Key West: 12 Tips For Your First Visit

Located four hours from Miami by car, Key West is the southernmost place in the continental USA. This tropical island feels less like Florida and more like a Caribbean island to me.

Home to beautiful white sand beaches, delicious seafood, great bars, wild roosters and plenty of sunshine!

If you’re looking for a good tropical vacation without leaving the USA, Key West might be just right for you.

Check out my recap video here:

1. Not A Budget Destination

Key West is tropical paradise, a super fun place to visit but not a budget destination, especially during peak season.

Be prepared for hotel rooms to cost several hundred dollars a night.

Book things in advance and try to travel in the shoulder season.

2. Drive the Overseas Highway If You Have Time

The Overseas Highway is a 113 miles of roadway built over the water connecting each of the islands. Allowing you to roadtrip from Miami to the southernmost key, Key West!

The full drive will take about 4 hours excluding stops.

There is also an airport in Key West you can fly into directly. If you plan to drive, I suggest going for more than one night or it is a lot of time spent in the car. By the time we stopped for lunch, gas and a few sights along the way, it took a lot more than 4 hours to actually arrive in Key West.

3. Feed The Tarpons At Robbie’s

As you drive down, stop at Robbie’s marina where you can feed the tarpons off the dock or rent kayaks etc.

They also have a restaurant and souvenir shops.

4. Cruisin’ Tikis

When you arrive, Cruisin’ Tikis is a super fun way to see Key West.

Bring your own drinks and snacks.

They provide a driver, ice, a cooler, cups and a sound system you can hook up to.

Sunset is a great time to go. Or if you go during the day, you can wear your suit and do swim stops!

5. Key West Is Home To Many Wild Roosters

Wild roosters freely roam the island and make a racket at sunrise!! You might be woken up by these Key West natives.

But they are a beloved part of the island and you’ll find them on t-shirts, magnets and everything in between!

6. Sunrise at Ponce De Leon Fishing Pier

Don’t miss sunrise at Ponce De Leon Fishing Pier in Duval Street Pocket Park! It’s absolutely stunning. And it’s a great time to watch the birds swooping for fish or other marine life surfacing.

There is a little coffee shop right by the pier as well.

And for sunset, head to Mallory Square. It’s a lively boardwalk along the water where people gather each night to watch sunset. There are street artists, performers, musicians and food stands in the square

7. Stand At The Southernmost Point Of The Continental USA

The Southernmost Point of the Continental U.S.A. is a historic landmark and popular photo op!

Yes, it’s a cheesy tourist stop but there are some interesting signs around the landmark detailing the history of Key West.

8. Duval Street

Stay near Duval Street to be in walking distance to most everything! This is the busy, main street lined with restaurants and bars.

If you’re wanting to party, you’ll have no trouble finding a spot here. It’s the best area for nightlife and bar hopping.

If you want a quiet, relaxing vacation then avoid this area at night, especially during spring break season.

9. The Angelina Guest House

Accommodation in Florida Keys is expensive but The Angelina Guest House is a really great option for something less expensive. And the heated pool is amazing! It’s like a giant hot tub tucked in a garden of palm trees.

Since we were visiting in January, the ocean was still a bit cold to swim in. But a highlight of our trip was having nightly and morning swims in this great pool!

The rooms are super basic. But the location and the pool made this a worthwhile stay for us.

10. Smathers Beach

Smathers Beach is a beautiful (free!) public beach with swimming, restrooms and water sport rentals. Umbrellas and chairs will cost you $50 though so pack a towel yourself.

11. Margaritaville Beach House

If you’re looking for a great food spot/bar by Smathers Beach, check out Tin Cup Chalice in Margaritaville Beach House.

It’s the closest place to Smathers Beach for alcohol and food. Plus you don’t have to be a guest to use the amenities.

The pool is open and FREE to anyone, no day pass required!

12. 90 Miles From Cuba

Just 90 miles from Cuba, this island is home to amazing Cuban cuisine & culture. Enjoy!

Shop my favorite Key West looks:

Tropical Set

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Ruffle High Waisted Suit

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Two Piece Set

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Backless Dress

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More on Florida: SWIMMING WITH MANATEES &
BEST THINGS TO DO ON AMELIA ISLAND: 4 DAY ITINERARY

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Best Things To Do On Amelia Island:
4 Day Itinerary

Only a few short months ago, I had never even heard of Amelia Island. But when my sister suggested it as our annual sister trip, I knew immediately we had found a gem! This island feels less like the rest of Florida and a lot more like Savannah, Georgia with it’s low-hanging Spanish moss, historic bed and breakfasts and charming downtown. It’s the perfect getaway spot!

How To Get To Amelia Island

Amelia Island is located at the northern tip of Florida on the eastern side. Just a 2 hour drive from Savannah, Georgia!

Closest airport: Jacksonville International (JAX)

We flew into Jacksonville which is the nearest airport. But even then, it’s a 35-40 minute drive to Amelia Island.

Here’s your options:

1. Rent a car at the airport (have a reservation in advance, rental cars were hard to come by!)
2. Uber or Lyft – we had to wait a long time to find one- try scheduling it in advance! We ended up getting a Lyft for $39. Uber was closer to $55 and never connected us to a driver.
3. Take a taxi. After baggage claim, walk outside and go to shuttle stop #4. Here you can find taxi’s waiting. We were offered a private taxi for $59 to the island.

Where To Stay

Amelia Island is home to countless historic bed and breakfasts. While there are plenty of hotel options available, I recommend staying at one of the B&B’s that are centrally located.

We stayed at the stunning Fairbanks House and loved it’s prime location!

We loved this bed and breakfast for its history, close walking distance to downtown, free bikes, included daily breakfast, welcoming hosts and the free daily social hour of snacks and drinks.

Social hour at the Fairbanks House is not to be missed. Each day, we’d gather on the porch and enjoy a different tasty snack from the chef and complimentary drinks.

We stayed in the beautiful Library Suite for 4 nights which was once the original library in the mansion.

Know Before You Go

• Ubers and Lyft are almost non-existent on Amelia Island so make sure you have a way to get around to your tours & activities
• Amelia Island is a popular vacation spot and tours sell out. Book kayaking tours, trips to Cumberland Island and sunset cruises in advance
• Amelia Island is overall a slightly more expensive destination but cheap food & drinks can be found

Things To Do Amelia Island

Day 1 Overview

• Check into your hotel
• Go explore the downtown shops
• Eat dinner at España for Spanish & Portuguese cuisine
• Grab ice cream for dessert downtown
• Head to the Salty Pelican for live music and sunset from the top deck

Day 2 Overview

• Bike to Fort Clinch State Park
• Explore the fort and look for shark teeth on the beach
• Rent a e-scooter with Road Shark Power Sports
• Soar over Amelia Island with Florida Adventure Sports
• Have late lunch/dinner at The Sandbar & go for a swim on Main Beach
• Return your scooter & go see live music at the Green Turtle or watch sunset from the marina

Bike to Fort Clinch State Park

If you stay at Fairbanks House, you can take the free bikes to get over to Fort Clinch.

Pack water, the bike ride from the entrance of the state park that leads to the actual fort and beach is long but it takes you under the most stunning canopy of Spanish Moss that hangs overhead.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days per year.
Fort is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The fort is a great place to explore, learn about the island’s history, take photos and spend the morning!

Keep your eyes peeled for shark’s teeth on the beach. They wash up during the tide and you’ll spot people down there searching for them every day.

Rent an e-scooter with Roadshark Power Sports

When you’re done at the fort, head over to Roadshark Power Sports to rent a moped or e-scooter.

This is easily the best (and by far the most fun) way to get around the island!

Fly with Florida Adventure Sports

Use your newly rented wheels to drive about 30 minutes over to Florida Adventure Sports.

Here you can soar over the island in a tiny two-person plane. This was the highlight of trip!

Rates:

20 Minute Flight – $99

40 Minute Flight – $199 * recommended!

60 Minute Flight – $249 

Eat at the Sandbar & swim at Main Beach

When you’re done with your flight, head over on your scooter or moped to eat some delicious seafood pizza at the Sandbar Kitchen.

The restaurant is delicious and located right on the beach. As soon as you’re done with your meal and a slushy drink, you can go for a swim at Main Beach!

Day 3 Overview

• Go on a kayak tour with Amelia Adventures
• Spend the afternoon bicycling on the water with Amelia River Cycles
• BYOB Sunset Cruise with Amelia River Cruises

Kayak with Amelia Adventures

Get out on the water and book a kayak tour with Amelia Adventures.

We did the tour to Lofton Creek due to wind and weather. But if you can, I suggest you book the tour out to Cumberland Island to see the wild horses.

Rent river bikes with Amelia River Cycles

We weren’t expecting to love this as much as we did! But these river bikes were a fun way to see the water way and explore the area.

People on sunbathing on boats were waving to us as we biked past & the bikes are rigged with a blue tooth speaker so you can listen to music as you pedal around the water!

BYOB Sunset Cruise with Amelia River Cruises

Unfortunately, our BYOB Sunset Cruise was cancelled due to wind and rain. So keep an eye on the forecast when you’re picking what night to do the sunset cruise! There is live music onboard and the boat provides great views of the island from the water.

Day 4 Overview

• Amelia & Cumberland Island Boat Tour
• Lunch at Timoti’s Seafood Shack
• Yummy frozen drinks at Gregor MacGregor’s Mini Links & Drinks while you play mini golf
• Get ice cream from downtown and go watch the sunset from the marina

Amelia & Cumberland Island Boat Tour

This boat ride gives you a private tour over to the beautiful Cumberland Island. It’s a great chance to see the wild horses and marine life in the marshes like manatees or dolphins.

It’s $300 for up to 6 people for 2 hours. But if you have a group of friends, that’s just $50 each for a private boat tour!

Timoti’s Seafood Shak

This place is awesome and has a great assorted of seafood as well as vegan options! It’s no frills but tastes great and is in a prime location downtown. Don’t miss it!

Gregor MacGregor’s Mini Links & Drinks

Located right next to Timoti’s Seafood Shak, this mini golf course provides some family-fun. Or for the adults, you can mini golf with a yummy frozen alcoholic beverage in hand!

Sunset at the marina

After a full 4 days of adventuring, grab a pint of ice cream downtown and head to the marina for sunset. You can sit right on the dock by the boats for a great view.

It does get a little buggy at the marina at night so bring a sweatshirt and some bug spray!

Other itinerary options:

• Take the Cumberland Ferry over to the beautiful but remote island for hiking, camping and to see the wild horses that freely roam the island
• Go on a sunset horseback ride from a variety of stables located on Amelia Island

How To Get Around Amelia Island

We had a fantastic trip but without a doubt, the most difficult part was getting around without a car. Because we flew in and were staying close to downtown, we thought a vehicle wouldn’t be necessary when we could just use Uber or Lyft. What we quickly learned was that there was only ever one or two drivers available on the island at a time. And various things (like the kayak tours) launch about 30 minutes away from downtown.

The island itself is quite large so just be mindful of where you are staying in relation to the activities or tours you book!

Road Shark Power Sports

Hands down, the best way to get around the island is to rent some scooters, mopeds, or golf carts from Road Shark Power Sports.

This company is awesome and provides a wide array of rental option that make getting around the island a blast!

Best of all? It’s within walking distance of Fairbanks House and downtown so you can easily walk here to rent some wheels to get across town.

Check if your hotel includes the use of free bikes

A variety of bed and breakfasts or hotels on the island will include the use of free bikes! Check when booking because this will make getting around the island so much easier and more enjoyable.

Rent a car

If bikes, scooters and mopeds don’t interest you, you can always rent a car.

Make sure you make a reservation in advance. Thanks to covid, there is a mass shortage of rental cars and those that are available are more expensive now.

Drive to Amelia Island

If you live near the island, you may also choose to drive. However with the close proximity of things downtown, you may find yourself still wanting to bike instead of driving everywhere.

Amelia Island 4 Day Itinerary TikTok

Overall, we loved our time on Amelia Island. When I return, I plan to do more exploring of the nearby Cumberland Island. Have you been to Amelia Island? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!

Thank you to all the tour operators and the Fairbanks House for hosting us during our stay! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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More on Florida: SWIMMING WITH MANATEES IN FLORIDA

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Swimming With Manatees in Florida

Over 400 manatees migrate to the warm, shallow waters of Crystal River during the winter months. They escape the cold ocean waters of the ocean and retreat to this little oasis. It is possible to snorkel with these wild animals. But if you go, please be respectful while visiting their habitat. Here’s everything you need to know about swimming with the manatees in Florida!

There are many tour operators to chose from but we decided to book a private houseboat tour with River Ventures. You can also rent kayaks but we wanted to snorkel and get up close and personal with these beautiful, gentle giants.

Book the earliest tour possible!

Going early will:

• Avoid crowds
• Provide increased water visibility
• Manatees are more active (and therefore more playful!) in the morning

If you can, go as early as possible!

Manatees are most active in the early morning. And as an added bonus, there will be less people around. Therefore, the water will have greater visibility because people won’t have kicked up the sand yet.

Crystal River is 1 hour & 45 minutes from the Tampa airport.

Depending where you are coming from, you may want to drive in the night before so you can do the early tour at 6:30am. The earlier the better!

Tampa is the closest airport so if you’re flying in, you can rent a car at the airport then head to Crystal River.

There are a number of great hotels in the area like this one.

These are wild animals, you are a guest in their home!

Programs like this only work if people respect the rules. You are a guest in the manatees home and under no circumstances should you harass or bother them.

I feel conflicted even sharing tours like this on my blog sometimes. Because on one hand, if people see manatees in person and fall in love with them, they are more likely to help protect them. (Go donate!!) But also, you may get ignorant tourists who heckle the manatees for selfies etc.

So please be respectful and just calmly observe these magnificent creatures.

Never try to grab, poke or bother the manatees in any way!

If you are quiet and still, they might come check you out. So stay quiet and calm.

It’s up to the manatees to initiate contact. However they can be pretty playful!

Adopt one of these loveable sea giants through Adopt A Manatee to ensure their protection.

Your Support Will:

• Fund manatee rescue, rehabilitation, and research efforts in the U.S. and the Wider Caribbean
• Support manatee education and public awareness projects
• Protect manatees and their habitat through advocacy and legal action

You can also become a grass roots activist for manatees and join volunteer efforts to help protect them!

(And check out their Instagram here!) 

The water will be cold so you’ll want a wetsuit.

Winter months are the best time to see the manatees so the water can be pretty chilly. We were there in March and it was still quite cold.

Fortunately our tour included wet suits, a heated boat and even hot cocoa for after our swim!

Book the same houseboat tour we did with River Ventures!

And just a reminder, please never swim with captive dolphins or marine animals. See them respectfully in nature where they belong.

Looking for more wild marine encounters? Check out: SWIMMING WITH WILD WHALE SHARKS

Shop my underwater phone case here!

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Check out my TikTok about swimming with manatees in Florida!

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Looking to book discounted travel? Check out the deals on TourRadar!

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