I am often asked how I have chosen the top 10 list, that I put up on my blog.  While in college I found it much easier to create a list when I started studying for a test or writing a term paper. Knowing that it is easy to understand why I create a top ten list, now as to how do I decide what goes on the list, simply put it is things I would like to do or have done in the  Florida Keys.  I have chosen things on this list either because I have come across them while studying for certifications, personal experience, research, or client recommendations. Each of the item on the top 10 has a link, which will open a new window for more information.  

Let us know what you think of our list in the comments below the list

1. Fishing

The 125-mile-long arc of islands that comprises the Florida Keys creates a fishing environment unique in the world, and means a noteworthy or at least edible catch is possible virtually any time of year.

Florida Bay, edged by the “inner” curve of the Keys and the Florida mainland, is referred to locally as the backcountry, home to five of the most sought-after game fish among recreational anglers: bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish (red drum) and snook.

 2. Ernest Hemingway Home

In this family, we love two things most of all, a road trip and touring historic houses.  There is just something about abiding in an old place.  Ernest Hemingway’s Key West Home is not the most majestic place we have ever seen, but it was interesting.  The layout is my perfect dream of a beach house with that wrap around double porch where every window is a floor to ceiling door.

 3. Dry Tortugas National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park was the place I was most looking forward to visiting during our trip to the Florida Keys. I first discovered it in a photograph. It was an aerial picture, giving a bird’s eye view of the six-sided historic Fort Jefferson, so large that it nearly filled the entire island

 4. History of Diving Museum

he Florida Keys History of Diving Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, displaying and interpreting artifacts, antiques, books, documents, photographs and oral history relative to the History of Diving. We tell the international story of man’s attempts to explore, understand and venture under the sea. We also celebrate the special role that South Florida and the Florida Keys played in this untold story.

 5.  Dolphin Research Center

A professional fisherman named Milton Santini was the first person to deal with dolphins on Grassy Key. As early as the 1940s, he caught dolphins for other marine mammal parks and aquariums as well as for private individuals. His experience with marine mammals led Santini to build the “Santini’s Porpoise Training School” on Grassy Key in 1958 and to train dolphins. Milton Santini is considered a pioneer in the field of dolphin training and keeping.

 6.  Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square

Today’s blog is all about the spectacular sunsets you can expect to see on your visit to Key West. We will take you on a visual tour starting with sunsets captured from a tower deck to the world famous Mallory Square Sunset Celebration in Key West. The Marker is just steps from the Historic Seaport and a short walk to Mallory Square where you will experience a stunning light show at sea ~ a Key West Sunset Celebration:

 7. Margaritaville

There is a little island nestled between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, a tropical oasis that transports you to a place where time slows down, and your adventurous side revs up. Where you can lobster fish by day and bar hop by night…and where nightmares of deadlines and to-do’s become daydreams of pina coladas and suntans

 8. Key West Film Festival

The Key West Film Festival—where passion meets paradise—is an annual celebration of contemporary cinema in a historically rich, artistically vibrant, and culturally diverse island community.

KWFF strives to showcase the best of Florida filmmaking talent, while highlighting visiting filmmakers and industry leaders through discussions and workshops, with access to some of the biggest names in the film business. The festival also looks to support the next generation of local student filmmakers with scholarships and other key awards.

 9. Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary 

he history of the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center centers around one woman known as the “Bird Lady”. It is a name that our founder, Laura Quinn, earned over the years as she created a natural legacy rescuing and rehabilitating wild birds. Originally a statistician and mathematics teacher, Quinn always loved nature. She and her husband were sailors, eventually relocating to a home in Lower Matecumbe. When asked about her time on the boat, she said, “I’d get bored on the boat. I tried to knit or crochet, but woodworking seemed to be the thing I could do that was okay to get wet.” To counter her boredom, Laura began carving native birds that she encountered in the Keys.

 10. Cruise the Seven-Mile Bridge

No need to be scared. Go ahead and drive over the Seven Mile Bridge. It’s modern now.

Finished in 1982, the longest bridge in the Florida Keys is wide enough to give a motoristroom to pull over to change a flat tire and steal many glances at the perfectly green water.

The original bridge I grew up crossing was less friendly, narrow and harrowing, requiring concentration and a good grip on the steering wheel as you left Marathon Key on your way to Key West and suddenly found yourself driving over the ocean. Smart drivers kept eyes on the oncoming traffic instead of nature. The bridge seemed too constricted for two passing cars.