Whether you arrive in Key West by plane, train, ferry, Florida penitentiary furlough, sabbatical, birth, or car, our advice is to stop at your hotel first and take a second to realize how good of a time you will have over the next few days. Once you’ve shotgunned a few beers, we recommend securing a mode of Key West transportation. By this we mean: decide whether you are going to moped, bicycle, or walk for the next few days. We recommend bicycling. It’s much cheaper ($10/day), they give you bike locks and baskets, it’s a good workout, and environmentally conscious. Pay no attention to how much fun Ben is having on a moped in the pictures section of the website.
If you are unable to do bike or walk, we do recommend taking the Conch Tour Train. It costs about $25.00 per person for 1.5 hours & will take you everywhere in Key West of interest & tell you about the history & flavor of the town. Not a must do, but if you like to see everything once, why not?
Points of interest:
Duval Street – where most of the action is (& where most of the T-shirts/Junk Shops are…), but also check out some of the side streets, you might find that perfect shop not on the strip.
The Southern Most Point of the US – great photo opportunity. It is at the end of Whitehead Street. Southern Most House $5 Day Swim and has a sort of plantation house-party feel to it for those that like to party Antebellum style.
Hemingway House – Kristina loves this place. Not because one of America’s most influential and tragic authors lived (the house is kind of cool), but because of the herd of polydactyl cats that “run” the place. Feel free to pet them.
Key West Cemetery at Margaret & Angela St – we rode our bikes around it at dusk and it felt super creepy.
The Wrecker’s Museum – on Duval Street
Key West Aquarium - A classic Keys attraction. Has not changed since the 60’s
Mallory Square – Local characters entertain at the “Sunset Celebration” (escape artists, palm readers, fire eaters, cat trainers, sword swallowers, crafters, etc)…& IT’S FREE!!! This is the place for sunsets & sweet nothings being whispered.
Key West Cigar Factory – Single door on side street (Pirates Alley), very authentic. See them hand rolling & buy a stogie for the walk.
The Pelican Path – neat walk, follow map or ask a local for directions.
Mel Fisher’s Maritime Museum – Very Interesting.
Nancy Forrester’s Secret Gardens – off Duval. Locals don’t talk about this sanctuary of greenery, but that’s because they don’t want it to be overrun. We’ve never been, so someone will have to let us know
West Martello Tower – Beautiful gardens inside an old fort, on White Street at the beach
La Concha – Tallest View in Key West
Food and Drink:
Bagatelle – fantastic restaurant on Duval in the middle of all the craziness. Recommend reservations. Great food, better wine. It’s in a historic two story house with a great vibe. We may have had our rehearsal dinner here, but they were too busy being awesome to return our calls.
Sloppy Joe’s – quite possibly the most touristy place, but it’s still kind of awesome for some reason. Plus, they actually serve sloppy joes, so it’s not just a catchy name.
Blue Heaven – We’ve eaten here every time we go. Don’t pass up the salmon eggs benedict or any of their benedicts for that matter. Pay no attention to the 60 roaming roosters near your feet.
Croissants De France – great place for pastries and coffee. On Duval Street in the 800’s.
Bo’s Fishwagon on Caroline – not bad, but the atmosphere is better than the food in my opinion. Still—a cool place to check out.
Schooner Wharf – how can you beat a bar with no real roof and happy hour that goes from 7 am until 12 pm.
Kelly’s on Whitehead (for drinks only) – Great patio. Used to be the original airport terminal for Key West Pan Am. Kelly’s is named after Kelly McGillis (of Kelly McGillis fame). Her ex-husband runs and owns it after they divorced over a soliciting a prostitute charge. That and she became a lesbian. Don’t ask him about it if you meet him (we did).
The Blond Giraffe – good place for Key Lime Pie, although it’s hard to say which of the 1000 places that sell key lime pie has the best, therefore you should try them all.
Green Parrot Bar – Probably the second most famous bar in Key West. We’ve partied there and it was nice. More locals as it is a little less touristy.
Willie T’s – Mojitos, go at happy hour, best on the island
Irish Kevin’s – Pretty crazy place. Irish Kevin’s sing along & buy him a drink. Let’s just say we walked by on a Sunday afternoon and there were women with their tops off dancing onstage.
Beaches:
Fort Zachary Taylor Beach – look: the water is more beautiful and the natural rock formations are more incredible, but the sand is still really rocky from the last hurricane, making it a little uncomfortable for a nice walk on the sand. They have a bar but you can’t take beers to the sand (State Park). It also costs $5 per person and you CANNOT walk there. Don’t do it (we did and I definitely got the silent treatment for not having known). Only go if you have a bike or a moped.
Smathers Beach – less waves, much less rocks, free. No alcohol restrictions (not a state park) One of our favorite memories is riding on a moped together along this road that runs along this beach in south Key West.
Duval Beach Club – nice view, full bar/grill near southern most point. Not as big as other beaches, but still a nice option.
Our favorite Shopping places:
Fast Buck Freddies – on Duval. Hodgepodge of total awesomeism. Anything from Lacoste shirts to one of a kind lamps to false teeth.
Besame Mucho – only for those with a flair for French taste (read: Cultured). Just kidding, this place is awesome and right next to Blue Heaven (a two-fer!)
To Get in Trouble:
Garden of Eden - 224 Duval St –clothing optional bar (go after 10p with an open mind & try not to get kicked out). No cell phone pictures or texting (that means you, Clay)
Leather Master - 418 Applerouth Ln – remember you are in Key West
Aqua Nightclub – Drag Shows! Beer! Drag Shows!
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