Marathon and environs

Of course, if you just want to relax, you can do that too at Bahia Honda Beach - the second best beach in America, second only to one of Hawaii's beaches - located at Bahia Honda State Park. The park is a wonderful place for a hike and they also have camping facilities.

Quick Tips:

High season is generally December thru April, with May considered the "shoulder" season. Boyphoenix and I prefer to travel during the off-season in order to avoid crowds and the inevitable traffic they bring. May is a good time to visit.

Best Way To Get Around:

Mornings I like to get up and take the kayak out to view the sunrise and then sit with a good book in the waterfront cabana, sipping coffee, letting the cares of the world slip from my shoulders. There is even a jacuzzi in the cabana for those of us who need to do some serious de-stressing.

The resort is right on the water, but this beach ain''t for swimmin''! You''ll sink ankle deep into the sludgy sand. Luckily, guests at the Bonefish have access to the close-by Cabana Club, a private beach club where you can sip frozen drinks while reclining in a chaise lounge on the beach. In May and June, the water is just right!

Hooka diving is sort of like scuba diving, only your air supply comes from a tank on the boat, to which you are tethered via a breathing tube. On the plus side, you can go deeper than if you were snorkeling. On the negative side, the distance you can go from the boat is determined by the length of your breathing tube.

The glass-bottom boat was a nice bonus, as we were able to sit and view the fishes and other divers while we took a break from diving.

Our captain Donna took our small group of six out to Coffin's Patch, where we stayed for close to two hours. It would have been nice to check out other reefs, but I still highly recommend this activity, since I haven't seen it offered anywhere else. It's a cheap alternative to scuba.

Robbie's rents boats, fishing equipment and snorkle gear. You can buy bait and beverages, too. Boyphoenix and I did all of the above and off we went. Our boat was a 17 footer, I think, and very utilitarian. Not much space to stow our stuff or for sitting, but it got us around.

Robbie's also offers a Feed the Tarpon activity, whereby you can buy a bucket of smelts or somesuch ($1) and feed the tarpon which swarm around the docks like seagulls in an urban landfill. I thought the fish would bite my hand off!

While I do recommend renting a boat during your visit to the Keys, I would suggest looking elsewhere to rent. The boat we had was difficult for me to anchor myself to, making me feel as if I were on a fast-moving raft. It was also hard to get back in once I dove into the ocean. Maybe it was just the boat we got and they do have others which are more user friendly.