Key West-a touch of the Caribbean in the United States! Our family owns a guest house there, the Mango Tree Inn, so my wife Sharon and I go there frequently (or as often our aunt and uncle can stand us!). Just follow US RT1 south from Miami 'til it ends and you are in Key West.
Key West is the southernmost city in the US. It is closer to Cuba (90 miles) than it is to Miami. You can see a strong Cuban and Bahamian influence in the town. The original settlement of the town is now called "Old Town" and is the primary tourist and cruise passenger area. ("New Town" has more of the traditional shopping center/chain restaurant atmosphere.) Old Town and the main drag, Duval Street, have restaurants, bars, museums, hotels, guest houses, souvenir shops, sightseeing, and T-shirt shops. Since Key West is not really known for its beaches (my favorite beach is at Ft Zachary Taylor but is small), I don't feel it is really geared to long stays with young children. It is more of a relaxed, eat, drink, and be merry type of town for adults. There are things that children would enjoy such as the the Butterfly Conservatory, the Mel Fisher Museum, the Pirate Museum, the Winter White House for President Truman, Ernest Hemingway's house, and a boat trip to Ft. Jefferson (70 miles east of Key West famous for housing Dr Mudd, John Wilkes Booth's doctor). Water sports are also readily available (sailing, fishing, jet skis, snorkeling, etc) and souvenir shopping is everywhere, but after the nightly Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square, the town is for adults.
From gourmet to casual outdoor dining, the restaurants are plentiful and tasty. From Lobster and steaks to Cuban to Italian, Thai and Japanese to conch fritters; they are all well represented. Some of my favorite restaurants are Conch Republic, A&B Lobster, La Trattoria, Blue Heaven, Michael's, and Bagatelle, but part of our fun is trying new places to eat. Of course, the cheeseburgers are good at Margaritaville. The other part of the Key West fun is bar-hopping or the "Duval Crawl" as it is sometimes referred.
Old Town and Duval can throw quite a party. This is not the wimpy kind of "one bar on every corner" type of place. With Key West temperatures averaging 85F-65F (all-time high of 97F/all-time low of 41F) many of the venues are open to the tropical air. (July and August have the highest humidity and warmest temperatures.) Some of our favorite watering holes (but certainly not limited to!) are Hogs Breath, Schooner Wharf, Irish Kevin's, Cowboy Bills, and Virgilios. Most bars have Happy Hours and are open to the wee hours. Karaoke is fun at Two Friends. If you like to party, Key West is the place.
There is a wide range of accommodations available near Old Town, but finding one on the beach is tough. Sunset Key (a small island off of Mallory Square formally known as Tank Island) probably offers the most exclusive accommodations in the area and nice beach area. It is accessible only by ferry. In Old Town itself the Westin, Hyatt, Ocean Key, and Pier House are convenient to Mallory Square and its nightly celebration of hand made crafts, food, and circus like entertainers. Duval has a number of other hotel properties and still others are available away from the hustle and bustle. Prices generally go down as you get away from Duval and most hotels will offer shuttles to the partying. Cabs (including pink ones) and even the rickshaw type pedicabs are always available. Some visitors rent bikes, scooters, or electric carts to get around town.
My favorite type of accommodation in Key West is the Guest House. The typical architecture of these houses is wood frame, tin roofs, covered porches, shuttered windows, with gingerbread trim. Many of them date to the late 1800's and are painted a variety of pastel colors. With their lush tropical foliage and many having pools, the guest house is the perfect way to get away from normal, relax with a "boat drink" in your hand, and sing Jimmy Buffet songs. My favorite guest house in Key West is the Mango Tree Inn, of course, but it is also the favorite of many repeat visitors to the island. Owners Peggy and Johnny make their guests feel like family. Ask Peggy for some of her key lime pie and I'm sure Johnny will share some of his tequila with you!
So, if you like to relax, eat good food, enjoy nice weather, and go out on the town, Key West is a perfect place to Live The World!
Key West is the southernmost city in the US. It is closer to Cuba (90 miles) than it is to Miami. You can see a strong Cuban and Bahamian influence in the town. The original settlement of the town is now called "Old Town" and is the primary tourist and cruise passenger area. ("New Town" has more of the traditional shopping center/chain restaurant atmosphere.) Old Town and the main drag, Duval Street, have restaurants, bars, museums, hotels, guest houses, souvenir shops, sightseeing, and T-shirt shops. Since Key West is not really known for its beaches (my favorite beach is at Ft Zachary Taylor but is small), I don't feel it is really geared to long stays with young children. It is more of a relaxed, eat, drink, and be merry type of town for adults. There are things that children would enjoy such as the the Butterfly Conservatory, the Mel Fisher Museum, the Pirate Museum, the Winter White House for President Truman, Ernest Hemingway's house, and a boat trip to Ft. Jefferson (70 miles east of Key West famous for housing Dr Mudd, John Wilkes Booth's doctor). Water sports are also readily available (sailing, fishing, jet skis, snorkeling, etc) and souvenir shopping is everywhere, but after the nightly Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square, the town is for adults.
From gourmet to casual outdoor dining, the restaurants are plentiful and tasty. From Lobster and steaks to Cuban to Italian, Thai and Japanese to conch fritters; they are all well represented. Some of my favorite restaurants are Conch Republic, A&B Lobster, La Trattoria, Blue Heaven, Michael's, and Bagatelle, but part of our fun is trying new places to eat. Of course, the cheeseburgers are good at Margaritaville. The other part of the Key West fun is bar-hopping or the "Duval Crawl" as it is sometimes referred.
Old Town and Duval can throw quite a party. This is not the wimpy kind of "one bar on every corner" type of place. With Key West temperatures averaging 85F-65F (all-time high of 97F/all-time low of 41F) many of the venues are open to the tropical air. (July and August have the highest humidity and warmest temperatures.) Some of our favorite watering holes (but certainly not limited to!) are Hogs Breath, Schooner Wharf, Irish Kevin's, Cowboy Bills, and Virgilios. Most bars have Happy Hours and are open to the wee hours. Karaoke is fun at Two Friends. If you like to party, Key West is the place.
There is a wide range of accommodations available near Old Town, but finding one on the beach is tough. Sunset Key (a small island off of Mallory Square formally known as Tank Island) probably offers the most exclusive accommodations in the area and nice beach area. It is accessible only by ferry. In Old Town itself the Westin, Hyatt, Ocean Key, and Pier House are convenient to Mallory Square and its nightly celebration of hand made crafts, food, and circus like entertainers. Duval has a number of other hotel properties and still others are available away from the hustle and bustle. Prices generally go down as you get away from Duval and most hotels will offer shuttles to the partying. Cabs (including pink ones) and even the rickshaw type pedicabs are always available. Some visitors rent bikes, scooters, or electric carts to get around town.
My favorite type of accommodation in Key West is the Guest House. The typical architecture of these houses is wood frame, tin roofs, covered porches, shuttered windows, with gingerbread trim. Many of them date to the late 1800's and are painted a variety of pastel colors. With their lush tropical foliage and many having pools, the guest house is the perfect way to get away from normal, relax with a "boat drink" in your hand, and sing Jimmy Buffet songs. My favorite guest house in Key West is the Mango Tree Inn, of course, but it is also the favorite of many repeat visitors to the island. Owners Peggy and Johnny make their guests feel like family. Ask Peggy for some of her key lime pie and I'm sure Johnny will share some of his tequila with you!
So, if you like to relax, eat good food, enjoy nice weather, and go out on the town, Key West is a perfect place to Live The World!
1 comment:
Nice Post! Now that I live in Fl, it's not so far to go down to key west, so maybe I can do it more often. And Peggy and Johnny are the best!
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