Key West - any suggestions?

[Kimer]

Does anyone have any suggestions of things to do in Key West?

 

[webray]

First...grad a golf cart rental to get around (although you can walk...most everything is near the dock)...the cool stuff it was easier for us to grab the golf cart (one of those modern space ship looking things).

If you have a golf cart...you can head over to turtle Krawl...a small turtle museum is there...and a great bar/restaurant.

Also, head over to...and the name is escaping me right now...there is a place..looks like a junk pile from the outside..it is actually a restaurant with the best fresh fish sandwich you will ever have. You can also get conch fritters...they are very good also. Someone here should remember the name..or it will come to me and I will post...BO's fish wagon maybe...someone here should be able to confirm

There is plenty of shopping, nice little bars along the way...don't forget to stop at sloppy joes, there is a margaritaville.

You can tour hemingways house, see the 0 milemarker, stop at the southern most point of the US.

It didn't take hubby and I more than a couple hours of driving around in the cart..although, it was our second time there and he remembered some of the streets we were looking for.

We rented our golf court on corner of duval street...seems that the places are all connected. They were great. We orginally did the rental for like 4 hours or something. getting done early was no problem, they just crossed out the time, put in the two hours and only charged us for that. Very impressive, since we were tourists and all.

Also, the kino sandal shop...leather sandals for $8, very nice...many styles for men, women and children. A cigar shop is also near there, a favorite place for hubby to stop.

 

[prymsu]

ditto on the Kino's Sandals. I bought ten pair. These are made of leather, and that shop has been there a long time. Now when i go back to Key West, I always have to stop at Kino's to get sandals for all my friends and co workers. That place has been there for years!

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hi - this is Shirley and an ol' conch born and raised in Key West - I have lots of information on Key West that I make available to anyone who wants it - all it takes is a self addressed large manilla envelope that is self addressed with about $3.50 worth of stamps on it - I fill it up and send it right out - you can mail it to The Perfect Gift, 6550 North Atlantic Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Fla 32920 --it has lots of information with coupons etc in it.
It's worth the money from what I have been told more than oncer.
Always
Shirley

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

It's definately worth it to have Shirley send you the info on Key West! She is so nice to go to all the trouble to put together the information and mail it out!

This was a great help to us - we just walked around the down town area - did the shipwreck museum, Margaritaville and hit some of the shops. I would love to go back! I'm trying to figure out a budget so that we can fly straight to Miami and just drive down to the Keys for a week or two!

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

I have a question to add here... I have read that the Kino sandal shop is not open on Sundays (Seasonally). Of course the Magic is in Key West on Sunday. Does anyone know if March is "Open" season or "Closed" season.
Second question, how much do the golf carts cost to rent, and are there plenty available, or will we have to scurry to get a couple? any restrictions on where you can go with them?

I remember once on Isla Mujeres we rented a golf cart and all the little bars and shops had golf cart parking! It was so much fun tooling around in that thing. That sounds like something we'd like to do!

Maureen

 

[prymsu]

Mrs Fuzzmo, I bet Shirley can answer the question about Kino's being open on Sundays.

Also I too have been to Isla Mujeres, and I agree the golf car thing works there. I would love to go back to there again!

 

[HappyMommy2]

We love Key West!!

We took the Conch tour train--lots of fun; got to see a lot that way that we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise.

We also really enjoyed the Aquarium. It's very smalll but quite charming, and it's so convenient right there by the waterfront--be sure to catch the feeding demonstrations they do throughout the day. You can buy an Aquarium ticket in the morning ($9/adult, I believe) and go in and out as many times as you like that day. BTW, If you're going to try eating conch fritters during your Key West day, do it BEFORE seeing the live conchs at the Aquarium! After I saw a conch at the Aquarium I couldn't stomach the thought of eating one of those slimy things--yuck!


Just walking up Duval street is a fascinating cultural experience. We were with our two toddlers (during daylight hours--I wouldn't feel comfortable taking kids there after dark) and were glad they were too young to notice some of the more "interesting" merchandise in the store windows, but we enjoyed the touristy atmosphere and unusual shops.

Have fun!

 

[snelsonbrown]

There is nothing "seasonal" in or about Key West - believe me - Keno is open on Sunday - their sandals are worth the monies - my mom has been gone 25 years and I am still wearing hers and they are still in perfect condition - they do not have air conditioning - the doors are opened for what little breeze the fans may catch and this is one of the reasons they are so low price - they start at about $6.00 and I believe if I am correct they are no higher than $10.00 - they are comfortable etc - well worth the monies - I also have information on their shop that is included in the packets I send out - Thanks for the imput on the packets - they do take a lot of time to pull together, but it is worth it if it will help you in my hometown and I have mentioned many many times there is nothing in it for me - I just do it to help you that want them - I started doing this about a year and a half ago and I bet I have sent out over a 1000 of these packets -
Anyhow Key West is interesting but again nothing like when I was growing up - it is so funny about what the post about the conch in the raw - it was not unusual for "conchs" who were aching for eat conchs - would wade into the water, find the conchs, bring them to shore and that is where they were eaten - they are fixed up with key limes, salt and pepper and that was it - me I just couldn't even think about doing it, but sure did witness many doing so - our foods all came from the waters so our grocery bills were not very high - -------- ok another tidbit about conchs and Key West.
always
Shirley

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thanks Shirley! I'm Getting Some Sandals!!

maureen

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by snelsonbrown
Anyhow Key West is interesting but again nothing like when I was growing up - it is so funny about what the post about the conch in the raw - it was not unusual for "conchs" who were aching for eat conchs - would wade into the water, find the conchs, bring them to shore and that is where they were eaten - they are fixed up with key limes, salt and pepper and that was it - me I just couldn't even think about doing it, but sure did witness many doing so - our foods all came from the waters so our grocery bills were not very high - -------- ok another tidbit about conchs and Key West.
always
Shirley

Shirley: I absolutely love reading your "tidbits" about Key West and your childhood growing up there!! I bet you could write a book about everything you've experienced there You know, I have read a lot of negative posts about Key West and about how it's not really for children, and that is probably true, but when we look at Key West through your eyes, it makes me want to go there and look past all the "garbage", and just see the old Key West and all its' history Thank you for showing us another side of Key West, through your words!!

 

[Diznut84]

On our January 3rd Western, we went to the aquarium (walking distance from dock) and to Fort Zach's beach. My family (daughters 9 and 6) really enjoyed the small acquarium, especially the hands-on area. The beach at Ft. Zach's was nice, but we really needed water socks because of all the shells. Also be sure to grab the card for the cab that brought you there. You can simply call them to pick you up when you are ready to leave.

After returning from Ft. Zach's, we shopped a bit, had some key lime pie and conch fritters, and watched the sunset entertainment at Mallory Square. We left just in time to catch our dinner seating on the Magic.

We had fun!