Family Friendly Long Weekend in the Florida Keys!
You’ve heard of the Florida Keys, maybe you’ve been to the Keys in your college days or for a romantic vacation, but have you thought about taking your kids to the Florida Keys? I’m going to share what I loved about my first trip to the Keys with my family! This info can be for anyone traveling, not just families, but I was pleasantly surprised with this getaway with kids!
How to Get to the Florida Keys
There are many ways to get there! We found cheap flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Airport and drove down. Similarly you can drive from Miami (MIA) Airport. There is also a small airport on Key West (EYW) all the way at the bottom of the Keys that you can fly into. We had heard of Key West being the place to go and see in the Keys, but we felt driving down allowed us to make stops along the way to see many of the different keys! It was a beautiful drive, and I do recommend it!
Where to Stay in the Florida Keys
I am going to HIGHLY recommend the resort we stayed in. Isla Bella Beach Resort in Marathon. One thing I loved about it is that it is in the middle of the Florida Keys. It allowed us to make stops along the way, stay in the middle, and we did a day trip to Key West (only an hour from Marathon).
Isla Bella is located near the iconic Seven Mile Bridge. "Pristine white architecture and sandy beaches provide guests a tranquil respite from the world beyond". It was truly a beautiful place, had a quiet and relaxed feel, and had many things for kids to enjoy! There were several heated pools (one of which was adult only), a small beach area where we saw hermit crabs, oversized chess, connect 4, ping pong tables, bocce ball, and more! They had an activity calendar with all kinds of things like hermit crab races, yoga on the beach, and art classes. The sunsets were stunning and breakfast on the beach by the water was perfect. All of the rooms are oceanview as well. It is located near the Seven Mile Bridge and the Old Seven Mile Bridge which is converted into a walking/biking/running path. I went on a long sunrise run over the water which is definitely one of my favorite runs I have ever done!
While we did not on this trip, I do think that Key West would be a fantastic place to stay as well, if we had more time I think splitting our time between the two would have made the trip even better, simply having one night in Key West.
Things to do in the Northern Keys & Marathon
Our first stop along the way was in Key Largo (cue the Beach Boys song…) at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
We took a glass bottom boat tour into the 3rd largest reef in the world! Other options are kayaking, snorkeling out on the boat, or snorkeling from Canon Beach. We have done several boat tours with snorkeling in the past and our kids are a little hit or miss so we thought we’d try the glass bottom boat this time. Unfortunately our son who is seasick prone did not do well as the waters were really choppy that day! It was definitely beautiful!
We had lunch at probably one of my favorite stops: Robbie’s in Islamorada. The Hungry Tarpon Restaurant was quirky and fun, right on the water, and the food was delicious. That’s not all! There was shopping, a beach with a beach bar, AND feeding Tarpon fish. For about $5 we got a bucket of small fish to feed to these giant fish. While there, we avoided the pelicans who also wanted the fish, saw nurse sharks in with the Tarpons, and saw larger shark fins sticking up just a little ways out by some kayakers! A sign showed there were manatees there, which is my favorite animal, but alas, we did not see any. Robbie’s is a super fun place to eat and to spend a few hours!
One experience we saw but did not have time to do is: Theater of the Sea, but it is something I’d recommend checking out!
In Marathon, there are a couple experiences that we did that I recommend! The first is the Dolphin Research Center. Here you can learn all about dolphins and watch the trainers work with them. You can also meet a dolphin like our kids did, where we sat next the the water and got to rub a couple dolphins and hold their fins! With little kids this is a great option to first experience a dolphin up close - they are big animals! They had other options of getting in the water and swimming with them as well for older kids and adults!
The second place I recommend is the Turtle Hospital. Here we took a 1-hour tour where we learned all about the different types of sea turtles that live in the ocean, how they are injured, and how they are cared for. I will admit when we started by sitting in a quiet room listening to the lady talk about them, I thought the kids might be bored for the next hour. This definitely wasn’t the case! The tour continued with us walking through the hospital, watching a turtle being examined by the vet, on to seeing many others in tanks outside, and ending with us getting to feed them! It was a great place where we all learned a lot!
Things to do in Key West
We did about a half day trip to Key West as we were tired and wanted to spend some down time at our resort. We only skimmed the surface of what there is to do. We did a Conch Train Tour which took us all around the island. This was a fun ride for the kids and our guide was excellent. Key West gave me a New Orleans vibe from the balconies to the trees. It was very unique and beautiful. We saw the Southernmost Point and Duval Street. We were supposed to have a snorkeling tour, but it was cancelled due to a maintenance issue. I highly recommend getting out on the water in Key West and there are many boat tours, snorkeling, jet skiing, paragliding, etc tours to do so!
Some other ideas of things to do:
Go to the Ship Wreck Museum
Go to the Butterfly & Nature Conservatory
Get Key Lime Pie from Kermit’s
Go to Mallory Square Sunset Celebration (a festival every evening at sunset)
Experience Duval St at night (similar to Bourbon St in New Orleans)
Take a trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park (a seaplane or boat ride away that has to be booked well in advance)
What to Combine with the Florida Keys
If you are flying into Fort Lauderdale or Miami, you can easily add one or both of those destinations onto your trip. We made a last minute decision to add on a stop in Miami - South Beach as we were driving by Miami around dinner time so we thought we’d check it out! South Beach is a fantastic beach, but was closed as it was dark when we were there. We found a Cuban restaurant, where we sat outside and enjoyed a delicious meal with music all around us. There were dancers inside that our daughter loved to watch! The strip had many young people going out partying, and there were many fancy cars and nicely dressed people. There were also many families there as well! It was a good little taste of Miami!
You can also add on a national park such as the Everglades where you can do a boat tour to see the swamps and alligators. You can add on the Dry Tortugas as mentioned in a trip from Key West. And near Miami, you can also visit Biscayne National Park.
I hope you are as excited about the Florida Keys as I am! The good news is not only am I a travel blogger, but I am a travel designer as well, and can help you book your trip with ease!
