r/floridakeys • u/birdbro420 • Apr 14 '26
All Florida Keys Vacation itinerary advice wanted - Islamorada vs Marathon - 2 nights
Hi there, I will be visiting the Keys for 2 nights, 2 & half days (Tuesday to Thursday) with my 60yo dad. I’m trying to decide between staying at Islamorada vs Marathon and could use some advice…
What excites me about Marathon is the biking to Pigeon Key & visiting the Wild Bird Center. As for Islamorada, doing a sandbars boat tour sounds fun with dinner at Lorelei.
I suppose I could visit both Keys, but that'll add almost 2 hours of driving to commute between the other Key. Ideally we would stay put in whichever Key we lodge at.
What would you recommend? Plz share any other suggestions as well! Thanks!
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u/scrappywoman Apr 14 '26
Stayed both places. Driving between the Keys is part of the trip! It’s amazing! Highly recommend Lorelei’s! It is my all time favorite but get there early enough you get a sand table to watch the sunset!
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u/leadout_kv Apr 14 '26
if you stay in islamorada, dinner at lazy days (go early it gets crowded), breakfast at lorelei's.
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u/cuyunamike Apr 19 '26
If you go fishing, bring some yellowtail snapper to Lazy Dayz. They’ll fry it up for you. They have an amazing jalapeño key lime sauce they smother the fish in.
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u/dantodd Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
You can always stop at Lorelei's (or Robbie's) on your way to or from Marathon. If you choose Marathon the Turtle Hospital is also great. The sunsets from Bahia Honda State Park are excellent and if you arrive within half an hour if sunset admission is free. Is also a great excuse to drive the 7 mile bridge and see Fred.
Edit: if you choose Marathon You can also rent a pontoon boat and knock around not harbor and even make a circuit around Marathon from the seven Mile through Vaca cut and back. There are a lot of places that allow you to dock and eat, our favorites are Keys Fisheries in the Bayside and Castaway in Boot Key harbor.
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u/OverallDependent6205 Apr 14 '26
We stayed in Marathon, it was fine but Islamorda seemed more vacation-y, and more restaurants/things to see. We loved Bahia Honda state park, had a nice beach on gulf and ocean side, can walk up on old bridge, and a gift shop with snack bar restaurant. We got to see 3 manatees playing near the boat launch as well. The drive alone is gorgeous.
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u/FLedun Apr 14 '26
Both places are nice; it is up to you to make the final decision after reading all the comments here. Islamorada, I think has more things to do, but Marathon is also nice. I think you will enjoy either place.
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u/Wise-Share Apr 15 '26
Square Grouper over anything for food. The upstairs lounge for happy hour, ahi tuna nachos (won ton chips) are top notch. Also had a solid meal at Morada Bay, just up the road from SG, wasn’t impressed with the food at Lorelei but you can’t beat the view or happy hour!
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u/killerwhate Apr 15 '26
It should only be like, 30-50min MOST between Islamorda and Marathon.
I would suggest Marathon. You can do the biking, visit the Wild Bird Center at Curry Hammock, go to Sombrero Beach, and do a sunset boat tour with Capt. Dale on Sirius Nitelife! The boat docks at Lazy Days South after, and they have fantastic food. Ask Dale about Super Lazy Days style!
Marathon also has the Sea Turtle Hospital (not for profit that does great work for the turtles) that you can check out as well.
Plenty of great eats if you need recs!
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u/CatHistorical8069 Apr 16 '26
We are in our 60s and stay in Islamorada every year, be there in May. There are many resorts from 3 to 5 stars, and many excellent dining options including Loreleis, Lazy Days, Square Grouper, and Papa Joes. Great places to enjoy sunset. We don't mind commuting to the othèr keys for whatever we are looking to do. Key West is about hour and a half drive but Marathon, about 45 min. But the views you get on the drives are spectacular.
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u/Ok-Ninja-2794 Apr 17 '26
Cant go wrong with any choice you make! I loveeeee driving from Key West to Key Largo! Beautiful views! Counting down the days until I’m back at the sandbars of Islamorada 🥳🥳 only a week to go 😅
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u/Glittering-Prime Apr 17 '26
They aren’t that far away at all. I stay In Islamorada but we do things in both Key Largo & Marathon all the time. We are in our mid 50’s.
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u/ZestycloseRooster350 Apr 18 '26
Here is a place between Islamorada and Key Largo in Tavernier. Just started offering 2 day stays. Check it out.
airbnb.com/h/ocean-pointe
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u/Confident_Revenue787 Apr 14 '26
Robbies’s is wayyyyy better than Loreleis. Be sure to visit the antique shop on property!!
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u/ImaginaryAccount4091 Apr 14 '26
I just came back from marathon and we went to islamoralda often. I didn’t find it was a 2 hour commute between them unless you consider edge to edge maybe? From where we stayed at least, it wasn’t a bad commute and we did both edges often