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Florida Keys |
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Florida Keys
The Florida Keys offer a little something for everyone, which is not surprising when you consider that there are over 400 of them scattered over 150 miles of ocean. The northernmost Keys are more developed, with more hotels and restaurants but also more spring-breakers. The islands further from the Florida mainland are more pristine, but harder to get to. Still, no matter where you go in the Keys, you’re never far from either a frosty beverage or a coral reef. America’s Margaretville is also an area of unspoiled natural beauty.
Activities and Attractions:
Key Largo is the first major Key on Highway 1, just an hour outside of Miami. It’s one of the best places in the keys to charter a “light tackle” boat small and light enough to maneuver into the fishing spots the big party boats can’t reach. Bonefish, tarpon, tuna, grouper, and even shark are among the game fish you might be lucky enough to haul in. Though Largo can be party central, it’s also home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park—the nation’s first underwater state park.
Many visitors are surprised to find that for all the coastline in the keys, the islands tend not to have Caribbean-style beaches. There is good swimming and sunbathing to be found, though. Marathon Key’s Sombrero Beach has plenty of golden sand and warm, calm water for bobbing around in. At the nearby Dolphin Research Center, you can have the very unusual experience of swimming with dolphins in a 90,000-gallon salt-water tank.
Marathon, considered the heart of the upper Keys, also offers Crane Point Hammock, where you can view a pre-Columbian archeological dig. If you’re interested in seeing more of what the Keys were like before tourism, visit Lignumvitae Key. This tiny island, accessible by ferry or rented powerboat, looks very much like all of the Keys did before homesick travelers introduced non-native plants. (The Key was named after the native lignumvitae tree, the so-called “tree of life.”) There is also a nice botanical garden and an interesting house made out of coral.
Big Pine Key is your wildlife stop. At the island’s National Key Deer Refuge, you stand your best chance of glimpsing one of the 300 tiny, elusive key deer left in the world. You also might see some of the other creatures common to the Keys, like sea turtles, manatees, alligators, and dozens of birds for your life list.
For wildlife of a different sort, there’s always Key West, the very last stop on Highway 1.
Key West offers more eccentricity per square foot than any other place in the Keys. An island that attracts both gay and lesbian tourists and cruise-ship crowds, and that has hosted both Ernest Hemmingway and Harry Truman as long-term guests is, predictably, an anything goes kind of place. So go ahead, have a drink on Duval Street. But then explore the smaller lanes where you’ll find boutiques selling everything from Haitian art to some of the best cigars on this side of the Straits of Florida.
Insider Tip:
If you need solitude, you can find it in Florida’s "backcountry" keys; the smaller ones accessible only by ferry. One place you will not find solitude, however, is on Highway 1. The 150-mile drive on the two-lane road from Miami to Key West can take six hours on the weekend, so we recommend traveling on a weekday, if possible. Flying is also an option. Regional airlines make the short hop between Miami and Key West.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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