Florida Keys

[Deleted]

I love Key West. I'm not huge on nightlife either, but it's nice to spend a few days there for the restaurants and attractions (Duval Street, Ernest Hemingway house, butterfly conservatory, catamaran rides, etc.). I would try to stay at one of the few resorts with beaches if you want beach time. Otherwise, there are cute b&bs and cottage rentals off the beach. My husband has been to Key Largo for diving and enjoyed it, but it was purely a dive trip it a really quiet area. Beyond that, I don't know much about diving in the keys. If you're going to have a car, maybe you could combine a few days diving in one area, then a few days in Key West for other fun stuff?

[basilosaurus]

Looe Key in the lower Keys is supposed to be the best. I want to stay we stayed on sugarloaf for a long weekend of diving, which wasn't too far a drive from Key West, but don't quote me on that. My dive experience in the Keys is 10-15 years old.

Up by Key Largo you have Pennecamp and the surround areas. I don't remember being particularly impressed. It is a far more visited area, so the health of the reef is likely to be worse. However, Key Largo has plenty of options for accommodation and food.

Then you have the middle Keys which are probably in between in quality. There's probably more variety than the lower Keys, though.

I think a good compromise would be to base out of the middle keys and find a good dive operator. From there you could easily do a side trip to Key West for a day off between dives. Key West is not to be missed, but it's also not the best for basing for dives. It's farther away, and it's more expensive.

[Deleted]

Thanks! DH was mentioning Looe Key, so we'll definitely try to go there.

[omeomi]

If you hit Key West, 2 of my favorite restaurants there are Conch Republic (at the marina) and Mangoes on Duval St. I've been to both a number of times and have never been disappointed.

[tallie]

Get a copy of the diving guide to underwater Florida, by Ned DeLoach. It has great descriptions of dive sites in the whole state, and you can decide what sort of dives you want to do. The keys has a bit of everything, deep, shallow, reef, and wrecks. I'd probably stay in Key Largo first, there's a couple hotels right at MM 100, which is where a lot of dive boats leave from. Horizon divers there is good. I'd leave Key Largo in the morning, stop in Looe Key for an afternoon 2 tank trip, drive to Key West to spend the night. I'd probably spend a night or two in Key West, and maybe dive the Wreck of the Vanderburg (7 miles off Key West). Hope this helps!

[wineenthusiast]

I stayed at (& got married at) this hotel in Key Largo and loved it! www.keylargoresort.com/ The pool and beach areas were so nice.

Our best dinners were at Sundowners www.sundownerskeylargo.com/ and Snooks www.snooks.com/. Snooks had a great outdoor area with a live band and people were dancing. It was a great atmosphere.

We only took a day trip to Key West but there were tons of great stuff on Duval Street. It seemed like happy hour was the "happening" time, more so than late night.

We also went to this place for dinner one night, in Islamorada and loved it. Another place with that great laid back atmosphere! www.moradabay-restaurant.com/index.php?id=79