Florida Keys

How much would you like to spend?

Well, for what I have seen, everything is in the $120+ range minimum, for a nice room and a s/p... Willing to spend a bit more for somewhere really nice, if able to save on other night... I visited the little palm island website (off little torch island) - beautiful, but at $800 clearly above my game :)

We stayed in Islamorada (Middle Keys) at Ragged Edge Resort. It wasn't anything fancy as far as amenities or decor, but the rooms were extremely clean and the place is very well-run (the owner can be a bit grumpy but cares deeply about the place and keeps it in ship-shape condition). When we were there, he had free bikes guests could use during your stay -- not sure if that's still the case. The rates are very reasonable for being directly on the water -- no beach, but there's a pier and also a lookout tower. Also a nice pool.

For us, the nice thing about the Middle Keys was that they were accessible to the Everglades (where we spent a day), Key West (another full day), and all kinds of wonderful sights and state parks in between. Despite being there on one of the most crowded weeks of the year, the week between Christmas and New Year's, we found all kinds of out-of-the-way things to see and do where we weren't standing hip to hip with other tourists.

Hi Katia, Its been several years since I've been to the Keys but there are several highlights I remember.
1. Try to eat dinner once at Cafe Sole in Key West its in a residential neighborhood several block of Duval Street and the food is fantastic (entrees are $15-$20)
2.I really enjoyed the Hemingway House, but I am also a big fan of his work and a cat person :)
3. At Islamorada there is a dolphin research center where you can swim with some dolphins for about $60. I typically dont do that kind of thing but my friend knew somebody that worked there and the animals were treated very well. It was a great experience.

I will definitely hit you up fo some info on Madrid as I will be going there in May. Enjoy your time in Florida!

there are the keys and then there is key west. one is not much like the other. key west is very commercial, but very quaint and hopping day and night in old town. lots of bars and eats and shopping. its got a small town vibe but is quite sophisticated. quite pricey too. best bets are to stay outside old town. several chains on the outskirts.
the rest of the keys are about fishing, snorkling, scuba and some, not much, beaching. each is a little different vibe. you cant really go wrong if youve never been there before.

Chilledbongo is right. What do you want to do in the Keys? You could do worse than Cheeca Resort if you stay in the Middle Keys.

If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. - Lewis Carroll

Cheeca advertises quite a bit and has a national reputation.

Key West has suffered severely from gentrification. It was a fairly modest old town thirty years ago. Since then, it's become a haven for the very affluent, causing much of the original population to flee to the mainland. For a time, the Keys were able to bus service employees from the southern tip of the Miami area (Homestead and Florida City), but rising property values are causing the same sort of flight-of-the-poor there. I get the impression that the latest move is to employ short-term foreign workers, so your hotel desk clerk or waiter in Key West might be Russian.

So Key West is now comparable in some ways to Nantucket, Martha's Vinyard, Fire Island, or Cutty Hunk.

August is usually not terribly rainy in the Keys (the main downpour season is late May through maybe early July), but the humidity will be very high. Just like Havana.

The Keys have a number of nature parks and the National Key Deer Refuge that show off tropical "hammocks" (evergreen hardwood thickets, similar to the "coppices" in the Bahamas) and Caribbean pinelands complete with tiny deer.

if you like camping see if you can reserve a spot at bahia honda state park - middle keys

the key deer reserve is on big pine key

pay the extra $$$ to stay in old town when in key west

Bahia Honda is gorgeous, but tough to get a spot. If you want "old Keys" flavor try Big Pine Key. And a visit to the No Name bar -on No Name Key of course-is always rewarding. The tiny Key Deer are cute as hell, too.

Pero, it depends on what you like and hate. If you like big city stuff Kew West is the ONLY choice. If you like quieter surroundings almost all the rest of the Keys are better.

Ed