Last week, I wrote a review of Baker’s Cay resort in Key Largo via Hilton points, our base during recent trip to the area. I’ve said before that my two favorite spots in my home state are St. Augustine and Florida Keys. I never get tired of visiting either one and recommend them both highly.
To me, driving the Overseas Highway of Route 1 is something every American should do at least once. It really is a marvel of engineering, and costs you nothing to explore (aside from gas in your car).
Besides that, there are many other activities you can do in Florida Keys without spending a fortune. Here are a few things I recommend:
1) A day trip to Key West
If you haven’t been, you gotta go to Key West! Keep in mind that it’s likely to take you close to 3 hours one-way when staying in Baker’s Cay resort, especially during high season. There is only one road, and traffic moves slowly and sometimes stops altogether. Parking in Key West will be another big issue. It took us awhile to find an empty spot, and we had to pay $43 for only four hours of parking.
But we had no choice, as both kids insisted on going back to Hemingway house, a place we have visited previously. No, not because they are big fans of the author, but due to six-toed cats that freely roam the premises. You can join a tour or see everything on your own.
You are not supposed to pick up the cats, but there is nothing to stop them from jumping in your lap, which is what happened to my daughter to her compete delight.
This is a cat lover’s heaven, with historical significance thrown into the mix. Highly recommended!
After visiting the Hemingway house, we walked a few blocks to have dinner at Banana Cafe, a quirky eatery mostly serving French cuisine. The main reason I picked this place was because my daughter requested an Escargot dish.
Very cute cafe, and the food was good, as were the drinks.
After dinner we walked a few minutes to the pier, so we could see the water.
Magnificent view
Afterwards we drove back to our resort in Key Largo, arriving around 9 PM. It was an exhausting day, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
2) Theater of the Sea in Islamorada (20 minutes from Baker’s Cay resort by car)
This is a really neat amusement park of sorts. According to the website, it’s home to many animals who have been rescued, rehabilitated, and deemed non-releasable by state or federal government agencies for a variety of reasons.
This was actually our second visit to the park, although my son had no memories of the previous trip, since he was quite young. I really like this place and if you can afford it, take your kids. The cost isn’t horrible ($50 per person when you buy tickets online), and IMO you get good value for your money.
There are several animal shows you can watch throughout the day, or just walk around and enjoy the surroundings. Swimming with dolphins costs extra.
It’s much smaller than Sea World, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Readers, what are your favorite things to do in Florida Keys?
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@prohectx Cool! I might look into Marathon next time.
We stayed in Marathon when we visited the keys, and just made Key West a day trip with Dry Tortugas as part of the itinerary. Highly recommended!
@projectx Oh man! I’ve wanted to visit Dry Tortugas, but it never worked out. One day we need to actually stay in Key West, so we can go there.
I will likely be avoiding Florida in the near future, for reasons.
But anyway, lots of fun to be had in the keys. Hemmingway House in Key West is quite fun, and our favorite activity was taking the seaplane to Dry Tortugas National Park.
@Joe Yup, people still go to Florida! Some (myself included) even live here. 😉
People still willingly go to Florida? What’s next, Russia??