Key West is the westernmost of the inhabited islands, but it is not the furthest point, as if you go another 70 miles across the sea you will find the official southernmost point
Perfect for a day trip, Dry Tortugas is famous for Fort Jefferson, a real life out in the sea fort.
You can choose to either explore the island and then jump back on the boat to go home, or book for a camping experience under the stars that you wont forget.
And that for me is the magical thing about the Florida Keys.
The simple things of life take on new meaning, and even though you nay have camped before
Florida Keys Camping sites
do the "Canvas" life like nowhere else
Let's get back to telling you about the Florida keys southern tip of Key West.
The streets of Key West, especially the old town are pretty as a painting.
The palm trees that line the streets, provide shade to the gingerbread mansions.
Homes that have remained almost untouched for over 100 years.
The whole place is laid back and relaxed (and would be even more so if not for the masses of tourists that flock to the area), with the resident conchs (pronounced Konk),amiably fitting in with the masses who frequent the bars up and down Duval Street the whole vibe is bohemian and friendly.
One interesting fact about the Florida Keys and especially Key West, is that although it is only 2-by-4-miles long, this island has probably nurtured the talents of more writers per capita than any other U.S. city.
Ernest Hemingway’s former home
is open as a museum, and many published authors live in Key West either full- or part-time.
The island is equally noted for its artistic community — with dozens of galleries exhibiting artwork in varying styles and mediums.
It's hard to believe that, when you visit the island and feel the tropical lifestyle for yourself that Key West still belongs to America, sitting as it does so far away from the USA mainland that it is just 90 miles (140 km) from Cuba.
If you were drive back to Miami, you will be covering a distance of about 126 miles.
When you stand looking out across the water, you are actually closer to Cuba than the United States of America.
You can almost smell the cigars!
Key Largo is of all the islands in the Florida Keys by far the longest.
Stretching to a length of 33 miles (53 km) it why the Spanish decided to call it Cayo Largo which roughly translated meant Long Key.
The only thing that many people will know about the Florida Keys island of Key Largo is the film with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, it has so much more to offer.
Although if you are a film buff, then you may like to pay a visit to the original African Queen boat, which old Bogey actually steered around in the film.
But to be honest the main thing that drags the tourists into Key Largo is the diving.
It is known as the Dive Capital fo teh World after al, so they had to be preety sure that they caould live up to that grand title. And without a doubt they can.
As they have probably the best of all the dive sites scattered about the Florida Keys - John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park — the first underwater preserve in the United States — now incorporated into the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary.
These protected areas feature 55 varieties of delicate corals and more than 600 different species of fish.
Pennekamp Park’s water-related activities include scuba, snorkeling and glass-bottom boat excursions to the reef. Off-park dive charter companies also conduct dive sojourns — and a few even feature underwater weddings.
After the wedding reception, newlyweds can choose to remain submerged for their honeymoon at an underwater motel in Key Largo, with full amenities among the Keys’ marine life.
One last thing about the Florida Keys longest island is that they don't just rely on nature proving all the entertainment.
Key Largo is also home to the Spiegel Grove, a retired U.S. Navy ship that’s one of the largest vessels in the world ever scuttled to create an artificial reef.
So if diving is your thing, then you know where to go!
Islamorada is the sports fishing capital of the world, and it is not hard to see why.
More records have been broken around the Keys in Florida than any place on earth.
At least that is what the International Game Fish Association tell us.
And who are we to argue?
Anglers can find sailfish, marlin, dolphin,(the fish, not the mammal),Tarpon,kingfish, snapper, barracuda to catch as they sit on their boats, or on one the hired boats that are available for the day or week.
There are countless charters and marinas teeming with for hire experts, who can take you out and drop you right on top of the fish.
They know the waters like the back of their hands, so are extremely useful if you don't want to come home with just a tale about the one that got away!
Known as the purple island,Islamorada the thing about the Florida Keys island of Islamorada which really sets its apart from the rest of America, is it has been voted one of the best places to live in the world.
Although of course with that recommendation comes a price.
The cost of real estate is prohibitively high on the island.
Other areas of interest In The About The Florida Keys section
Marathon stretches about 10 miles in length, and conveniently sits in the middle of the 120 miles of sandy beaches and crystal clear blue water at Vaca Key.
To be precise it is made up of several Keys with quite a few of them being really natural and untouched.
The island itself is connected to the Lower Keys by the Seven mile bridge.
Known as the heart of the Florida Keys, its central location has made Marathon the commercial hub of the Florida Keys with supermarkets, a movie theater, and many other shops and restaurants.
One of the most interesting things about the Florida Keys Heart, is it’s home to Crane Point, a 63.5-acre land tract that’s one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the Florida Keys.
Crane Point contains evidence of pre-Columbian and prehistoric Bahamian artifacts, and was once the site of an entire Indian village.
You won't get that kind of knowledge at Disney World now!!
Big Pine Key is a rural semi isolated island with acres of open space and limited development potential.
This island is popular with many Key West and Marathon commuters.
This area probably offers the best value for the money in affordable housing.
And you get to live next door to Bambi too.
What more could you want?
The total land area is 137.3 square miles (356 km2) which is made as we said previously of 1700 Islands.
And that is one of the beautiful things about the Keys in Florida.
You will certainly have your choice of
beaches
to pick, for the lazy days that the Florida Keys are all about.
But we must warn you if you are dreaming of sandy beaches, palm trees and beautiful people strolling around you might be disappointed.
Many of the beaches are actually not sandy at all, more often than not they are ground up coral from the reefs that surround the Florida Keys shoreline.
You can find sandy beaches, such as
Bahia Honda
and
Smathers Beach
, but they normally have the sand shipped in every two years to keep it looking like nature intended.
Sorry to ruin the romance of it all for you!!
And whilst we are talking about the Florida Keys, let's tell you about the
Florida Keys weather.
After all isn't the sunshine what you want on your vacation?
Well we do.
We love to get our legs out!!
And man....the sunsets are to die for!
Florida Keys Weather is almost perfect.
That's a fact.
Wherever you are sitting at this moment, it's highly unlikely that the weather is better than the weather in Florida.
The thing about the Florida Keys is because of the way the islands slink their way between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the sea breezes and the scarcity of cities allow the temperature to remain.....almost perfect.
Positioned between about 23.5 and 25.5 degrees North latitude, in the subtropics, the Florida Keys are actually the closest place you will get to the Equator whilst still being in America, which means.....come on you should have guessed by now !
Sun tan central all year round!
We love it and so will you.
So take a look at the
Florida Keys Map
and choose where you want to visit first, and if you can't decide let us tell you something....the great thing about the Florida Keys is it doesn't matter.
Wherever you go you'll fall in love with the place.
Wherever you stay then the accommodations Florida Keys style, will leave you quickly phoning your office to see how many days annual leave you have left to take.
Florida Keys Weather is almost perfect.
