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Our top ten things to do in Florida Keys

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.

Paul Graham

Thank you for visiting the website and our blog. I love to research travel destinations and the fun things to do while there. I will use this blog to share the things I find interesting and helpful, the majority of the article will be by others. I will credit them and share a link to their work in the post here. I have been married to Mary since June 1999 we have four children and currently 4 dogs (3 St Bernards, and 1 Small Terrier, 1 Cat, 1 turtle

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Paul's Top 10 - 05/23/2021

DESTINATION: Florida Keys

From our friends at the Monroe County Tourist Development Council

Key West

Located closer to Cuba than to Miami, Key West is Florida’s irreverent southernmost subtropical paradise, a unique confluence of history, climate, natural beauty, cultural diversity, architecture and unabashed romantic appeal.

Palm-lined streets with gingerbread mansions and tin-roofed conch houses were home to Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost and Jimmy Buffett, a few of the famous people who discovered solace and inspiration in the island city whose Bahamian and Cuban heritage in large part was inspired by Bahamian wreckers, commercial fishermen, spongers and Cuban cigar makers.

Residents and visitors to the island actively participate in sightseeing, diving, fishing, watersports, golf and shopping by day, and then become part of the sunset celebration held each evening at Mallory Square, when tightrope walkers, jugglers and animal acts perform before the fiery sun settling into the Gulf of Mexico.

At night, streets filled with sidewalk cafes, open-air bars, legendary pubs and world-class restaurants with island specialties come alive. Drama, musicals and comedy flourish on local stages.

Lower Keys

Where the Florida Keys island chain takes a graceful westerly turn toward the sunset, the Lower Keys are home to two national wildlife refuges, a national marine sanctuary and a state park, and are surrounded by a marine environment filled with abundant terrestrial and marine wildlife.

This quiet region of small islands is connected from the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge at Sunshine Key, mile marker (MM) 40, to Stock Island at MM 5, by community resilience, family-owned resorts, RV parks, campgrounds, quaint B&B’s and licensed vacation homes, as well as eclectic restaurants, native wildernesses and rich history.

Along your road trip explore Little Duck Key and Veterans Memorial Park, a perfect family stop for its sandy beach, picnic areas and pet-friendliness.

A mile further southwest is Ohio Key and Sunshine Key RV Camping Resort, with pool, family restaurant and modern amenities.

Near MM 37 is Bahia Honda State Park and Recreation Area, whose white sandy beaches and abundant wildlife frequently earn the area “one of the most beautiful beaches in America” accolade.

Shop, dine or explore the National Key Deer Refuge, a large expanse of mostly undeveloped pinelands where the diminutive Key Deer live, when you reach Big Pine Key at MM 33.

Or, venture out to the freshwater habitat of the Blue Hole or No Name Key for a backcountry kayak adventure.

Marathon

Marathon is one of the Keys’ most marine-friendly cities with nearly 1,200 wet slips, 1,200 dry slips and major facilities to accommodate transient cruisers.

Marathon City Marina, considered the Keys’ jewel for cruisers, administers 226 mooring balls and has limited dockage. Both mooring balls and dockage are available by the day, week or month.

There are also special mooring and managed anchorage fields in Boot Key Harbor as part of a statewide environmental protection pilot program. Boats on a mooring ball do pay a fee.

Other features include two dinghy docks, storage, private showers and bathroom facilities, social center, coin-operated laundry and parking.

Islamorada

Perhaps the world’s highest density of professional offshore charter boats with tournament-grade captains can be found in Islamorada, a village of islands where backcountry sport fishing and saltwater fly fishing were pioneered.

Highly skilled recreational fishing guides ply their trade here, in the style of legendary fishing figures Ted Williams, Jimmy Albright and Cecil Keith.

Islamorada may be the only place on Earth where it is possible to catch a sailfish offshore and pursue bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook and redfish in just inches of water in the backcountry, all in the same day.

Islamorada is, however, much more than sport fishing capital of the world.

Travelers on group tours through the Florida Keys — multi-generation families, reunions, seniors, foreign or special interest groups — can find unique experiences, soft adventure and quality.

In Islamorada, permanent and traveling exhibits featured at the Keys History & Discovery Center incorporate the first Florida Keys inhabitants, shipwrecks and salvage, Keys pioneering families, sportfishing legends, Henry Flagler’s Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad, and reflect upon nature, art or history of the Keys.

Key Largo

Key Largo, the first and northernmost of the Florida Keys, is an hour’s drive from South Florida’s two major airports, and a world away.

Home to tropical hardwoods, winding creeks, two state parks, a national park and a portion of a national marine sanctuary, Key Largo boasts some of the most fascinating botanical scenery in the state.

Accommodations from small family-owned properties to vacation homes and condominiums or large resorts are available for all tastes.

Visitors can enjoy Key Largo’s ties to the sea including scuba diving, snorkeling, an underwater hotel, sport fishing, eco-tours, beaches and dolphin encounter programs. The island also offers numerous on-shore attractions including nature trails and a rehabilitation center for wild birds.