The Everglades – Ivey House – this was a cute Motel with lovely staff in sleepy Everglades City, the perfect place for taking Airboat Tours of the Everglades.
How to do it: Whether you stop for a picture or get out to explore the artisan craft shops or, like me, barely catch a glimpse, keep an eye out. You can find out more about Rain Barrel Village here.
This is one of the best things to do in Florida Keys by far. The Turtle Hospital is a beautiful local project that’s funded in part by visitor tickets. The hospital is home to turtles that have been injured in the Florida Keys waters. An ambulance boat goes to pick them up and takes them to the hospital for treatment, rehabilitation and, hopefully, return to the wild. The hospital does have some permanent turtle residents who have been deemed too at risk to return to the open water. All in, it’s a lovely feel-good experience where you can see turtles reasonably close up while contributing to a good cause. Don’t worry, the hospital staff are very protective of the turtles and no interaction is allowed.
This is one of the best things to do in Florida Keys by far. The Turtle Hospital is a beautiful local project that’s funded in part by visitor tickets. The hospital is home to turtles that have been injured in the Florida Keys waters. An ambulance boat goes to pick them up and takes them to the hospital for treatment, rehabilitation and, hopefully, return to the wild. The hospital does have some permanent turtle residents who have been deemed too at risk to return to the open water. All in, it’s a lovely feel-good experience where you can see turtles reasonably close up while contributing to a good cause. Don’t worry, the hospital staff are very protective of the turtles and no interaction is allowed.
How to do it: you have to pay a couple of dollars to enter the marina and a few more dollars for a bucket of fish if you want to feed the tarpon – they are giganitc. You can find out more on the Robbie’s Marina website.
Alternative: On my second Florida Keys vacation I had a very delicious lunch at Evelyn’s. It was a much smaller restaurant with a cute little patio, also on Key Largo.
How to do it: You can plan your time at Bahia Honda State Park here. Don’t miss Bahia Honda Rail Bridge, which is another section of the now defunct Overseas Railway. You can get great views of the bridge from Bahia Honda State Park.
3 Days in Washington DC – What To See and Do
Which Hawaiian Island To Visit
How to do it: I would actually suggest overnighting in the Everglades or at least in one of the upper Keys instead of trying to go from Miami to the Everglades and down to Key West in one day. I’ve got tips on how to do it and what to do in the Everglades in my post here.
If you haven’t booked your flights yet, check out Skyscanner – my go-to sight for booking flights. I have yet to find a site that gives more comprehensive search results and I’ve not found cheaper flights elsewhere.
How to do it: this I’d really recommend booking online. The turn up approach meant long queues and not being able to get onto the next tour. You can book Turtle Hospital tickets here.
75 Things To Do In Key West Florida
I have mentioned this directly after No Name Pub because I nearly squashed a poor Key Deer when I reversed out of the pub car park. No, I hadn’t been drinking, it’s just that the Key Deer are so tiny that I barely saw it in my wing mirror. Being from the UK where the deer are bigger than humans, it was quite a surprise to see these bambi-sized Key Deer. They are incredibly cute and definitely deserve the ‘slow down’ road signs because they’re pretty hard to spot.
Blog posts to help you plan your trip
It wasn’t until my third Florida Keys vacation that I learned the art of slowing down and instead of bolting down to Key West, I took a leisurely stay in Islamorada. Because of that, I got to have one of the best dinners of my trip, at Lorelei Restaurant, right on the beach. It would have been a very romantic dinner if my road trip buddy wasn’t my dad. Nevertheless, it was a great spot and the food was excellent. There was even a live band plinking out some chilled tunes.
With a name like No Name Pub on No Name Key, why wouldn’t you want to stop by? What makes this bar even more fun is the fact that it’s one of the dollar bars you’ll find scattered throughout Florida Keys. What’s a dollar bar? It’s a bar where the walls have been lined with dollar bills left by customers. They’ve all been scrawled on in some way (Jo Woz ‘Ere kind of messages) so don’t pin any great hopes of pocketing some vacation funds but it’s fun to see thousands of dollars fluttering in the blow of the air-conditioning. The food is a bit overpriced but you can forgive that for such a cool bar with a fun name in a hidden spot.
Best Things To Do in the Everglades
7 days from Miami to Florida Keys itinerary – if you have 7 nights in Florida Keys, I recommend spending 2 nights in Miami, 1 night in Isla Morada, 1 night in one of the lower keys (your choice, depending on whether you want a beach resort or water activities or a motel), then 3 nights in Key West.
Like this list of the Best Things To Do In Florida Keys? Share it on Pinterest…
