Key West Fiesta

The ultimate Key West experience has to do with getting in the water and seeing some fish. We took two snorkel trips from our resort. Our first snorkel was to the reef on the Atlantic side. We also went out on a boat and found dolphins in their natural habitat then snorkeled near an island at low tide.

Key Westers love their island so much they even celebrate the sunset every single night of the year. This takes place at Mallory Square at the Sunset Celebration where you witness various street performers, shop from local vendors in a carnival atmosphere with a backdrop of the setting sun.

Trying local food is always a highlight. Definitely drink some Rum Runners (on the rocks if available), order up some deep-fried conch fritters, and endulge in a slice of classic Key Lime Pie. The pie is yellow, not green as served up north. You can even find Key Lime Pie on a stick, which is a slice of pie dipped in chocolate and frozen.

Quick Tips:

Do: Eat from the sea. Key West is in between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean so you will get a variety of fish to choose from.

Do: Be prepared to buy lots of water. It can be very sunny and humid and you will dehydrate easily. In the stores, small bottles of water are about .50 each.
Don’t: Forget to read the signs. My friend wandered up to the third floor Garden of Eden on top of the Bull and Whistle and found all naked people because it is clothing optional!
Do: Know your options. Many different companies offer snorkeling, diving, jet-ski rental, sunset cruises, etc. When choosing a company you should find out the type of boat you will be going on and how many people will be with you. Also, know that there are cheaper options with other companies in town than what your hotel has to offer.
Do: Look for coupons online before you get to town. You can find discounts for several activities, sight-seeing, and offers for free drinks or desserts.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting There: Flying directly into Key West is expensive so most people fly into Miami and them drive down Highway 1 to Key West. It is a very nice drive which takes you through all the Keys in about three and a half hours.
Getting Around: You walk the southern-most point to the northern-most point of Key West up Duval street in about forty minutes. All around the island you will find little scooters for rent which are a great way to get around quickly. You can also rent bikes. Parking on Duval street is limited, but you can usually find spots a block west on Simonton St.

Resort Description: The Wyndham Casa Marina was built in the early 1900s by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler. It became a resort in the 1920s and is one of the only resorts in Key West with a private beach. Since Key West is built on coral, the beach is extremely rocky. To swim in the ocean you walk out onto a dock and then step down a ladder into the water. There are also two pools and a whirlpool which are open 24 hours for you to use at any time. The resort property is beautifully kept and provides a very relaxing and tropical environment. The rooms and hallways of the resort appear a bit out-dated. Located at the north end of Key West, away from all the action, provides a relaxing escape from the partying on Duval Street. It is about a twenty-minute walk over to where the actions starts up on Duval, but you can rent a scooter, bike or take the shuttle. A $10 per night transportation fee is charged to each room. This covers parking in the lot across the street and use of the shuttle.

Room Description: All rooms are designed in a romantic, tropical theme. I think our room was better than their standard room. We had a sitting room which was separate from the bedroom. The mini-bar in the room is reasonably priced. The bottle of water they have sitting out is $3.50, but look inside the mini-bar and you will find several chilled bottles of a different brand of water for $2.00. Beer is about $3.50 and juices are $2.00. The bedroom had a large four-poster bed with floral print matching the curtains hanging from the canopy. The bathroom was spacious with one sink and a bathtub shower. The lights had a reverse dimming effect so when you turned the light on in the bathroom, it brightened the room slowly. All the shampoo, conditioner and soaps are from the Wyndham’s famous Golden Door Spa product line. The structure of the hotel itself is traditional. Rooms are one next to another in a long hall with stairways up to the higher floors instead of being in separate bungalows as in many newer resorts.

Extras: When you stay at this resort expect to be pampered and spoiled. The pool concierge will help you find a spot on the beach and bring you and umbrella for shade. He walks around the pool and beach area handing out frozen towel and popsicles to help you keep cool in the Florida sun. Available watersports include windsurfing, parasailing, wave runners, kayaks, sunset sails, deep-sea fishing and scuba or snorkeling excursions. All the activities have fees or rental costs associated with them and do not come for free as in an all-inclusive resort. When Henry Flagler lived at the property he bread cats with six toes. If you look carefully, you will see their offspring running around from time to time.

What it’s Like: You can easily spot Crabby Dick’s when walking up Duval. It appears to be two stories and you will see the big crab sign hanging off the side of the second floor balcony. The restaurant is actually on the second floor only and to enter the restaurant you need to walk up a flight of stairs. When you enter you will see a counter filled with Crabby Dick’s merchandise which offers a wide selection of t-shirts, shot glasses and other trinkets. We were seated right away and chose to eat indoors because it was quite humid outside. There is a very large bar in the center of the restaurant and a nice balcony that runs all along the outside of the building with several tables available to those who like to eat outside and watch the people on Duval Street. The restaurant contained all sorts of fishing paraphernalia such as fish nets, photographs of fisherman and various fish found in the region mounted on the walls. In addition to pictures, the bar had all the various available T-shirts hanging up around the top so you could see the variety. A large chalk board hangs in the center of the room with the daily specials. You can find coupons online for a free drink or dessert with each dinner entree ordered.

Drinks: We had a coupon for free drinks with our meal, but since it was or first meal in Key West we ordered the Rum Runners which were not covered by the coupon. They were frozen and chunks of ice kept getting into the straw. We also thought there was barely any rum in the drinks. I had a glass of house wine using the coupon for my second drink.

Food: The menu offers a variety of seafood. We ordered the classic Key West conch fritters for $8.95 as an appetizer. Another option, that we passed on, was a seafood platter the included raw oysters, clams and chilled shrimp for $10.95. Dinner selections included choices from a standard menu with as well as daily specials. The menu offered an attractive selection of grilled seafood. We selected a grilled seafood combo of shrimp, scallops and chunks of mahi-mahi skewered and grilled served with seasoned rice and a side salad for $19.99. The other dinner we chose was the daily special of twin lobster tails which came with drawn butter, potatoes and a side salad for $29.99. The two of us split our meals and each ended up with a grilled skewer and one lobster tail. The grilled seafood was excellent, but the lobsters were incredibly rubbery. We asked for them to be replaced but the tender replacement was sub-par. While the Key Lime Pie was tempting for desert, we opted for the peanut butter cup cheesecake, which was excellent.

What it’s Like: Sloppy Joe’s is probably the most famous bar in Key West. One of Ernest Hemmingway’s friends, Joe Russell, owned the bar and he spent much of his time there. It got its name because Joe was accused of running a sloppy place since the floor was wet a lot from melting ice needed for the seafood. Sloppy Joe’s is located on a corner and has its doors open all along the outside to allow for a nice breeze. It is an open air bar with a very fun atmosphere. You will need to seat yourself whether you are there for a drink or an entire meal. There is usually live entertainment during all times of the day and they have a dance floor up front near the stage. There is a shop in the bar where you can buy Sloppy Joe’s merchandise. We visited this bar twice, once for lunch and once as part of a pub crawl on a night out.

Drinks: During our lunch we ordered Key West’s famous Rumrunners which are made with Bacardi Rum, Blackberry Brandy, Banana Liqueur and fruit juices for $6.50 each. While visiting as part of our night on the town we were drinking draft beer and chose Yuengling which is a beer served a lot on the east coast and is made in Pennsylvania. When drinking draft beer you have a choice of 20 oz. or 14 oz. glasses. Yuengling was $3.25 for 20 oz. and $2.75 for 14 oz.

Food: For lunch we had the Sloppy Wings for $6.95 which are their version of hot wings and were served with celery sticks and a blue cheese dressing. Other appetizer options where conch chowder, conch fritters, peel and eat shrimp, nachos and other tasty bites. We also ordered the famous "Full Moon" Grouper Sandwich which I highly recommend. A fresh piece of grouper is battered, deep-fried and smothered with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese and served on a fresh piece of French bread for $9.25. Sloppy Joe’s version of burgers, quesadillas, pork sandwiches, hot dogs and french fries are also offered. Of course they also have the Original Sloppy Joe which made them famous. There is a kids menu with options from $4-6.

What it’s Like: Hogs Breath Saloon consists of a restaurant, gift shop and a large outdoor bar. Live bands play at night attracting a crowd in from the street. You can sit outside at the bar if you are eating along with the drinks, but if you want to just stop in for a drink, plan to stand at the bar which gets very crowded once the music starts. The bar makes for a nice stop even during the day because there are large trees providing shade for the bar and they also have several fans. The bar gets a wonderful breeze since it is on a corner the breeze was blowing from two directions.

Drinks: They had several drink specials, all of which were $8 for the first glass and $6 for each refill. The first drink came with a souvenir glass so we ordered a few of those. I had the Rumrunner and the general consensus was that the drinks did not have any alcohol in them. We switched to beer for our second round.

Food: We wanted some oysters from their raw bar but they were out of oysters that night. The waitress suggested the "peel and eat" shrimp so we ordered that instead. We also ordered the "Awesome" Smoked Fish Dip for $6.95, which was made with five ounces of hickory smoked dolphin in a creamy dip and is served with crackers. I expected it to be the consistency of pate or a cream cheese dip, but it was runny and the consistency of ground tuna. It was tasty all the same and we ordered a second plate of shrimp because they were so good!

What it’s Like: Always packed for weekend brunch, the Banana Café is a small, open air restaurant. The restaurant has a bar and about 10 tables in the main room and about 15 more tables on a side porch. The doors and windows are open and the ceiling fans stir up a warm breeze to comfort customers.

Drinks: None for us. The menu offers American coffee, Cuban coffee con leche, espresso, cappuccino, tea and a selection of juices, soft drinks, beers and wines.

Food: The menu features a variety of crepes such as La Paysanne (bacon, mushrooms & bechamelle) for $6.70, La Chevre Chaud (goat cheese & walnut) for $7.50, La Mer (sea scallops in white wine & crème) and about 20 other choices. You can also order simple crepes with honey, strawberry, lemon, orange or raspberry jam for $3. Breakfast options include salmon and bagel for $7.45, croissants for $1.75, omelettes ranging from $5.50 to $6.50 which include toast, and other standard breakfast fare such as bacon and eggs. They also offer a French breakfast which seems to consist of French bread and a croissant for $4. The offer a good selection of salad and sandwiches as well. We opted for the turkey & ham sandwich which is served on fresh French bread with lettuce, tomato and homemade mayonnaise. It was a great, fresh deli sandwich.

What it's like:You will find this restaurant at the end of Mallory Square. We stopped on night for dinner enjoying the Sunset Celebration. You can dine indoors or out and you plan to eat while watching the sunset, this would be a great spot. We chose to eat indoors because one of the street performers who was right outside the restaurant was very loud and obnoxious. He spoke loud French to cats he trained. The show was amusing, but he was annoying and would have disturbed our dinner.

Drinks: We ordered some pina coladas at the bar before we were seated. The frozen drinks did not appear to have much alcohol in them. With dinner I ordered a glass of white wine.

Food: We wanted to split a special of the day which was twin tails of lobster served with vegetables and risotto. The single tail was $29 and the twin tails were $42. The waiter didn’t like the idea of us splitting, but we just weren’t that hungry. He went back and asked the chef and the chef said it was okay so he let us order the twin lobster tails stuffed with crab. The plates they brought out were prepared beautifully and the food was excellent.

What it’s Like: Margaritaville belongs in Key West if it belongs anywhere, but you get the feeling you are in a chain restaurant right from the start. The store attached to the side of the restaurant is just as big as the restaurant itself. You will find all sorts of Jimmy Buffet merchandise at the store.

Drinks: We had to have margaritas at Margaritaville. They were good yet nothing special. We drank them on the rocks.

Food: The food was pretty good for a chain restaurant. For appetizers we ordered conch chowder which was very unique tasting. We think we pinned it down to being made with sun-dried tomatoes. The chowder came with some wonderful garlic-buttered french bread as well. We also ordered some chili-cheese fries which were good and greasy but could have been a meal by themselves. I had one of the shrimp dishes for dinner. There were only six shrimp on the entire plate. I was glad I ordered the Spicy Bahama Shrimp because it was so spicy you could not eat very many shrimp anyways. The shrimp were served on a huge bed of rice.

Rick’s Bar is made up of several different types of clubs. Rick's Down is the bar on the first floor with live entertainment including singers and karaoke. The Crow's Nest is up on the second floor and overlooks the courtyard. Rick's Tree Bar serves only premium drinks. Rick's Upstairs is a nightclub complete with DJs and strobe lights. Durty Harry’s features Rock 'n Roll in its club and The Red Garter is their strip club. It is a great idea on their part because you can get tired of one thing that is going on and just walk up a flight off stairs for a completely different experience. You will definitely have fun at one of the choices here.

Description: Key West is known as one of the best snorkeling destinations in the world. All along the Keys is the nation’s largest reef which is a protected sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean. We decided to go first thing in the morning when the snorkeling is supposed to be the best.

How to get there: We were picked up from the dock at the Wyndham Casa Marina. Our captain drove four of us six miles out to the reef on a speed boat. It was about 15 minutes from the marina to the reef.

What it’s like: The captain of the boat was very friendly and explained about snorkeling and the type of things we would see at the reef. We had to swim about 100 feet from the boat before we started to see the reef. Our trip was at 10am, which is early and a good time to see a variety of fish. We were novice snorkelers and had to go back to the boat a few times to rest and/or fix our equipment, but the snorkeling lasted for about an hour and a half. Various kinds of coral were found including a rare moose coral that was being re-introduced into the area. Also, the government was introducing queen conch, which were about as big as a basketball. We could dive down and pick them up as long as we put them back in the same place. We could not touch anything else in the area. The water ranged from two feed to about ten feed deep. I do not know all the different types of fish we saw but many of them were colorful aquarium-type fish. Some fish were in a cluster of 20 just bobbing next to the reef while others were by themselves hiding under a coral overhang. There was one long skinny silver one that kept following me around and appeared to just stare at me. I found out later it was a barracuda and they behave like that because they are very curious fish. They are at the top of the food chain in the reef and do not have anything to be afraid of. One highlight was when my boyfriend and I literally swam through an entire school of about 200 small striped fish.

Things to bring: Towels and lots of sunscreen. (You may want to bring an underwater camera.) Cost:$49 per person. Mask, snorkel, fins, and drinks were provided.

The captain drove us out into the Gulf of Mexico and explained that approximately 40 dolphins lived in that area, which is why it is named the dolphin playground. Our captain found some dolphins and we watched them swim next to us for a while. The dolphins liked when we started moving and they rode under the front hull of the boat. After one dolphin would swim away we would go find another one. We saw them jump out of the water a few times and they swam very close next to the boat. The captain told us that wild dolphins are not as nice as we think and they can be actually very aggressive to people who get too close in the water because they are very territorial.

After about 45 minutes with the dolphins, we rode over to a small island where we could snorkel. The captain explained all about snorkeling and what types of sealife we would see underwater. He explained that many fish all gathered near the reef during low tide an waited for the tide to come back in so they could go home. He warned us that we would see several sting ray and that the place we were snorkeling was like Key West’s "sting ray city". He also warned us that we may be able to see sharks because they usually come out in the afternoon.

We all got in the water and swam our separate ways. On the way out to the reef we passed several sting ray. This was a great reef to snorkel because there were places where the reef would drop off and there were several clearings. It was like turning a corner and not knowing what you would find. It was at one of these clearings when I was snorkeling along and as I looked at the bottom of the reef where it cleared I found a large nurse shark about five feet long resting at the bottom under a cliff of coral (as if he was in the shade). I saw another shark earlier when he swam under me. I think that one was not a nurse shark because he looked different. That was the first one I saw and it scared me a bit because the water was only about six feet deep and when he swam under me he was only about three feet below me. Besides sharks and sting ray, we also saw a lot of barracuda and they made me the most uncomfortable because there were so many of them. One kept following me around and he was at least the size of my entire leg. Of course we saw many different types of colorful fish as well. The most unique fish I saw was the parrot fish. They were about the size of basketball and were mainly orange in color, but they had turquoise lips, eyelids and part of their scales went from orange to turquoise.

Irish Kevin’s is an open air bar with really great live music. We were reminded of some of the bars in New Orleans. It is right in the middle of all the partying on Duval Street. Every night we walked by it was always packed with people clustering outside the door singing songs. We finally made it into the bar on a Monday night. A man with nothing but a guitar put on one of the most entertaining shows we had experienced. He started doing a cluster of rock’s influential love songs. It was amusing because he sped up the beat so it was fit the pace of the bar and everyone could sing (or scream) along to the lyrics. He would sing just enough of the song for us to belt out a few lines and then he’s switch to something else. He sang complete songs as well from all different bands like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, John Cougar, Boston, Poison, U2 and much more. Later he brought some girls at the bar up on stage and had them dance. He took requests and could play anything that was suggested. We were having so much fun we stayed for about two hours and the guy played the entire time. In the back of the bar they have t-shirts, sweat shirts and other thing for sale. I had to buy myself a tank top to remind myself of the incredible time we had there.

To us this seemed a beer drinking bar so we all had Yuenling (beer from PA). Key West is the first place many of us tried Yuengling and we were sold. You definitly have to try it if you are a beer drinker.

Key West has always famous for its beautiful sunsets. The best place to watch is on the west side of the island at the end of Duval Street in Mallory Square. Starting about two hours before sunset, various arts and crafts exhibitors, street performers, food carts, psychics, locals, and tourists gather at Mallory Square to begin the Sunset Celebration. You will see fire jugglers, escape artists, trained animals, and singers all performing for free (tipping is encouraged). We watched an act of knife and fire jugglers with trained dogs perform for about 15 minutes. It seems an unlikely combination, but it was an entertaining show. The husband and wife would juggle and then have the dogs do some tricks and then juggle some more.

We got some freshly prepared guacamole and sat down at the water’s edge and watched the sun set into the Gulf of Mexico. Everyone was just hanging around having a peaceful time listening to the sounds of the street performers. Several sunset cruises were sailing in the harbor as well and the crowd on the pier would wave at the passengers on the boats. After a while we moved on and saw an escape artist wrap himself in a straight jacket, get wrapped in chains and get hung upside down escape. At the end of the pier, we watched a group of trained house cats do tricks under the direction of a crazy French man.