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Florida Keys

If Florida is a state apart from the USA, the Keys are islands apart from Florida – in other words, it's different down here. This is a place for those escaping everyday life on the mainland. You'll find about 113 mangrove-and-sandbar islands where the white sun melts over deep green mangroves; long, soft mudflats and tidal bars; teal waters and a bunch of charming polite society castaways.

Key West is still defined by its motto – One Human Family – an ideal that equals a tolerant, accepting ethos where anything goes and life is always a party (or at least a hungover day after). The color scheme: watercolor pastels cooled by breezes on a sunset-kissed Bahamian porch. Welcome to the End of the USA.

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Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Florida Keys.

  • See

    Museum of Art & History at the Custom House

    This excellent museum, set in a grand 1891 red-brick building that once served as the Customs House, covers Key West's history. Highlights are the archival footage from the building of the ambitious Overseas Hwy (and the hurricane that killed 400 people), a model of the ill-fated USS Maine (sunk during the Spanish-American War) and the Navy's role in Key West (once the largest employer), and the 'wreckers' of Key West, who scavenged sunken treasure ships. There's also info on rum-running to Havana during the Prohibition days and some excellent folk art: seek out Mario Sanchez' art naïf paintings of Key West from the 1960s and '70s.

  • See

    Mallory Square

    Take all those energies, subcultures and oddities of Keys life and focus them into one torchlit, family-friendly (but playfully edgy), sunset-enriched street party. The result of all these raucous forces is Mallory Sq, one of the greatest shows on earth that starts in the hours leading up to dusk, the sinking sun a signal to bring on the madness. Watch a dog walk a tightrope, a man swallow fire, and British acrobats tumble and sass each other.

  • See

    Bahia Honda State Park

    This park, with its long, white-sand (and at times seaweed-strewn) beach, named Sandspur Beach by locals, is the big attraction in these parts. As Keys beaches go, this one is probably the best natural stretch of sand in the island chain. There's also the novel experience of walking on the old Bahia Honda Rail Bridge, which offers nice views of the surrounding islands. Heading out on kayaking adventures (from $12/36 per hour/half day) is another great way to spend a sun-drenched afternoon. You can also check out the nature trails and science center, where helpful park employees can assist you to identify stone crabs, fireworms, horseshoe crabs and comb jellies. The park concession offers daily 1½-hour snorkeling trips at 9:30am and 1:30pm (adult/child $30/25). Reserve ahead in high season.

  • See

    Florida Keys History of Diving Museum

    You can’t miss the diving museum – it’s the building with the enormous mural of whale sharks on the side. The journey into the undersea covers 4000 years, with fascinating pieces like the 1797 Klingert's copper kettle, a whimsical room devoted to Jules Verne's Captain Nemo, massive deep-diving suits and an exquisite display of diving helmets from around the world. These imaginative galleries reflect the charming quirks of the Keys. Folks in the museum can also provide information on diving in a vintage Mark V diving suit (the ones with the bulbous onion-heads connected to surface pumps). The museum stages free lectures on diving entitled (of course) 'Immerse Yourself' at 7pm on the third Wednesday of every month.

  • See

    Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden

    Nancy, an environmental artist and fixture of the Keys community, invites you into her backyard oasis where chatty rescued parrots and macaws await visitors. She gives an overview of these marvelously intelligent and rare birds ('Parrot 101' as she calls it) between 10am and 11am daily. It's a great place for kids, who often leave inspired by the hands-on interactions. Musicians are welcome to bring their instruments to play in the yard. The birds love it – particularly flutes!

  • See

    Anne's Beach

    Named after local environmentalist Anne Eaton, this tiny beach is one of the finest seascapes in these parts. The small ribbon of sand opens upon a sky-bright stretch of tidal flats and a green tunnel of hammock and wetland. A short (quarter-mile) boardwalk leads through the mangroves with lookouts and picnic tables along the way. The tiny parking lot is often full. There's additional parking on the bayside, a short walk south of Anne's Beach.

  • See

    John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

    John Pennekamp has the singular distinction of being the first underwater park in the USA. There’s 170 acres of dry parkland here and over 48,000 acres (75 sq miles) of wet: the vast majority of the protected area is the ocean. Before you get out in that water, be sure to take in some pleasant beaches and stroll over the nature trails. The Mangrove Trail is a good boardwalk introduction to this oft-maligned, ecologically awesome species (the trees, often submerged in water, breathe via long roots that act as snorkels – neat). Stick around for nightly campfire programs and ranger discussions. The visitor center is well run and informative and has a small saltwater aquarium and nature films that give a glimpse of what’s under those waters. To really get beneath the surface, you should take a 2½-hour glass-bottom boat tour (adult/child $24/17). You'll be brought out in a safe, modern 38ft catamaran from which you’ll get a chance to see filigreed flaps of soft coral, technicolor schools of fish, dangerous-looking barracuda and perhaps massive, yet ballerina-graceful, sea turtles. Besides the swirl of natural coral life, interested divers can catch a glimpse of the Christ of the Abyss, an 8.5ft, 4000lb bronze sculpture of Jesus – a copy of a similar sculpture off the coast of Genoa, Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea. If you want to go even deeper, try straight-up snorkeling trips (adult/child $30/25) or diving excursions (six-person charter $500, plus equipment rental). DIY-ers may want to take out a canoe ($20 per hour), kayak (from $12/30 per hour/half day) or stand-up paddleboard (from $25/40 per hour/half day) to journey through a 3-mile network of trails. Phone for boat-rental information. To learn more about the reef in this area, go to www.southeastfloridareefs.net.

  • See

    Hemingway House

    Key West’s biggest darling, Ernest Hemingway, lived in this gorgeous Spanish Colonial house from 1931 to 1940. Papa moved here in his early 1930s with his second wife, a Vogue fashion editor and (former) friend of his first wife (he left the house when he ran off with his third wife). The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Green Hills of Africa were produced here, as well as many cats, whose descendants basically run the grounds. Admission includes a guided tour with one of the knowledgeable guides, who share intriguing and amusing anecdotes about the Hemingways. You're also free to poke around the house and grounds on your own.

  • See

    Studios of Key West

    This nonprofit showcases about a dozen artists’ studios in a three-story space, and hosts some of the best art openings in Key West on the first Thursday of the month. Besides its public visual-arts displays, TSKW hosts readings, literary and visual workshops, concerts, lectures and community discussion groups. Essentially, it has become the accessible heart of this city’s enormous arts movement, and offers a good point of entry for visitors who want to engage in Key West’s creative scene but don’t know where to start.

Featured videos

Discover the hidden gems of the Florida Keys: On and off the beaten path

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