beach to go to in Key West

[mevans9066]

So it looks like we have a very short stop in Key West only 9am to 12:45 I think. Just maybe wanted to wander around a bit and get in some beach time one last time before heading home to Galveston but where would we go? Any suggestions ? I keep reading about key west and every article mentions different museums, aquarium, trolley trains, eating places, the lighthouse, the southern most point, etc but no mention of just a beach to head to! There are Beaches in key west right?! Lol!! We've got 6 and 9 yr girls who love the beach!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

There are no good beaches in KW I have stayed there. There is a beach down near southernmost point. The best things are to walk around go to sloppy joes and eat key lime pie. Hemming ways house and southernmost point good places to walk to.

 

[OKW Lover]

You may want to look at this page http://keywest.com/beaches.htm
The ship will dock at Mallory Sq.

 

[AAAG]

The previous posters are right - Key West is not known for its beaches, and the beaches aren't nearly as nice as other places. If you really want to go to the beach, I'd go to Higgs Beach. It looked nicer than the others, and there is a playground there for your kids. It would be a 30-35 min walk, or you could take a taxi.
My other suggestion would be the Aquarium. We took kids aged 2, 5, 8, and 10 there and they loved it. Make sure to do the feeding tour.

 

[over50visits]

So it looks like we have a very short stop in Key West only 9am to 12:45 I think. Just maybe wanted to wander around a bit and get in some beach time one last time before heading home to Galveston but where would we go? Any suggestions ? I keep reading about key west and every article mentions different museums, aquarium, trolley trains, eating places, the lighthouse, the southern most point, etc but no mention of just a beach to head to! There are Beaches in key west right?! Lol!! We've got 6 and 9 yr girls who love the beach!

Because of the natural breakwaters around Key West, there is little wave action on shore. So, the conditions to create sandy beaches do not exist. That's why you just don't see "Key West" and "beach" in the same sentence! Lots more to enjoy, but don't expect a good beach experience.

 

[JMHDisney]

We did the train tour of town and then went to the beach that looked the nicest on the tour, which was Higgs beach. It is a sandy beach and you can rent chairs. There is also a nice playground on the beach, with shading to keep the equipment from getting too hot during the day. The water was quite shallow for a ways out although it was a little rocky when we first walked in. I noticed after that people were walking out the dock and taking the ladder down, which maybe would have helped us. It's not a fancy Caribbean beach by any stretch, but we thought it was perfectly good for a few hours of fun. It took us about 10-15 mins in the taxi - there was traffic, but I would not recommend walking with young kids.

The one caution I will give is that after we got out of the water, we noticed there were a TON of portuguese man-o-war jellyfish washed up on the beach. We were very lucky and no one got stung, but had I seen those, we would not have gone in the water. I don't know if it's a seasonal thing (we were there in mid-April) or an ongoing problem, but I'd recommend a close inspection of the shoreline before you go in!

 

[mevans9066]

Thank yall so much for all the tips!!

 

[phinz]

Stay off of Duval Street with a 6 and 9-year-old. Sloppy Joe's is a hole. Most places on Duval are a hole. There is questionable stuff in the windows of Duval Street for those who are easily offended or don't want their kids seeing questionable stuff. Heck, stay off of Duval Street in general. There's a reason locals and regular visitors tend to avoid it.

The ship *might* dock at Mallory Square. Or it might dock at the Westin. Or it might dock at the Outer Mole. I've seen Disney ships at all three. The Outer Mole pretty much requires you to take a shuttle to the Front Street area because it's a long, hot walk anywhere from there.

Best Key Lime Pie I've found in Key West (and I've had a lot of Key Lime Pie on the rock) is at Fausto's, if they have it. It sells out fast. Next is Blue Heaven. It's worth it just to sit at the bar at Blue Heaven and order the pie.

A lot of people really like Ft. Zachary Taylor and its beach, including locals. It's close to the Outer Mole. In fact, it's pretty much the closest attraction general to the Outer Mole. If you walk to the southernmost point of the beach you're actually farther south in the United States than the Southernmost Point buoy marker.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...State_Park-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html

 

[phinz]

When is your cruise?

Edit: Never mind, I found your cruise. Nov. 18. You'll be mooring at Pier B, which is just south of Mallory Square. You'll be coming ashore at the Westin.

 

[mevans9066]

When is your cruise?

Edit: Never mind, I found your cruise. Nov. 18. You'll be mooring at Pier B, which is just south of Mallory Square. You'll be coming ashore at the Westin.

K thanks! Yes we leave on the Nov 13th sailing outta galveston!