The Florida Keys stretches 120 miles off the southern tip of Florida, containing over 1700 islands. Out of the 1700 islands, only 43 of them are connected by bridges, the rest have to be visited by boat. Key Largo is 30 miles long and the largest island in the Florida Keys. The island was formally known for its plantation of the Key Limes that are used to make the delicious Key Lime Pies and home to the first undersea park in the United States.
To drive from the top of Florida Keys, Key Largo to the bottom of the Florida Keys, Key West, it will take you around 4 hours. On your journey down to Key West, you will cross the famous Seven Mile Bridge.
My partner and I visited the Florida Keys in March, spending just 2 nights there. We stayed in Marathon, which was half down between Key Largo and Key West. There is a lot to see and do in the Florida Keys. I felt we could have done with an extra day, at least.
Our Accommodation
We stayed in the Hampton Inn, in Marathon. To stay at this hotel, it will cost you around ÂŖ200 a night. There are 2 reasons why we decided to stay at this hotel. Firstly, the location. The Hampton Inn is located in Marathon, halfway between Key Largo and Key West. Basically, you are located in the centre of Florida Keys. Our second reason we choose to stay at The Hampton Inn, in Marathon, was down to our personal preference on hotels. We like staying in Hiltons and Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton chain.
The Hampton Inn, in Marathon, offers free car parking, free breakfast, full use of an outdoor pool with bar, gym, and lovely size rooms with kitchen facilities. We found the staff extremely friendly and welcoming. Definitely a hotel we would stay at again.
Where to Eat
Spending just 2 nights in the Florida Keys, we only had the opportunity to try selective few eating places. Here are the most memorable places that I highly recommend you try the food at:
Blond Giraffe Key Lime Factory
The Florida Keys is home to the famous Key Lime Pie made from locally grown Key Limes. Therefore, if you want to experience a true Key Lime Pie, then the Florida Keys is the place to do so. A true Key Lime Pie is not green. Key Limes are yellow, not green in colour. This is something you need to watch out for in the Florida Keys. Do not go buying a green Key Lime Pie as it will not be the original one, using the traditional Key Lime Pie ingredients.
There are lots of different places that sell Key Lime Pies. We decided to experience one at the Blond Giraffe Key Lime Factory, in Tavernier. The reason we decided to choose this one is that it had been recommended by somebody else who had visited this place before. I then decided to perform some of my own research and realised it is a place a lot of people talk highly about. In fact, a good majority of the audience reckon this place is the best place in the Florida Keys to experience a Key Lime Pie.
The place is a beautiful place to stop and enjoy a slice of Key Lime Pie. Inside, they have a shop and a counter, where you can order drinks and cakes to eat in or take away. Outside, they have a beautiful garden to sit and enjoy your drink and pie in. My partner and I enjoyed a cup of coffee each with a Key Lime Biscuit each, a slice of Key Lime Pie to share, and a frozen Key Lime Pie on a stick to share. The food and coffee were delicious. We sat in their gardens and watched the chickens peck the crumbs off the ground and the rabbits play with each other. It was such a beautiful place to stop and relax. We would have loved to have spent longer relaxing in their gardens however, we had to get back on the road again.
For more information, please check out their website: Blond Giraffe Key Lime Factory.
Address: 92220 Overseas Hwy, Tavernier, FL 33070
Habanos on the Creek
Habanos on the Creek is a lovely, little Cuban cafe, located in Tavernier. The place itself is small and does not look very fancy. However, the food is excellent. We enjoyed a fantastic Cuban sandwich each that came with fries and a cup of Cuban coffee each. If you after trying something a bit different, why not try Dolphin? It’s on their menu!
Cuban sandwiches are very popular in the South of Florida. We had eaten quite a few on holiday; some in Miami and some in Key West. However, the one the Habanos on the Creek was far the best!
A Cuban sandwich consists of roast pork, glazed ham, swiss cheese, and dill pickles. It is very delicious!
Address: Tavernier Creek Marina, Tavernier, FL 33070
Burdines Waterfront ChikiTiki Bar and Grille
Burdines Waterfront ChikiTiki Bar and Grille is a fantastic place to eat. It is located slightly off the beaten track, down Oceanview Avenue, in Marathon. It is a very quirky place, which does amazing burgers and fries. They are also famously known for serving fish the way you want it. The staff was extremely friendly and the atmosphere was great. We were recommended Burdines by our hotel receptionist. Without her, we would have not known about this place. She said it is her favourite place to go for burgers, after visiting myself, I now can see why.
Address: 1200 Oceanview Ave, Marathon, FL 33050 (at the end of 15th Street)
Things To See and Do
There is a lot to see and do. My partner and I only spent 2 nights in the Florida Keys, only just touching the surface of what there is to see and do in the Keys. Out of the things we did on our visit, here are the things I highly recommend:
Key West
Key West is the southernmost point in Florida Keys, Florida, and the whole on the United States of America. Located just 90 miles north of Cuba, it is actually closer to Cuba than Miami. If you are visiting the Keys, this a place you must visit!
There is a lot to see and do in Key West. However, if you a limited time, here are the top things to see:
The Southernmost Point
Get your photo taken next to the famous anchored concrete buoy, marking the southernmost point in the whole of the United States of America. Be prepared to queue for your photo and try and get there as early as possible, when the queue is shorter. We arrived there at 10 am, the queue was fairly short. We queued for around 5 minutes. That is good! I’ve read about people having to queue for at least 30 minutes.
Location: Whitehead St & South Street, Key West, FL 33040
Mile Marker 0
The mile marker 0 shows where Route 1 ends. Route 1 starts in Miami and travels along the East Coast, through the keys, ending in Key West. Route 1 is 2,369 miles long and is the longest north-south highway in the United States of America.
Location: 501 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040
Duval Street
Duval Street is famous for its bars and nightlife. We had a walk down during the day and again at night. I can certainly say, I prefer it during the day! There are plenty of eating places, quirky bars and is home to the famous Sloppy Joe’s. We had planned to grab a tea at Sloppy Joe’s, however, when we arrived, just after 8 pm, it was heaving, nowhere to sit and too noisy to talk to each other. If you do want to eat there, it’s best to go earlier on in the day, before the nightlife starts.
If you have the chance to walk down Duval Street, look out for a bar covered in dollar notes!
Fort Zachary Taylor Beach
Key West is home to the best beach for snorkeling, Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. It may be one of the best beaches for snorkeling but I wasn’t too impressed with the beach itself. The water itself was a beautiful colour but the beach was small and pebbled. It got very overcrowded by lunch. It also costs to enter Fort Zachary Taylor as it is a Historical State Park. It cost us $7 to enter. There is a lot more to see and do there, then just the beach. However, we did not have time to explore the rest of the State Park. If you are just after a beach, I would not choose this one, as they’re bigger and better ones in the Florida Keys. If you do choose to visit Fort Zachary and are feeling peckish, there is a little beach cafe, located next to the beach. We enjoyed our lunch here. I had a hot dog and my partner had a Cuban sandwich.
For more information about the State Park, visit Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park.
Location: 601 Howard England Way, Key West, FL 33040
Mallory Square
Mallory Square is famous for its sunsets and entertainment. It supposedly homes to one of the world’s best sunsets. The sunset was lovely. The famous sunset entertainment didn’t seem to exist though. It was a Friday night and we saw one street performer, but not the type of performers I had read about. I also read about how you should get to the square early to get a good spot as it gets very busy. Friday night we were there, it wasn’t very busy at all and had no problem getting a good spot. Overall, we were a bit disappointed. Maybe March is not a very popular month for tourists? I do not know, however, do not let my review put you off. See it for yourself; it may be different the night you visit.
Seven Mile Bridge
The famous Seven Mile Bridge connects Knight Keys to Little Duck Keys. It used to be one of the world’s longest bridges. If you are heading down to Key West, you get the opportunity to drive across the long Seven Mile Bridge.
The Seven Mile Bridge will not be the only bridge you will cross. Here are some drone shots of another bridge in the Florida Keys you will drive across:
Key Deer
The Florida Keys is home to the endangered Key Deer. For a chance of spotting them, head down to National Key Deer Refuge, in Big Pine Key. We visited the Visitor Centre to get some information about where is best to spot them. He gave us a map showing us a couple of different areas that they have recently been spotted in. After a bit of driving around, we saw a whole group of them gathered together at the edge of the road, eating the grass.
For your best chance of spotting a Key Deer, pop by the visitor centre and get some advice. They will be able to tell you where they have recently been seeing them. This will prevent you from driving around for hours, searching for them.
If you have some extra time on your hands while they search for the Key Deer’s, you can do a short walk around the Blue Hole. This is Florida Keys’ largest freshwater pool. If you are lucky you may see some alligators. We saw one alligator bathing in the water.
Address of visitor centre: 179 Key Deer Blvd, Big Pine Key, FL 33043179
Location of the Blue Hole: Key Deer Boulevard, MM 30.5 bayside, Big Pine Key
The Turtle Hospital
The Turtle Hospital was one very interesting experience. The hospital is located in Marathon, halfway between Key Largo and Key West. It cost $25 per adult and $12 for a child. You get a 90-minute tour through the hospital, including an informative presentation on the different breeds of turtles. It’s something I highly recommend doing, great for all the family and very educational. The money you pay for admission goes towards the upkeep cost of the hospital.
If you are planning a visit, I recommend booking in advance, as it does get fully booked. We had to give them a ring to book our slot as you can’t book a slot through their website.
For more information, please visit their website: The Turtle Hospital.
Address: 2396 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050
Sunset Park
Sunset Park is a beautiful place to watch a sunset. It is located in Marathon, just around the corner from our hotel, the Hampton Inn. It was one of the best sunsets I had ever seen. I thought it was just as good as the famous sunset in Mallory Square, Key West. As the sun went down, we had singers singing a local Florida Keys sunset song. It was a lovely, rememberable atmosphere.
Tip: Get there earlier as it got very busy and parking gets full. We got there half an hour before sunset.
Location: Ocean Dr W, Key Colony Beach, FL 33051
Robbie’s
Robbie’s is voted the number 1 place in the Florida Keys, a place where every tourist should stop by for a visit. Robbie’s is located in Islamorada, just off route 1. It’s a great place to stop for a bite to eat, feed the massive tarpon’s and see some big pelicans. You can also hire boats and go snorkeling. If you are lucky, you may see some sharks. Unfortunately, we did not see any.
For more information, please visit their website: Robbie’s.
Location: 77522 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036
Sombrero Beach
Sombrero Beach, located in Marathon is meant to be good for snorkeling and you are meant to be able to see the famous lighthouse, out at sea. We stopped by for a quick look for the lighthouse. For some reason, we could not see it. Maybe, it was further around the corner from where we were. However, we saw something we did not expect to see. We saw dolphins jumping in and out of the water. Unfortunately, I had left the camera in the room with the good zoom so sadly; we didn’t get any good captures of the dolphins.
The beach is a beautiful but busy beach. If you visit at the right time of the year, between April to October, you may be lucky enough to see the Loggerhead Turtles nesting.
Location: Sombrero Beach Rd, Marathon, FL 33050
