Travel Guides > Florida Keys, FL

Florida Keys Travel

If you're heading to the Florida Keys from Miami or some other point on mainland Florida, the drive may seem long, but the sights you'll encounter along the way make this excursion well worth the time it takes to arrive at the southernmost point - Key West.

All the Florida Keys provide unique reasons for making a stop to explore them and extending your trip to enjoy a little something on each island can be fun.

The northernmost of the islands and the most easily accessible from Miami or Fort Lauderdale airports, Key Largo is a veritable mecca for divers. To the east of the island, you'll find North America's only living coral barrier reef, just waiting to be explored by curious SCUBA divers. A U.S. Naval ship, the Spiegel Grove, was sunk here intentionally to create a new barrier reef for the diverse marine life here and also provides a fine diving location.

Key Largo is also renowned as an excellent fishing destination, and you'll find a number of fishing guides and charters here that will lead you to the best places to make your catch-of-the-day.

As you travel south, you'll reach picturesque Islamorada, also home to great fishing. However, most individuals and families make a stop here to enjoy the Theater of the Sea, a marine mammal adventure park, where you can enjoy fun shows, swim with the dolphins, or become a trainer-for-a-day.

In the center of the archipelago, you'll find Marathon Key. This is a great place to embark upon an eco-tour as much of the land here is set aside for conservation and preservation purposes. Make a stop at the Museums and Nature Center of Crane Point Hammock. At this 63-acre site, you'll find a Natural History museum that focuses on the flora and fauna of Southern Florida and the Keys; a hands-on children's museum; the Adderley House Historic Site, one of the oldest homes in the Keys; and the Wild Bird Center, where birdwatching can't be topped.

The Lower Keys and Big Pine Key, further south, provide wonderful opportunities for all sorts of watersports, like fishing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, and sailing. Don't miss beautiful Bahia Honda State Park, often touted as one of the finest beaches in North America. On the other hand, Big Pine is also home to lots of man-made attractions and considered the shopping mecca of the Florida Keys.

Many visitors head straight to quirky Key West, a stunning resort town that's often been home to famous artists and writers, like Ernest Hemingway. Truly the cultural capital of the Keys, Key West plays host to great theater, magnificent architecture, world-class restaurants, funky bars and nightclubs, and enough water to keep even the most avid watersports enthusiast happy.

Take a photo at the Southernmost Point, where you're only 90 miles from Cuba; tour Ernest Hemingway's House and the museum that contains interesting artifacts pertaining to his life; take a glass-bottom boat tour; or enjoy a dolphin encounter in the waters around Key West. When you're hungry, have a steaming bowl of conch soup, conch fritters, or one of the other delectable seafood creations found in the restaurants here.