What's your favorite things to do in Key West

[Mousemom]

We will be on a double dip cruise the end of september and our first stop is Key West. My son wants to eat at Margaritaville. Is it close enough to walk to from the ship. What are some other favorite activities there?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Yes everything is very close just walk around and enjoy.

On the map below just follow the pier around and your in town it's just there, Hemmingways house and southernmost point are good to walk to.


image by Andrew D Porter, on Flickr

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

I wondered about Margaritaville too thank you! I'm going to Key West on the Magic in February and am really looking forward to this port!

 

[jeppler]

I wondered about Margaritaville too thank you! I'm going to Key West on the Magic in February and am really looking forward to this port!

Don't forget to stop at Kermit's or The Blonde Giraffe for frozen key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate...yum

 

[mkmommy]

We were in Key West last weekend and had a great time.

My daughters are 11 and 13, we did the DCL Bike Tour excursion.. The tour guide was not never good, you could never hear him, but once we got out of the main area, he stopped talking it was lots of fun and very scenic. My kids enjoyed it, but I think next time I would just rent bikes and go out on our own. I gather there are several places near the port to rent bikes, besides Duval Street and Highway 1 the roads are very quite and residential.


The tour did include a stop at Kermits for a frozen Key lime pie, and that was delicious.

 

[mtchurchmonica]

We've been to Key West a few times. On one visit, my elderly in-laws were with us, and they paid for us all to ride the Old Town Trolley. Dh and I weren't thrilled about riding around on a trolley since we prefer to explore on foot, but it was really the best of both worlds. You can get on and off as much as you want. It was actually nice to get a ride back to the station once our feet were tired from touring the Hemingway House and a couple other spots. The cost of the ticket is a little steep (without a coupon -about 30.00) but it also includes a great tour by the conductor. Be warned, even if you're not interested in what the conductor has to share, you will have to be quiet when he/she is talking. "Ms. Vee" reprimanded a few people who didn't seem to think that rule applied to them.

 

[Goaliemom30]

We walked everywhere even to the southernmost point marker which was probably a bit too far. I would not leave Key West without going to Margaritaville or eating a piece of key lime pie. We actually passed the time during a rain storm eating pie and talking to the shop keeper.

 

[WDWFANCBIIIME]

Don't forget to stop at Kermit's or The Blonde Giraffe for frozen key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate...yum

Thank you that sounds amazing added it to the list!

I'm really excited to see Key West I haven't been to the Keys since I was like 3 years old haha

 

[Mousemom]

We are really looking forward to the Key West visit.

"Don't forget to stop at Kermit's or The Blonde Giraffe for frozen key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate...yum"

Don't have a clue what this is but it sounds to good to pass up. Renting bikes also sounds like a great way to travel around. I am so looking forward to this next cruise. Key West and two stops at Castaway Cay is all I think about lately.

 

[ladyelizabeth]

Key West is a great port to visit! very walkable and just a great place to soak it all in. Make sure to take a photo at Mile 0 of US1 and a chicken roaming the streets.

The Little White House and Hemingway's House are great sights to visit.

Food wise, there's a great little creperie in Key West. So delicious and authentic. La Creperie Key West. 300 Petronia St.

And random, and maybe not very "Key West", there's a Coach Factory Store on Duval Street. It's has some great sales. I did a bunch of early Christmas and birthday shopping for family and friends. Have a great time in Key West and your cruise!

 

[LilacBarries]

We will be on a double dip cruise the end of september and our first stop is Key West. My son wants to eat at Margaritaville. Is it close enough to walk to from the ship. What are some other favorite activities there?

I'm on this cruise too! Following thread to see what people have to say. We're thinking Hemingway's house, maybe renting scooters.

 

[mom4fun]

We are going to be there in a few weeks. On a previous thread I read that someone recommended, key west extreme adventures shark tour. They said it was a lot of fun so we have booked it. I will have to let you know how it turns out.

 

[farah]

We took the trolley tour and loved it! We did purchase the tickets online and saved some money. It's a short walk from the ship to get to the trolley station. It's a great way to tour the city and get on and off as you like.

Frozen key lime pies yumm!

Don't forget the absolute stunning sunset of the keys. Have your camera ready. Enjoy!

 

[SZ2016]

We didn't really like Key West, we walked to the southern most point then walked back and got back on the ship because there wasn't much else that interested us. We didn't dock in town we docked at the navy base.

 

[Neesy228]

You will dock right next to Mallory Square where there is a nightly sunset celebration. I know ships must be out of port by a certain time, but you should be able to see a bit of the beginning. The party winds down after the sun drops below the horizon.

If you have kids, there is a small aquarium right near the port that is worth doing. My kids love that place even though it's small. They let the kids touch and feed the sharks and rays.

It's worth your time to just walk up and down Duval. So many shops, restaurants and opportunities to people watch! If you're looking for a snack (other than Key Lime pie) Mattheesens has cookies the size of your head - usually warm out of the oven, and some great ice cream.

Key West is one of my favorite places to visit. I don't think you need to pay for an excursion unless you're trying to do something daring and adventurous. It's an easy place to walk around and it's got a great vibe. Enjoy!

 

[phinz]

Don't forget to stop at Kermit's or The Blonde Giraffe for frozen key lime pie on a stick, dipped in chocolate...yum

The Blond Giraffe has been gone for at least a year. They moved to Pigeon Forge, TN.

http://www.blondgiraffe.com/

Best Key Lime Pie in Key West is at Fausto's, but it's usually sold out. Barring that, Blue Heaven has an amazing Key Lime Pie. You'll want to eat it at the bar unless you want to wait for a table. There's always a wait.

For what it's worth, the food at Margaritaville is OK, but that's about it. If you have to do it, go ahead, but there are *much* better places to have food. Go there, have a drink, order the Volcano Nachos and go next door to buy a shirt or twelve, but the food is not even *close* to the best food on The Rock.

 

[bumbershoot]

Margaritaville is fun, but it's still a chain. We plan to go to their giftshop (I'm assuming all have giftshops), see if they have the fun Tervis cups that the one at Orlando's CityWalk had (but we ran out of time to buy), get those, and move on to more Key Westy things.

That's our game plan, at least. (going on a RCCL cruise that stops there, not the Disney cruise)

 

[phinz]

Margaritaville is fun, but it's still a chain. We plan to go to their giftshop (I'm assuming all have giftshops), see if they have the fun Tervis cups that the one at Orlando's CityWalk had (but we ran out of time to buy), get those, and move on to more Key Westy things.

That's our game plan, at least. (going on a RCCL cruise that stops there, not the Disney cruise)

Yes. They have a gift shop. It's a pretty big one. They had Tervis Tumblers when I was in Key West in January.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

My favorite thing we did in Key West (May 2012) was a private sea plane tour. That was awesome.

January 2013 we rented a golf cart and drove around. Hit up Starbucks. Got a chocolate dipped key lime pie on-a-stick from Kermit's. Stopped for a drink & potty break at Margaritaville. Bought some tshirts from Crazy Shirts. Then.....((pause for dramatic effect)).....I shopped at the Lilly Pulitzer boutique! We don't have a Lilly store in Houston. (((GRRRRR!!!))) I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money ordering online so it was a big deal to go see the quality & construction of the clothes. Sooooo....yeah....well....I'm kinda obsessed now....as in a dedicated "Lilly" section in my closet. LOL!

I absolutely LOVE Key West and not just because they have a Lilly Pulitzer boutique. The vibe there is all its own. Key West is 1 of 2 places we've visited as ports of call that I'm now determined to go on dedicated vacations to. Key West Christmas someday and St.Maarten.

 

[phinz]

Key West is 1 of 2 places we've visited as ports of call that I'm now determined to go on dedicated vacations to.

Do yourself a favor if you do take a vacation to Key West for longer than a few hours and stay off of Duval Street as much as possible. There's far more than Duval, and you can avoid the crowds. My last time in Key West was for 2.5 weeks in January and I was only on Duval to go to the drug store, attend classes at the San Carlos Institute, go see a friend who was playing a week-long gig at Margaritaville and to get from point A to point B. Leave the stuff close to the cruise ship port to the cruise ship visitors. Key West is *so* much better when you can spend more than a few hours there. I've been visiting the Rock for more than 15 years and find no reason whatsoever to be on Duval for any extended amount of time anymore.