Key West

[UGAFan0829]

I would love to take the 7- day Western one day...mainly because of Key West being one of the stops. I was just wondering for those of you who have been to Key West, what your favorite thing to do there is?

 

[Momeska]

My DS13 LOVED going to Hemingway House and seeing all the polydactyl cats. There are sixty of them and they were so friendly!
Linda

 

[Par8hed]

Margaritaville of course!

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

We loved Irish Kevin's so much that we went back to Key West 6 months later just to stay for 5 days. Irish Kevin's is a bar right on Duvall that has live music...entertainers....sing-along type of thing. They really get the crowd involved and we had a blast! If you like piano bar (minus the piano) entertainment, try Irish Kevins. Key West was one of our highlights of our trip on the Disney Magic. There is plenty to do just wandering around. We like to eat, drink, shop and be merry and that is a perfect place to do it. We also loved Capt. Tony's (the original Sloppy Joe's) and they say it is haunted. It is a small hole-in-the-wall with the ceiling covered in business cards. There is an old tree growing right in the middle of the bar and supposedly a grave under the pool table. Really unique, original and cool place to stop...very Key West. People will tell you to do the trolly or the train, but that was just too mundane for us, we just really enjoyed walking around and seeing some of the local crazies on Duvall and off. Wandering down to Turtle Kralls at the marina is also very nice and the marina had a lot to look at. There is a local large market there with fresh seafood and a crazy variety of stuff to look at and buy. Worth walking into! The food we had in Key West was GREAT! The people were friendly, albeit, a few were nuts and fun to watch and it was a very safe lively town. If you like action, music, people watching, you'll love it!

 

[plutojudy]

We enjoyed the Butterfly place. It was a delight to see so many butterflies. We also enjoyed Jimmy Buffett's, too.

 

[bonnielynn]

We just got back from Key West.. Key West is all about the food, drinking and shopping. We loved the seafood (so fresh). The Turtle Kraals was a nice place to get a drink and something to eat. If you are there on Mon/Fri you can watch the turtle race and possibly win some cash!!
We mostly ate at the docks.. shopped and drank our way through duval street and of course watched the sunsets at Mallory Square!!

There is plenty of water things to do such as jet skis, parasailing and fishing..
The island is only 4 miles long and 2 miles wide... so its great for walking and catching the sites..

Have fun!

 

[ljql_5969]

My DH and I really like Key West. We did do the train the last time we were there (May 2005) because people traveling with us wanted to. If you do this, I highly recommend getting off the ship and booking it yourself rather than doing it through DCL. We arrived in port (with RCCL) at 7:30 a.m., and got off the ship and were able to get on a near empty train (the 7 of us in our party were joined by 2 other couples riding). The first train when booked through the cruiseline did not elave until 9:30 a.m.

By the time they boarded, we were off and visiting many of the wonderful places that others have mentioned in this thread.

One place that I like is called The Key Lime Shop or something like that. Everything in there is key lime. They also have the frozen key lime pie dipped in chocolate that has been talked about on Food Network. Yummy! Anyways, the shop is down one of the side streets across from Sloppy Joes I believe. If you are leaving Sloopy Joes and heading down that street straight across from Sloppy Joes (sorry I don't remember the name) it will be a small little shop on the left.

Also, I went to Del Sol for the first time and their t-shirts were neat. My boys loved them. I bought 2 or more sweatshirts so they threw in a free color-changing canvas bag.

 

[airtime247]

We visited Key West in May '04 and LOVED IT! We decided to take the Old Town Trolley around town. There were 10 stops at various points you could get off at. They had a list on the trolley of what points of interest were at each stop. You can wander around any of the stops as long as you like. Another trolley comes by every 30 minutes. We visited the Key Lime shop, the winery (and sampled key lime wine), Margaritaville, Hard Rock Cafe, Sloppy Joe's, Southernmost Point, etc. While on the trolley, you get an informative tour of the town.

I highly recommend it! You can book it at http://shophta.com/acb/stores/15/product1.asp?SID=15&Product_ID=13

or visit their main site and see all their tours at http://www.historictours.com/keywest/

From what I remember, the trolley made more stops than the train.

-steve

 

[lovinaz]

Has anyone been to the Key West Winery? It looks like they have some really yummy fruit wines that I'd love to try. Just interested if anyone has tasted them and if so, are they good and how much per bottle?

Also, another question - I can't seem to find anything that would really interest my kids (DS9 and DD6). I know they would not enjoy the trolley tour. Maybe the glass bottom boat, but other than that, I think they might be happier on the ship in the clubs (assuming they love the clubs, which I bet they will ) I have not heard glowing reviews about the beaches on Key West. Any suggestions for kids of this age, or is Key West more of a shopping/bar hopping type place?

 

[plutospup]

When DD was 6 our Key West stop included the Butterfly Museum, Aquarium, Hemingway House, and Trolley Tour. She really enjoyed everything, especially the 6-toed kitties at the Hemingway House. She wasn't as excited about the "Trolley Tour", but we used that as a means of transportation around the Key West sites.

 

[airtime247]

Has anyone been to the Key West Winery? It looks like they have some really yummy fruit wines that I'd love to try. Just interested if anyone has tasted them and if so, are they good and how much per bottle?

Also, another question - I can't seem to find anything that would really interest my kids (DS9 and DD6). I know they would not enjoy the trolley tour. Maybe the glass bottom boat, but other than that, I think they might be happier on the ship in the clubs (assuming they love the clubs, which I bet they will ) I have not heard glowing reviews about the beaches on Key West. Any suggestions for kids of this age, or is Key West more of a shopping/bar hopping type place?

As plutospup said, the trolley is more of just a way to get around town. Had we not been able to get off at so many points, we would have skipped it ourselves!

As for flavors at the winery, I know we had key lime which was okay but also had mango which was fantastic! We tried one or two other kinds but decided to buy the mango. I think it was around $18 but I don't exactly remember.

You can check out their site at http://thekeywestwinery.com/

There is also an aquarium right there at Mallory Square where the ship docks your kids might be interested. I haven't been there so I can't comment on it. Other than that, I don't know of much that would interest kids as it is mostly historic, shopping, bar/restaurants, etc.

I hope that helps!

-steve

 

[spotdog]

The trolley tour was a good introduction.

After that I enjoyed just walking and looking at the different houses and shops. I was fascinated by the cemetary and the chickens which seemed to be everywhere.

The aquarium was pretty good, especially the sharks.

 

[snelsonbrown]

Being from Key West, both Norm and I have seen so much changes that its hard to keep up with all that is happening down there - I will be going down with my 2 sisters next month and will be bringing back some pamplets etc to share with anyone that is planning to go down there - if there is anything Norm or I can help, just drop me a note ---Key West is an adult playground but the aquarium, the butterfly farm are 2 great places to take children - the only beach that I recommend is Fort Taylor Beach off Whitehead Street. My oldest sister Rose just came back and she was saying that renting an electric car was awesome - it was easy to get around, easy to get in and out of and most of all she and her son could go visit family without having such a hard time finding a place to park - they have built a number of condos so between more people and more cars, parking is an issue -
If we can help further, just write.
Always
Shirley

 

[lovinaz]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I think both kids would like the aquarium. We went to a butterfly farm on Mackinac Island last summer, and it was really neat, but I'd have to ask them if they want to go again I know DD6 would love the Hemingway House with all the cats but with my severe allergies there is NO WAY!

 

[cleophus12]

Kino Sandal Factory! They make the most comfortable sandals. If they do not have what you want, they will make them while you wait and they are only $9 a pair! It is truly a factory, so don't expect anything glam. Get one in every color because once you get back home you can get them online for about $29 pair, although I saw them in a store in Charleston for $35! I have five pair, and can't wait to find someone going to Key West to get me some more.

 

[CAD3655]

We did the snorkel trip on the catamaran...It was awesome! On the ride out dolphins were chasing the boat, while snorkeling we saw a 6-7 ft shark and baracuda, turtles...and on and on....it was really amazing. I will say you should be a strong swimmer and probably not the best adventure for anyone under 13. The currents were tough and the waves were HUGE! We had to chase after my girlfriend a couple times being from the midwest she wasn't used to swimming in the ocean.

 

[khakismum]

I haven't been, but I am eyeballing this for our trip in Dec.; there is a new Pirate Museum . It is supposed to have one of the largest and most authentic collections of pirate stuff. (http://www.piratesoul.com/trip.aspx) I'd think a 9 y/o boy would get a kick out of that. There is also Mel Fisher's Museum (http://www.melfisher.org/museum.htm) that has some of the items Mel and his crew brought up from their ship wreck dives. I know my DD (11) is absolutely DYING to go to Margaritiville (she is an avid Parrothead like her parents! ) There is also some live entertainemnt opportunities at sunset down at Mallory Square. Lots of live street performers - last I heard there is still a guy with performing cats. But there is all the typical jugglers, unicyclists, singers etc. very colourful, lots of fun. Even with a few bucks in tips, cheap entertainment! We are worried about having **enough** time in KW to do all we want to do!

Hope y'all have fun!