Heading there in the weeks, so I’ll be listening in if you don’t mind.
Wear long sleeves in the evening and early night along with copious amounts of DEET.
Sloppy Joe’s. Rent bikes.
Depends on reason for going. Not much to do if family. There are other more family friendly places in Florida. Key West is about drinking. But you can see the Atlantic and see the Gulf.
See all the cats at Hemingway’s house!
If you drop your keys, kick them to Islamorada.
Yeah, don’t go.
ask for Doc... https://www.facebook.com/ChefDistilled
Bring money
My wife and I were there last year.....unless you plan to fish or snorkel or dive, be prepared to do lots of walking....
Several famous bars are there, several local museums highlighting local history....people like Hemingway ...
If you are driving.... The trip down is pretty interesting....
You can see the railroad Flagler build about 100 years ago still standing almost all the down the highway....
We drove from Tampa to there....
We had a quick stop there at the end of a Panama Canal cruise we took (late April, early May). We took a bike tour & got to see the lay of the place. It’s nice & flat for biking, which was nice as I haven’t ridden in years. I keep a log when we travel, so I’ll just post what I wrote (info from our bike guide) & it may give you some ideas...
Our tour was a bike ride (approximately 5 miles) around Key West, where we would pass by, but not go into, the major tourist attractions. We saw the original Margaritaville shop & café, & also where Jimmy Buffett lived while he was still singing for drinks. We also saw his studio. We went by the Customs House, where we were told that Key West was at one time one of the wealthiest cities in the country – its wealth made from ships that wrecked on the reef. (Key West has the third largest reef after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia & the one off Belize.) We saw the lighthouse which is now a museum, & Mel Fisher’s museum. He found the wreck Atocha, & recovered $5M worth of Spanish doubloons & assorted other treasure. We passed by the ‘Little White House’ where Harry Truman (& other presidents) came to relax. And we heard a number of stories about the local goings on. For instance, every evening the locals go to the sea wall & watch the sunset. As it sinks below the ocean, everyone claps. That tradition was started by Tennessee Williams, the novelist.
Tobacco & cigars played a big role in the wealth of the Keys. If cigars were imported, a very high tax was levied. But no such tax was levied on the raw tobacco. Cuban cigar makers (no fools) moved to Key West & imported the tobacco, & made them here instead. One particular cigar maker, who had made a fortune, was enticed to move to Tampa. When he left, he bequeathed his home & property to the community, with the only proviso that it be used for recreational purposes. Now it is a park, called the ‘Bay View Park’, although there is no longer a view of the Bay. Too much building further on.
The best story was the last. Once the highway was built connecting the Keys to the mainland, drug runners started using it. So the Feds put up a road block & started searching EVERY vehicle that moved on it. The mayor got mad as this was a clear violation of Fourth Amendment rights. He went to Washington to complain, but got nowhere. So he told them he was going to secede from the US. When he got back a merry band went to the Post Office & were going to take down the US flag, but someone feared that might be considered treason. So they raised their own flag of the Conch Republic just under the US flag. Now every year they re-enact the battle that never happened. All the ships in the marina parade out into the bay, & the coast guard sends ships out to meet them. There are even bi-planes that drop environmentally friendly toilet paper ‘bombs’ on the coast guard. Sooner or later, everyone comes back to port, where the coast guard ceremonially surrenders to the Conch Republic citizenry by handing them a sword, at which point the citizens hand it back & tell them ‘we’ve defeated you for the past XX years, & DON’T DO IT AGAIN!‘ And they all go off to enjoy another day in paradise.
Last stop: we went to the Key Lime Pie Company for a piece of pie.
It was fun. I think I’d like to go back there & spend some time someday.
Beware the Homo Depot. Lol!
Five years ago we took a cruise that stopped at Key West. Enjoyed our few hours there...At the time they had golf carts to rent, which we had planned to do, but then it started raining, so we went into a bar and had some conch fritters, and something to drink. Conch fritters were not all that great, but my son sure enjoyed them. They do, apparently, have the smallest bar around.
October? Watch out for Fantasy Fest (unless you’re into that sort of thing). It gives the gay pride parades in NOLA and San Francisco a real run for their money. You’ll see people (of both sexes) running around in not much more than body paint, a few feathers and a smile. That said, the food and mojitos at the Conch Republic Seafood Co. are great and don’t miss breakfast at the Blue Heaven or Pepe’s. The others are right — KW (Duval Street, anyway) is pretty much all about drinking. I’d stay away from the t-shirt shops on Duval Street — they’ll offer you some sort of deal that will end up costing you double or triple. Margaritaville is an exception — their t-shirts are good quality, if a little pricey (but they’re more than just a t-shirt shop). If you’re there 10/29 - 11/2, the parrotheads (Jimmy Buffett fans) will be having their annual convention there, and there are some pretty good drink specials all over the place. There will be live troprock music in most of the bars, probably a street fest on Friday, and possibly Jimmy will show up (he has in the past, but no one really knows until he does). It’s loads of fun — like a giant pre-concert parking lot party with 3500 of your closest friends. Oh, yeah, don’t miss the pizza slices at Angelina’s on Duval ... yum.
Early October? I’d avoid Halloween at all costs if you’re taking kids.
I was actually married in Key West. Of course that might not work for you if you plan to take your husband;)
We found many interesting artsy-craftsy little shops and galleries; Fast Buck Freddies on Duval was wonderful, but now closed. I did enjoy the tour of Hemingway’s house.
Sunsets are spectacular, but I don’t advise joining the crowd at Mallory Square. We enjoyed watching the sun go down from the Pier House Resort, which has a pier where you can order drinks and perhaps even food.
Enjoy!
If you are driving down, make sure you stop at the Key deer refuge on Big Pine Key.
Best way to get around Key West itself is by bicycle, by far. The sunset celebration at Mallory Square dock is a must - once, at least, it is crowded and noisy but immense fun. Just don’t carry a wallet and make sure you have a fair number of singles on you for the performers. And for the Lord’s sake - make sure you pay attention to the actual sunset!