Subscribe Today

FLORIDA KEYS GETAWAY GUIDE

You're not a real Floridian until you've watched the sun go down and the magicians and jugglers light up the Mallory Square Dock in Key West. But besides the Duvall Street bars, treasure-hunter Mel Fisher's museum and the descendants of Ernest Hemingway's six-toed cats, the narrow stretch between South Florida and the southernmost point of the U.S. is continually dotted with tranquil and lush getaways.

IF YOU GO

Getting there: Cape Air and several other airlines fly into Key West airport, a flight of slightly less than an hour from Fort Lauderdale. By car, take Florida's Turnpike south out of Fort Lauderdale, then Exit 4 onto the southern portion of the Turnpike. The Turnpike ends at U.S. 1 in Florida City. Follow U.S. 1 south into the Florida Keys. The trip is about two hours from Fort Lauderdale to the Upper Keys, about 4.5 hours all the way to Key West. Check traffic on U.S. 1 before leaving.

For more information: Florida Keys & Key West Visitors Bureau 305-296-1552. One the Web: http://www.fla-keys.com.

LINKS TO MAJOR ATTRACTIONS

• National Key Deer Refuge

• Dry Tortugas National Park

• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

• Audubon House and Tropical Gardens

• Conch Tour Trains
• Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

• Key West Aquarium

• Harry S. Truman Little White House Museum

• Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

• Pigeon Key and Old Seven Mile Bridge/

• Dolphin Research Center

• Official site of sunset celebration at Key West

Weather: Key West current conditions and five-day forecast.

September 23, 2008

Florida Keys gets ready for fall festivals

The Florida Keys have cleaned up from the recent spate of storms and are proceeding with plans for several events this fall, including the Halloween-themed Fantasy Fest and a party marking the end of hurricane season. "This town knows how to clean up after a storm or a large party," Key West City Manager Jim Scholl said. "We're ready for visitors."

September 23, 2007

Found art in the Keys

The road to the Upper Keys is paved with the blaze of poincianas. So far we have passed their painted red tops, pressed against the Turnpike's seam, along with nurseries and palm farms, houses shaped like barracks, canals and lakes, and the right-veering loop into Florida City. My sweetheart and I are on our way to Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada, three cayos, the Spanish word for "little islands," dividing the bay from the straights. We will not be doing what I've dubbed "fishy" things — snorkeling, diving, casting lines for snapper and grouper. We are looking for art.

November 8, 2004

Florida Keys: Seven stops on 'The Animal Tour'

For some, the Keys are all about the wild nightlife of Key West. For my family, the highlight of a visit to the Keys has always been the wildlife. In fact, we christened our last visit to the Keys "The Animal Tour " because we organized our trip around a variety of encounters with creatures.

May 15, 2006

Pirate museum in Key West a treasure trove of artifacts

KEY WEST · Pat Croce's passion for pirates is written all over him, and now it is on display in Key West, too.

July 6, 2006

Explore all that the Keys has to offer

I wrestle the big bull shark until my muscles are quivering with exhaustion. Just when I think I can't fight it another second, the line goes slack and I reel it to the side of the 16-foot boat.

June 6, 2004

Discovering Key West's quaint charms and tropical trends

Key West never sought to be different. But by birthright, it simply was: a remote village with a defiant attitude and free spirit that attracted privateers, pirates, entrepreneurs, smugglers, craftsmen, pioneers, poets and writers.

March 23, 2003

Key West: 12 ways to make the most of a weekend visit

Hospitality is the way of life in Key West. The generous reception of guests dates back to the 1820s when ship salvagers and Cuban cigarmakers settled on the island. In more recent times, Key West has been both a sanctuary for aging hippies in Margaritaville and a popular destination on the gay circuit.

May 2, 2004

A guide to the historic homes of the Conch Republic

One of the more charming aspects of Key West is the city's obvious pride in its historic houses and museums. The irony of it is that they don't really go back that far -- the "oldest house" dates to 1829 -- probably because of the cobbled-together early architecture on the relatively remote island and the numerous hurricanes that have made hash of it.

February 29, 2004

How to avoid tourist traps in Key West

KEY WEST -- I am relaxing on a tropical beach surrounded by palm tress, pinky white sand and surf the color of deep blue hydrangeas, all sparkled into pastel diamonds by the sun. But while arriving in Key West is like stepping into a picture postcard of old Florida, it's quickly apparent that the prices here are decidedly new millennium.

May 2, 2004

In Islamorada, you can count on striking scenery and savory seafood

It's Thursday evening around 8. My husband, Ronnie, and I are driving south from Fort Lauderdale for a five-day trip to Islamorada, our favorite spot in the Keys. As we pass Homestead and hit the Overseas Highway, Ronnie sticks his head out the window to check the reddish sky. "Oooh!" he says. "It's going to be a great day on the boat tomorrow!"

March 28, 2005

Leaping tarpon lure tourists to Robbie's marina in the Florida Keys

It's always feeding time at Robbie's of Islamorada, where the 100 or so tarpon lined up like miniature submarines below a bayside pier don't have to worry about getting a hook in the mouth to get a meal.

Key to the past: Tiny Pigeon Key captures history, feeling of old Florida Keys

If life seems to have passed Pigeon Key by, that's because it has. And still does.

August 15, 2004

Fawning over tiny residents of the Keys

They were miniature deer. Bambis, but not babies. Barely taller than the multicolored chickens skittering around this Lower Key.

March 1, 2004

Key Largo: Glass-bottom boat opens coral reef to kids

KEY LARGO -- You don't have to snorkel or scuba dive to visit the famous coral reef three miles from the shores of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

July 17, 2005

Key West's Hemingway Days festival honors 'Papa'

Imagine a biker rendezvous, a seminar for English majors and a marlin tournament all taking place in the same town.

Keys Web site provides new visitor safety, hurricane information pages

The official visitor Web site of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council (TDC), the agency responsible for tourism marketing in the Florida Keys & Key West, has established new information sections designed to protect the health and welfare of travelers to the Florida Keys.

CYBERTRIPS: Hemingway, Truman loved Key West; so will you

Soak up some sun on a subtropical island and join the locals in celebrating the sunset. But this is an island with a difference: You can get there in your car. And if you start making plans now to visit Key West, you'll arrive in time for this year's observance honoring Ernest Hemingway, one of its most famous residents.

March 28, 2004

Upper Keys' islands are steeped in history, frozen in time

Hop a shuttle boat to a pair of islands frozen in history: Lignumvitae and Indian keys, about 78 miles north of Key West. Both state parks are treasures of Florida natural history and political intrigue.

The lower Florida Keys: Wildlife and friendly folk

At dinner in Miami Beach the night before I picked up the rented Toyota and drove down U.S. 1, my friend Laura, Florida born and bred, explained how she knew when she'd crossed the border into Keys territory: "You walk into a bar where you've never been in your life. If everyone there treats you as if you've been closing the place every night for the last eight years, you're in the Keys."

October 5, 2003

Like Alice in snorkeland, a visitor to the barrier reef of the Florida Keys finds herself enthralled.

Our small boat bobs like a rubber duck in a bathtub of frolicking 2-year-olds, the red-and-white "diver down" flag snapping like the pop of fingers to an up-tempo beat.

Key West Fantasy Fest 2006

Event highlights: Fantasy Fest will run from Friday, Oct. 20 through Sunday, Oct. 29.

September 29, 2003

Kayaks glide to popularity in Keys

A caravan of kayaks snakes through a narrow opening in a mangrove forest in the backcountry waters of the lower Florida Keys.

May 4, 2003

Pushing the limits

We are excited about our inaugural trip to Key West -- photographing architecture, dining on fresh-caught fish, experiencing the fabled sunset celebration.

April 27, 2003

A place where the dream takes wing

Fred Geibelt has his rain forest. Sam Trophia has his butterfly conservatory. See, in Key West, dreams really do come true. Even when they take years.

Key West's gardens benefit from climate and charm

Tourists are typically drawn to Key West by high-profile attractions such as the Hemingway House, the Conch Train tour and Mallory Squares sunset celebration.

Islamorada fishing

Fishing. I never quite understood the allure. Sure, I love the taste of fresh fish. But I can drive to the seafood market and back in 20 minutes. Plus, if I lay out $15, I am guaranteed four big tuna steaks.

July 19, 2001

Sunset in Key West: For some, it's a lifestyle

It didn't take long for New York native Raymond Moffitan to get used to roasting hot dogs and frying twisted pretzels for a living. The 54-year-old former car dealer and hospital administrator was all smiles on a recent night in Mallory Square, the site of Key West's daily Sunset Celebration.

FLORIDA KEYS GETAWAY GUIDE

IF YOU GO

Popular stories

Special Advertising Section