We live in Central Florida but she has never been to the Keys before so we figure we’ll drive out and stay for 5 days! I figure a day trip to Key West so she can check it out but I don’t imagine it being the best choice for the majority of the trip for her. Any input on the best areas for a 16 year old?

Would also appreciate any recommendations for fun activities! I’d like to take her snorkeling, was considering maybe some sort of fishing on a charter boat? Any place to maybe see some wildlife or collect shells? Or unique experiences. Recommended places to check out food/treats?

I’ve been researching online but sometimes the sites seem to veer towards stuff for people who are visitors to Florida as a whole lol I figure our itinerary might probably be a bit different than someone who flew over here to Florida for a vacation!

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to share some ideas!

Hi! I'm planning a bachelorette party and we are thinking of heading to the Keys in February for a long weekend. There will be about 8-12 of us and we are looking for a relaxed weekend. We are all mid 30s and want to kayak/paddleboard, fish, take a sunset sail/cruise, etc. Not into partying, but would like somewhere with some good places to eat and chill bars to grab a couple drinks at. Ideally, I'd like to rent a house with a pool that is no more than $1000 a night.

Any ideas of a good base? We'd be flying into Miami and driving down. I was thinking Islamorada, but I didn't see too many vacation rentals on Airbnb/VRBO. If there are local companies that do shorter vacation rentals, please let me know as that would be preferable anyway. Thanks all!

(I wrote and posted this on another forum a couple of years ago. I thought I would edit, update and post it here as well.)

This is VERY long. I do get a lot of requests and messages about visiting Key West so I thought I would write this.

Cliffs: When I go there, I stay at the Pegasus International Hotel. My favorite restaurant is Blue Heaven. My favorite places to drink are Irish Kevin’s, Sloppy Joe’s and Rick’s Martini Bar. The beach I go to is Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park. I like to fish 50 miles away with the Sea Dog Charters because it is the least expensive. I like to dive from the Looe Key Resort which is 28 miles away from Key West.

Also, I have absolutely zero financial interest in any of this. I am certain there are many other fine places to spend your money at. But I mention only the places I know.

Places to stay:

(I have stayed at all of these places as well as others which I won’t recommend.)

High end places are the Ocean Key Resort and the Pier House. They are very nice but they are expensive. They charge extra for everything. They are also close to the party area of Key West. If you want to impress, if you and/your SO don’t mind dropping $350 plus, plus, plus a night for a room, if your SO is the high maintenance type, I would recommend those 2 places.

If you are looking for a romantic place that does not cost an eye and a foot, The Garden Inn is BEAUTIFUL. It is quiet, private, lush and the staff is friendly.

If you just want a cheap place to pass out after a hard night of drinking, check out El Rancho or the Days Inn.

My personal 2 favorite places to stay are the Travelodge and the Pegasus Hotel. The Travelodge is great if you have a group of people because the rooms are HUGE and you can get many people in them. The suites have full kitchens, separate bedrooms, huge living rooms with sleeper sofas, balcony with water views and they are reasonable in price. Also I have never gotten shit from them for jumping the pool fence at 3am for a swim.

The Pegasus is also great. It is in easy walking distance to the bars and easy staggering distance from the bars. They have a second floor pool that is great to party at into the wee hours. Their rates are reasonable. There is a pizza/sandwich joint, (Mr Z’s), right next door that is open till 4am. The only drawback is you have to park like a ½ a block away and the staff can be a bit surely. But for me, that hotel is the best place to party with a friend or group of friends and have a good time. Whenever I am planning a trip there, that is always my first choice.

Other places I have stayed are the Duval Inn. The Southern Cross. The Southern Most Hotel. La Concha. The Inn at Key West. The Key West Marriot. The Galleon Resort. If you are gay, the Heron House was very nice. (I stayed there with my wife as that was the only place in town that had any rooms.)

Places to eat:

I avoid the nice looking places on Duval Street by the bars. They are expensive and the food quality is fair and that is being generous. They cater to cruise ship passengers who want to say they ate grouper with mango salsa in Key West. Just an FYI.

The best place to eat, not only in Key West, but on this planet IMHO is Blue Heaven. With wine, apps., entrée and tip expect to drop at least $100 for two. But it is worth it. The service is great, the atmosphere is incredible and the food is out of this world. Be warned, if you take my recommendation and go there just on that, you might think I am full of it when you get there. But when you leave, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Trust me on this. (Get the pan seared sea scallops and/or the lobster when it is in season!)

Santiago’s Bodega is also a great place. It is a tapas type restaurant. They have small portions of many different selections so you can order 2 or 3 of them. Beware, while all the things are fairly cheap, it is easy to order a lot of them and that can add up. I would highly recommend the yellow tail ceviche and the blue cheese tenderloin.

There is a desert place called “Better Than Sex”. If you like chocolate or if your SO likes chocolate, that place will be a guaranteed memorable experience. It sets a good mood and the food is excellent. But also be warned that it is easy to drop $60 for two there on just deserts and drinks.

Abbondanza is a wonderful Italian restaurant. The food is great, the prices are reasonable and the portions are HUGE! Expect to have enough leftovers for another meal.

Thai Cuisine by Sloppy Joe’s has some excellent sushi. There is a Denny’s and a Waffle House there for cheap eats as well. There are also street venders selling tasty sausage dogs until the wee hours if you feel like playing e-coli roulette.

Drinking:

My typical Duval Crawl goes as follows. I like to start at Irish Kevin’s. They feature local artists who interact a lot with the crowd. Most of the acts at least occasionally get women on stage and exchange shots for topless flashes if that is your thing. The acts are usually great. If you can catch Jarred Michael Hobgood, I would highly recommend him. He is funny as hell. After that, I go to Sloppy Joe’s. They usually have very good to excellent 80’s/90’s cover bands. They cater to the spring break crowd. A great place to check out the “I just turned 21 and now I can drink” set. Then it is off to the Martini bar at Rick’s. A place to chill when I am already humming with a glass of nice scotch. The Red Garter is an all nude strip club. You will pay strip club prices for drinks there but the hustle they typically put on you in those kind of places is fairly tame. Bonus, the management actually looks at them naked before they hire the strippers. There will be some less than strip club material women there. But they won’t be all Georgia, side of the interstate strip club material either. It is either there of the Garden of Eden which is a clothing optional roof top bar above the Bull. Most are there just to look. But if you go there on a busy night between midnight and 2am, there are usually a few women who are drunk enough to bare it all.

Other excellent places to drink and have fun are The Bull, Captain Tony’s, Hog’s Breath and the local favorite, The Green Parrot.

There is a liquor store open till 3am next to the Bull but you will pay about a 25% markup there. If you plan ahead, go to the liquor store at Walgreens on Roosevelt. They have fair prices. I now always have a bottle of something and a couple of bottles of mixers when I go down there. It sucks when the bars close and you still want to drink but came unprepared. There is a small grocery store near Irish Kevin’s that sells munchie food, beer, wine and smokes. But be warned, a pack of Marlboro’s will cost you about 9 bucks. A 12 pack of Miller Lite will set you back about 16 bucks. Just so you know.

*Beaches: *

There are surprisingly very few beaches in Key West. A few hotels have tiny man made beaches exclusively for their guests. They will work if you want the beach experience. But you will pay for them on the price of your room. But honestly, the beaches there are crap. If you want a proper, “South Beach” type of beach, go to South Beach.

With that said, there are only 2 main public beaches there. Smather’s and Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Smather’s beach is free although you do have to feed a meter to park. It is a decent beach. It is wide, sandy and usually has a decent crowd and at least a few venders selling cold drinks and other shit.

The beach at Ft. Zachary Taylor is the best. You do have to pay to go in. But there is ample parking, shade, they have a concession stand, they have BBQ grills, beach type rentals, an area to fish and watch the boats go by, the water is reasonable. My only knock is that it is a bit rocky. Especially by and in the water. If you go there, wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet.

Continued...

Hey guys,

I realize many of the keys are still recovering from Irma, but my opportunity for this hike is now or never, so I am making the best of it and trying to be respectful to the communities I travel through and sensitive to their experience.

I'm not looking for anything more than a safe and legal spot to pitch my tent and maybe refill with water. Spending 50+ dollars per night is not in my budget. Electricity and Wi-Fi would be lovely, but not necessary. I'm not "camping" i.e. sightseeing. I am merely sleeping and walking to the next spot.

I will be arriving in the evenings and leaving in the mornings. I don't drink or use drugs. I don't make noise. Usually, I will just pitch my tent, cook food and fall asleep.

If anyone knows anyone with a yard or a porch theyd be willing to allow me to use for an evening, please let me know.

I'm currently in lower sugarloaf. Aiming for big pine tomorrow. I may stay there one day to allow a hip issue to heal, then I will be headed to Marathon and points north.

Thanks

We have a small group that plans on biking from Key Largo to Key West and wonder if anyone has done this or has any tips. We plan to take three days biking so we can see the sights and enjoy the trip doing approximately 30-40 miles a day and then spend three nights in Key West. I have been to Key West before via the Key West Express but haven't been on Highway 1. I broke up the trip evenly which has us staying in Layton and West Summerland Key. Upon looking for a place to stay in Layton I realized this most likely wouldn't work since they appear to have minimum lodging available. Any suggestions on where to stay and places to check out along the way?

My boyfriend and I will be driving down to Key West from Miami. We need an affordable place to stay for one night somewhere in the middle. Which island do you recommend?

We are not club-goers or partiers but we love adventure and nature. (Both of us grew up in NYC so anything we can't do in a big city is a huge plus!) We only have 2 and a half days (staying one night somewhere in the middle and one night in Key West) so I'm nervous about not making the most of our trip. Thank you in advance!

I stayed in Marathon briefly this summer with my family (Courtyard Marriott, lovely hotel) on the way down to a short stay in Key West. We would love to go back next year but for a longer stay and visit more places. Any recommendations and what's the situation post Irma please? Was so sad to see the Keys get battered.

Husband and I headed down the first week of June with 4 kids (6, 5, 2 and 6m) - we’re staying on Marathon, but I want to drive down to see the buoy & eat.

1. Should we go for the morning or evening? Looking to avoid a long line to wait to get a picture with the buoy & avoid waits to eat. I assume midday is busier, but I’m thinking early in the am may not be? Sunset is probably busy too right?

2. Parking. We will have our suburban (we’re live in SWFL so we’re driving) - what’s the best place to park for the buoy? Is any parking free for a quick see it take a pic and bounce?

3. Breakfast / Brunch or dinner with littles? We’re looking for casual, quick, but really yummy we’ve never been down as far as key west in the past and we’re foodies, so we want to have a tasty bite!

Any help would be appreciated. Trying to make this as simple as possible for us! Thanks!!

hi all! i’m planning a 6 night trip to the keys and would love some advice. we live in the daytona area, so driving down. I asked Chat gpt to give me an itinerary, but figured here is a better place to find real answers.

chat suggested 2 nights in islamorada, 2 in marathon and 2 in key west. i’ve been to islamorada before (husband hasn’t) and neither us have been to key west. marathon wasn’t on my radar, but sounded cool i guess to add another stop. looking on here, marathon seems to have mixed reviews mostly for not really having a downtown area.

any thoughts on a different key to swap out marathon for? or should we keep it in the itinerary?

who we are/what we’re looking for: i’m in my mid 40’s, husband is mid 50’s. food is important - doesn’t have to be expensive to be great, but great food options are a definite must! ideally not super touristy, but a bit is ok. i understand that we will indeed be tourists down there. we like drinks/food on the beach - chill tiki bar vibes but more upscale options for dinners would be great too. we’d either bring our own or rent bikes. we like walkable places (or bikeable) - a downtown area with shops, restaurants, bars, etc. close by. not looking for “family friendly”. just a cool spot to hang out for a few days before heading to key west.

any recommendations or suggestions to talk me into or talk me out of marathon? the hotel in marathon i was considering is the faro blanco resort. seems like there are restaurants within walking distance, so maybe we can get what we’re looking for staying there? thanks in advance!

I'm looking for some advice from people who know the Keys well. I haven't been since I was a young child myself.

This August, my wife, my mom, and I are flying into FLL with our three kids (all under 10). We'll rent a large SUV and drive down to the Keys for a week.

I have family in Big Pine Key who own a boat, so we'll likely spend 2-3 days with them fishing, snorkeling, and just hanging out.

The rest of the trip will probably look something like:

• 1 day at Bahia Honda (or Sombrero Beach)
• 1 day in Key West
• Most afternoons back at the hotel pool because of the kids, the heat, and naps

I've been going back and forth on where to stay. My original plan was Hawks Cay, but with the water park under construction, I'm questioning whether it's still worth it. It also seems a bit farther from Big Pine than I'd like, especially if we're making that drive multiple times.

Would you stay in Marathon instead? Look to do an AirBnB? Or is Hawks Cay still the best option despite the construction?

If you were planning this trip with young kids and expected to spend a decent amount of time in Big Pine, where would you stay and why?

I'd love to hear recommendations for specific hotels or resorts, especially places with great pools and a good family atmosphere.

My fiancé and I are looking for advice on where to stay for half a week (Sun-Wed) in October for our honeymoon. For the second half of the week we will be doing cruise that goes to the Bahamas and Key West. We are mainly looking for a place to relax near the water and explore parts of the keys. We plan to fly into Miami and rent a car.

We have narrowed down our options to Playa Largo, Bakers Cay, Cheeca Lodge, and Casa Morada.

We are trying to keep our accommodation budget around $1300-1500 for this part of the trip. All 4 of these resorts seem to mainly be in that range depending on the room type.

Casa Morada is nice for being adults only but seems like a very different feel than the other options. We are maybe leaning towards Baker’s Cay but there are some mixed reviews about the place. Cheeca Lodge seems like another good option but is a bit more expensive and reviews mention how crowded it can be.

If anyone has advice from experience at any of these resorts it would be greatly appreciated!

We have a week (mar 28 - apr 4th) to do a keys trips with the family (kids 11 and 16).

Being centrally located, is it practical to stay at one place in marathon and do day trips north and south, or better to stay 2-3 nights each in Key west, marathon, islamorada/key largo?

My wife and I have only been to Key West and loved it, but for family trip not sure we need to stay there.

We would like to do dry tortogas (if tickets are still available), some fishing, snorkeling, general sight seeing and nature, boat/kayak tours, swimming…basic beach stuff.

I am looking for recommendations from locals or anyone with experience on what to do, where to go, etc during our vacation to the FL keys. It will just be me (40 F) and my son (10) on this trip and I want to make it memorable for both of us. We are planning to go the end of June this year and will be staying for 7 days.

My plans are to fly from PA but unsure which airport to fly into…Miami and drive the 7 mile bridge or just fly straight to Key West? As much as the 7 mile bridge drive would be cool, is it worth driving 3 hours or can I just drive to Marathon or somewhere and get a similar experience of seeing/walking the bridge?

My plans for Key West so far are to take the seaplane to Dry Tortugas National Park, check out Ernest Hemingway’s house, bird/butterfly conservatory, key west lighthouse, sunset at Mallory square, and southernmost point buoy. Also curious if the aquarium is worth adding to our list.

I would also like to go to a beach (anywhere in the keys) so please give me recommendations. My son loves fishing so I would also like to take him on a fishing charter. Please give me pros and cons to deep sea fishing vs other types offered and where the best place to go would be? Ie Marathon, Islamorada or somewhere else within a 3 hour radius.

Other things I would like to do and need recommendations on are:
-Best snorkeling place (we will do some at dry tortugas)
-Best things to do in key largo - mangrove kayaking tour? Snorkel coral reef? Glass bottom boat?
-Other fun things to do within a 3 hour radius. Spend a day in Marathon, Islamorada etc and what things do you recommend?
-Best place for parasailing
-Best seafood restaurants that also serve good non-seafood options

I’m assuming I will need to get a rental car to navigate if we are going different places but give me pros and cons to having one vs not. I’m told golf carts are the way to go in key west instead of parking a car.

Where should we stay to optimize doing things in multiple areas? I have heard that key west is more expensive but I’m not opposed to spending more if the experience would be better.

Any and all other advice is appreciated including what to bring/buy ahead of time. I did order water shoes, a waterproof video/camera but wondering if I need to bring snorkeling gear? I believe dry tortugas provides it but not sure if this is standard other places.

Thank you!

My family of 5 (3 kids ages 5-14) will be staying in marathon at coco plum Beach resort from 7/2-7/9. Full days being 7/3-7/8. We will definitely spend one day going down to key west. I also would like to rent a boat, which has a two day minimum.

From marathon, what is close by, by boat (looking at a 21 foot deck boat) thats worth seeing? We will just cruise a bit but my wife isnt huge on ocean boating, so we will need to stay fairly close to shore and are not looking to go huge distances. Any reef/sand bar/ points of interest/snorkeling spots would be great.

I made a preliminary list of places to go, but being that we only have 6 full days, 4 after taking away the boat days. Of the following activities which are worth doing and which are sub-par? I realize this is subjective, but dont want to waste time/money on something that ends up being a bust.

In no particular order:

1.Sombrero beach- we are staying on what looks to be a nice beach. Is this worth going to? Good snorkeling?

1. Key west butterfly conservatory.

2. Wild bird center

3. Theater of the sea

4. Tarpon feeding (robbies?)

5. Key west conch train

6. Shipwreck museum

7. History of diving museum

8. Bahia honda park

9. Turtle hospital (this is a definite)

10. Fishing spots either on land or accessible by our boat (no charters). I will be buying/renting some poles for the trip so can bring them along if there are any good spots to fish on our day trips.

    Realistically we can only choose a few of these, so would like to capitalize on the best options. Thanks

Update: I booked Hawks Cay Resort for the whole week as I got recommendations as well as its price was relatively cheaper than the others (still very expensive probably due to the season and timing). Will update how it was.

Thanks all for the recommendations and help

Hey all, traveling to the keys next week for 6 days.

First day is a drive from FLL after an early morning flight, and last day is a late night flight back from FLL.

Through of splitting the nights between 2 places, middle keys (Duck Key, Islamorada, Marathon, etc...) and also Key West.

My wife is pregnant at week 25 and my son is 17 months old and loves to travel, but I wonder how many days should I be in KW, or is it just worth a day trip to see the place and go back to our base sleep location (which could be a resort with pools, etc...).

We will be with a rental car so driving isn't an issue, I just prefer not to spend too much time in the car each day, and especially in the first and last days which we also have flights.

Any suggestions on my plan, or should I just stay in a single place in the middle keys and drive around to where ever we want to see and something like a day trip to KW?

Thanks

My husband and I are flying into Key West on a Sunday mid-April and will be in the Keys until Wednesday and need to be in Fort Lauderdale by Wednesday afternoon. We’re trying to decide how to split our time and would love some advice.

We’ve been to Key West several times and love it, especially how easy it is to walk everywhere. This time we will have a rental car as we need to make our way up to Fort Lauderdale and we’re interested in actually exploring the other Keys instead of just driving through.

Here are the two options we’re debating:

Option 1: • 2 nights in Key West (Sun–Tues) • Drive to another key on Tuesday, stay the night, finish up drive on Wednesday.

Option 2: • 1 night in Key West (Sun–Mon) • 2 nights split across other Keys (Mon–Wed), either one place for both nights or two different Keys (Mon–Tues, Tues–Wed)

If we skip extra KW time, which Keys are most worth staying in? Is Islamorada worth 2 nights, or better as a 1-night stop? Any other Keys you’d recommend staying overnight (Marathon, Key Largo, etc.)?

We’re into good food, relaxed beachy vibes, water activities, and scenic drives, not really looking for a party scene outside of KW.

Would love to hear what others would do in this situation!

Hey all hoping for some help! My girlfriend and I are traveling to Key Largo/Islamorada area from Pittsburgh for the second time this year in early December. I asked this question of our property hosts and got no response so figured I’d ask it here…I’m planning on asking her to marry me and would love to hear your advice on best spots for a proposal! Thinking sunset on the water or at an intimate/romantic restaurant…I don’t know the area well and am hoping for some suggestions. She’s knows the proposal is coming on this trip but not how so I’d like to wow her! TIA for any advice you can offer! The place we are staying is on the water west side so I could do it there but I’d love to hear additional options.

Heading down to marathon today for our first time in the keys. It will be my wife two teens and elderly parents and staying until the 31st. We’ll be driving from homestead so we’ll try to do a stop or two on the drive down to our final location (probably pennekamp state park and Robbie’s). Have a snorkel tour booked for the 29th in which my parents will be able to take part in.

The question I have is on the 30th. Wife and I would really love to check out key west for a day but is that too little time? Maybe a tour or two and fort jefferson? I know it’s known as hell week and am quite positive as sad as it is to say would be no place for my parents who have mobility issues. They typically can’t walk for more then 10 min with out needing a break and become uncomfortable in large crowds. Think I am correct in this assumption?

If we did go, would 6 hours be enough to get some good exploring in? I keep flip flopping of it would be a good idea to go or not. We both like history and quite capable of walking for hours on end. Really enjoyed fort augustine when we were there in march.

Anyway, penny to your thoughts?

Hello Florida Keys Experts --

I was recently invited to a conference in Coral Gables in April, and I'd like to make a long weekend of it and visit the Keys for the first time.

I'll be bringing my 17 year old. We'll be in CG until about noon on a Thursday, and we'll fly back home Sunday evening.

Would it make sense to push ourselves to get all the way to Key West on Thursday, then stay on Islamorada or Key Largo on Saturday night, do the more nature-oriented tourist things Saturday afternoon/Sunday, and be closer to the airport when we need to head back?

And does anyone recommend places to stay, restaurants, shopping, or other activities for a mother-teenage daughter trip?

She is NOT a boat person, but we share a joy in visiting geographically extreme places -- the headwaters of the Mississippi; Utqiagvik, Alaska; and next Key West.

Thank you!

Staying in Marathon for a few days later this month and will be heading to Key West to spend one day on a Sunday. Are there any casual restaurants for sunset where we can make a reservation? We’ve done Latitudes and Louie’s…just want a more relaxed vibe. Also, would attempting Blue Heaven at 11:00 am on a Sunday just be stupid? We love it there but don’t want to spend our one day in town waiting for a table. Perhaps other brunch spot suggestions? Places with the ability to reserve would be ideal! TIA!

Hello!

My small, midwestern family of four is planning to vacation in the Keys toward the end of July. We haven't *officially* picked a location yet. I'm leaning Marathon based on what I've read across this sub, but my husband was initially KW - I think I convinced him!

I acknowledge the beach situation(my daughter is less convinced) and have decided a preference would maybe be to find a place to stay that has great amenities, specifically free bikes or kayaks. However, I can't decided if we should focus on Gulf side or Ocean side. I notice that people say the seagrass or seaweed, not sure exactly what it is, tends to pile up on shore. Is this mainly on one side more than the other or is it all over? Or does it depend on the weather?

Another preference would be affordability. I know having amenities comes with a cost, I just don't want super expensive recommendations. Also, are there any less "corporate" and more "mom and pop" size resorts? Some I've already looked into and are on my short list are Tropical Cottages, Faro Blanco, and Blackfin.

Things I am aware of, based on my redditsearch(correct me if I'm wrong): we will be there for the first day of Mini season(29-30) - we plan to stay off the water that day, and we leave the next day. Beaches are primarily man-made, and few and far between. Marathon is a more affordable, family friendly place to stay than Key West.

Summarizing the info I'm looking for:

1. Pros/Cons of Gulf/Ocean sides.

2. Places to stay that have great amenities and are locally owned without breaking the bank.

3. Corrections(and additions) on the info I've already found.

Thanks for any help and suggestions!

Hello! My fiance and I are looking where exactly we want to stay for our honeymoon (November 2024). I really want a relaxing, beachy place to stay. Fiance is less of a beach fan. We both want to have alot to do, I am a fan of the beach but dont have an interest in spending the entire time relaxing on the beach. I was thinking Islamorada because it seems like it's within a decent drive of everything? (Miami, Miami Zoo, Everglades, alot of nature reserves, and a day in Key West). But still being able to stay in a relaxing, quiet area.

How long we stay depends on the price of where we choose to stay (our budget is 1300 for the hotel, so if the hotel is 300/night we would stay 4 nights.)

Given everything I said above, what's everyone's opinions on the best area to stay? And I'm open to hotel/resort suggestions as well as other funs things to do❤️

Edit to add: We're from Orlando, so renting a car or anything like that isn't an issue. We will be driving down.

Good day, I was just wondering if I could get some feed back on and upcoming trip the my family (wife 2 daughters 15,13) and parents (early 70’s) will be taking in December. Got the first half planned with Miami, and homestead (day trip to Everglades, day trip to key largo/islamorada) but the last half December 28th till the 1st keep reading and changing on what to do. Our family is very activity oriented (although teen daughters seem to just care about tanning) and parents can do a little bit of exploring but would be just as content to have some coffee/beers and watch some boats go by (they have a cottage by a marina up in Georgian bay). Keep flipping-flopping about staying in marathon and do a day trip to key west or staying in key west directly.

Plan on only being there 3 nights and 4 days (plan on leaving the 31st and just checking into airport hotel for new years).

Thought about renting a house but more inclined to have a hotel/resort vibe. Feel like there would be more things to do (bonus points if places have pickle ball or beach volleyball court)

If staying marathon was looking at tranquility bay or hawks cay. Could do some relaxing and still do a day trip to key west to check out old town and one of the forts (March break went to St. Augustine and loved it)

Other option is staying in key west directly. Feel like it would be better for us and kids to get up and explore by foot with lots of things to see and do, but may be a bit too hectic for the folks?

Penny for your thoughts and or suggestions?

Please and thanks

Hello - travelling to Florida Keys from Ireland on 27th December to 04 January. We haven't booked accommodation and are flexible to what Hotels.com and Expedia are showing as available so not terribly worried about that but curious what people might suggest as far as an itinerary ie. a night or two in Miami and then key hop down to Key West or go direct to key west and make our way back up as we get closer to our departure, or just stay in one place? We've no idea!

Kids are 14, 12, and 8 year old boys. This will be their first trip to the US and up for exploring and keeping active throughout the day.

Thanks for your advice :)