Key West ?

[DizneeCM]

Hi, we are thinking of taking a trip to Key West (me, DH, DS14, DS16). We generally like water sports, lounging on the beach, golfing, window shopping, etc... while on vacation. We usually like to stay in a quiet area (like Captiva), but thought the teenagers might enjoy the more exciting atmosphere in Key West.

Do you think we'd like Key West? I know there isn't much of a beach area. How are Smather's Beach and the state park beach? (My kids like beaches that are flat enough at the shoreline to skim board, and have enough waves to boogie board). How crowded are the beaches in the summer?

Also, would you recommend that we stay in the "Oldtown" area? We usually like to rent a villa or a house.

Thanks for any comments!

 

[simba928]

Bumping for you, as I can't tell you that much about where to stay or whatever. Hopefully someone else can.

I will tell you, though, that Key West, while nice, was not at all what I expected when we went. I was like 14 or 15 at the time. We were there for about 4 days I believe and I don't think I would ever go for much longer than that. The beach, if you can call it that, was not good at all. We spent probably not even an hour there before we decided we could find something better to do. Honestly, it was fun, but it would have been A LOT more fun if I had been 21 with friends, but being a teenager there with my family was not the greatest. I would reccommend going to Miami for a few days and then driving down for a few days of vice versa. The drive is only a few hours and is really beautiful. We did have fun in Key West, but not what we expected and not for more than a few days.

 

[DizneeCM]

Simba928,

Thanks for your comments. I haven't been to Key West, so I wasn't sure if it was the place for us. It sounds like either a short visit or a trip to a different beach location might be better (maybe the Miami area). Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Liz]

You might want to try asking your question on the Cruise line forum. Since DCL stops at Key West a lot of people over there have spent the day there.

Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[lucas]

When we stay in Key West we like to stay at the Ocean Key. The address is 0 Duval Street - they have the sunset pier and are in the heart of everything. http://www.oceankey.com/

Some other useful Key West links:
Natl Geographic Driving Tour: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/de...nic_Drive.html

General restaurant/menu info: http://www.keywestmenu.com/

The best key lime pie: http://www.blondgiraffe.com/products.htm

Schooner Wharf - local bar by water: http://www.schoonerwharf.com/

Our favorite restaurants:
Alonzo's: http://www.alonzosoysterbar.com/Alon...BarKeyWest.htm
Turtle Kraals: http://www.turtlekraals.com/home.html
Half Shell Raw Bar: http://www.halfshellrawbar.com/home.html

We've never been but this is the restaurant in Key Largo that Rachael Ray featured on $40/day: http://www.keysconch.com/MAIN.html

 

[figment52]

You might want to try asking your question on the Cruise line forum. Since DCL stops at Key West a lot of people over there have spent the day there.

Sounds like a fun trip!

There is a frequent poster on the cruise boards - snelsonbrown aka Shirley - that was born and raised in Key West and is very generous with information on her hometown.

 

[DizneeCM]

Hi again,

Thanks for the suggestion to try the cruise line forum -great idea! Thanks too for the hotel recommendation and the links to Key West info - should help a lot in planning our trip!

 

[simba928]

Sounds like you got a lot of information from these guys (as always). If you really want to go to Key West, you could look into doing a cruise. That way you could see Key West, but you could see other places too. The cruise port is right off Duval Street. You could easily walk there to shop or I'm sure you could get a taxi or rent one of those little motorized vehicle things to see more of it or go to a beach or something. But like I said, when we did Key West, then drove to Miami, it was wonderful. We love Miami and have been I think 4 times in the past 3 years. If you have any more questions or want more info on that or anything, feel free to PM me.