the service workers you encounter in resorts, hotels and restaurants. It is fine as long as you too have adopted the “no problem mon” mindset. But if you are going down there thinking the customer service will match your local country club, you may be disappointed.

 

[squiffynole]

As a two-time resident I will say the majority of the land side development sucks while all of the water side is phenomenal.

 

[FSUDoles]

My wife will be traveling to South Florida for work. Since she has a free flight there and back I'm thinking about flying down myself to meet her and spending a long weekend at the Keys. We'd have 3 full days (Sat, Sun, Mon) in mid July.

Neither of us have been to the Keys. Is it worth the trip? 3 days enough time? Any must-see/do things? We like to be pretty active during the day (kayaking, snorkeling, etc), but neither of us are into fishing.

TIA.

We're heading down to Islamorada in a little under two weeks. We found a gem there (Oceanside) between The Islander and The Cheeca Lodge. There will be a boat (free docking and ice) in our group so we'll definitely hit the sandbar off of Holiday Isle at least once. There are snorkeling charters, you can rent paddle boards on the back water, you can hang by the pool....plenty to do other than fish...although we do have a half day charter during our stay. Islamorada sounds like it fared fairly well....easy drive from South Florida...it you avoid Miami rush hour. Here's the link to the place we booked....the rates don't change anytime during the year...and you can walk to quite a few restaurants, no driving necessary.

http://www.thecaribbeanresort.com

These places are within walking distance and survived Irma....all solid, and no driving required-

Green Turtle Inn
Morada Bay (great for a drink at Sunset)
Lorelei (good place for a beer and the Sunset)
Islamorada Shrimp Shack
Island Grill (temporary home after their original location got hit hard)
Pierre's (pricey)
Mangrove Mikes (breakfast place)

 

[runkpanole]

We visited my wife's family in Key West in the fall. Key West itself wasn't hit that bad. Sugarloaf, Big Pine, Marathon got rocked pretty good but they seem to be coming back. If you go to Key West I recommend hitting up El Siboney, Hogfish on Stock Island. If you happen to want good craft beer go to The Porch at the corner of Caroline and Duval. There are a couple of microbreweries on the Island (Bone Island and I think Key West Beer Company) that are ok. The Key West Beer Company or whatever it is called has a beautiful view. El Misson on Mallory has good Cuban food as well.

Like someone else said, if you are going the last week of July, it will be a zoo for the 2 day mini lobster season and it will be hot as hell.

 

[mbFSU7]

Thanks for the feedback. We'll be there the 2nd week of July. Anyone been out to Dry Tortugas? It looks interesting but I'm not sure about a 5 hour ferry ride (2.5 each way) to spend 4 hours on the island. Worth the day trip?

 

[seminoledq]

We've always gone back and forth about the ferry out to Dry Tortugas. I think we are going to hold off on the trip until we save up to fly out there and back so we can maximize our time out there.

3 days isn't nearly enough to do it all but it will give you a great first taste. I have always wanted to spend some time in Islamorada or Marathon but inevitably we end up in Key West for our entire trip. Robbie's looks to be back in action judging from what I see on their social media. We stop there every trip on our way to KW.

Snorkeling at John Pennecamp State Park in Key Largo is money but I don't know about much else there. If you decide on KW I can give a lot more info about places we've enjoyed.

 

[Scalphunter]

I always enjoyed this snorkeling trip out of Key West. Go snorkeling on the reef and on the way back imbibe on adult beverages. Looks like now days there are several different kinds of snorkeling trips they offer.

https://www.furycat.com/

 

[seminoledq]

I always enjoyed this snorkeling trip out of Key West. Go snorkeling on the reef and on the way back imbibe on adult beverages. Looks like now days there are several different kinds of snorkeling trips they offer.

https://www.furycat.com/

I second going out with Fury when in Key West. They offer a number of different day and half-day trips.

 

[Nole Daddy]

I love the Keys and go every year. Food places I love are Brutus in Marathon; El Siboney in Key West; Geiger Marina mile marker 8; The Hog Fish Stock Island.

@PortaJohn took us to Garbo Tacos in Key West( a food truck) and I had some of the best fish tacos I have ever eaten.

 

[noleit]

There's more to do in Key West. Islamorada is more of a charter fishing village but still worthy of one of your nights.

 

[jim65]

El Siboney (YES) No Name Pub (YES) Blue Heaven (YES) there is a kayaking place just as you get into Key West, think it was big dog or lazy dog or some kind of dog, reasonable prices

 

[Dr. Nole]

If in islamorada and want a fancy dinner check out Chef Michaels (for fish) and Ziggys (for steak)
Sushi at Cheeca Lodge...I think they are open again after Hurricane Irma.

If want to really see some interesting local action...check out the OV

 

[Scalphunter]

El Siboney (YES) No Name Pub (YES) Blue Heaven (YES) there is a kayaking place just as you get into Key West, think it was big dog or lazy dog or some kind of dog, reasonable prices

I used to live next door to the No Name Pub when I lived on Big Pine Key in the early 90's. Neat place off the beaten touristy path. They had outstanding pizza and conch fritters.

http://nonamepubestore.com/pub/pages/about-us/aboutpub/