Key West is one of the most beautiful places I have visited in America. It is a small island of paradise, situated at the southernmost point in the United States. It has evolved into a wealthy tourist town offering numerous attractions, allowing people to experience the Caribbean culture without having to leave America. As it is surrounded by the stunning, crystal clear Gulf of Mexico, the water is so warm and inviting; it really is perfect!
We ended up extending our stay here as we loved it so so much! Here are my 10 favourite things to do in Key West…
1. GREYHOUND – If you are considering visiting Key West, you MUST drive. We got a Greyhound from Miami which got us to Key West in just under 4 hours. The 110 mile trip takes you over 42 different bridges, whilst driving through lots of gorgeous little towns on each island. Although the coach has wifi, I just spent the whole time looking out of the window, taking pictures and enjoying the views!!
2. OCEAN KEY RESORT AND SPA – As Key West was our penultimate destination on our trip, we decided to stay in a luxury hotel. However, when I booked Ocean Key Resort and Spa I had NO idea how incredible it would be! (I mean, you'd think I'd have guessed from the price). The room was huge and the view from our balcony was gorgeous. It overlooked Mallory Square, the harbour and Sunset Key island. The only downside was that the WiFi in the hotel was ridiculously slow.. but we did not mind as we spent most of our time exploring the island and sat out on our balcony!
3. SUNSET PIER – On the doorstep of the hotel was Sunset Pier, a place where you could eat, drink, listen to live music, and of course watch the beautiful, famous sunset over the Gulf of Mexico! I love sunsets (and sunrises) so I was completely in my element.
4. SUNSET WATER SPORTS – This was the BEST boat trip I have ever been on. The trip we went on was called the ”Do it all” Watersports Adventure and it is run by Sunset Watersports. There are numerous boat trips from lots of different companies that are available for roughly the same price. After spending a long time reading about them all we both decided that this was the best trip for us. We had to board the 2 million dollar yacht at 201 William St., Key West Bight Marina (which was full of many more stunning yachts and boats). The trip lasted 6 hours and we were taken far out to sea where the many activities awaited us.
PRICES: $119 per adult – no parasailing. $129 per adult including parasailing. $59 children under 12.
Activities included in the price: Banana Boat ride, Kayaking, Snorkeling, Jet Ski, Trampoline in the middle of the sea, Wind Surfing, Paddle boarding, Inflatable Iceberg, Knee boarding, Water skiing, Air conditioned main cabin, upper sun deck where you can sunbath, and a grilled lunch.
You can also pay extra to have their private photographer take pictures of you throughout the day. I thoroughly recommend this trip!
5. CASA MARINA RESORT – The private beach of this resort is breathtakingly beautiful! We only found out about is as it was the meeting place for one of our trips, and luckily we arrived early which meant we were able to walk around and soak up the sun which laying on the beach hammock… absolute paradise!
6. ISLAND JET SKI TOUR – Again, there are many trips that you can book but we decided to book our Island Jet Ski Tour through Barefoot Billy’s. The tour was 2 hours long and covered 27 miles around the island of Key West, through the Caribbean waters. Our tour guide took us to some amazing spots and flooded us with history of the island. My favourite stop was to a San Bar in the middle of the ocean where we saw loads of starfish! It was incredible!
PRICES: $140 for a single, $160 for a double.
7. SOUTHERNMOST POINT – The most visited place in Key West is the Southernmost Point. Was a crazy feeling knowing you were standing on the Southernmost point of the whole country!
8. PRIVATE BEACH – We met a lovely lady in our hotel who had just visited a private beach, and she kindly gave us her ticket so that we could go in the afternoon. The beach was called Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Beach. It was a long walk to get there (I recommend taking a car or a bike) but it was 100% worth it! I am so thankful this lady told us about the beach as we would have never known it existed. We were able to hire snorkeling gear and flippers, and we swam out to these rocks and there were so many fish and sea creatures!
9. MALLORY SQUARE – Our hotel balcony looked out onto Mallory Square, and every afternoon/evening it was full of people, market stools and street acts. You can also get a great view of the sunset from here if Sunset Pier is busy. If you are looking for somewhere with great atmosphere then this is it!
10. BAGATELLE – Of course I have to recommend a place to eat…! Bagatelle was just down the road from our hotel, on Duval St., and it serves the most delicious brunches. It is a Seafood-focused American eatery and we sat on the front porch watching all the people walk by on Duval St.
MUST TRY: Bananas Foster, thick cut of french toast, bananas, whipped cream, dark run sauce – $12.
Thank you for reading! I hope this gives you some ideas of what you can do in Key West. It really is one of the most beautiful places I have visited and I feel so lucky that I had the chance to go!
Sophie :)