The Keys to a successful trip to Florida

In a Nutshell

The Florida Keys stand out as one of the most iconic destinations in the world. The topography of the region is unique with a series of small separate islands  linked by a 113-mile highway, from Key Largo to Key West, blue ocean either side, Atlantic to the east, Gulf to the west, to form an archipelago. If you add into the mix fabulous food, amazing beaches, fascinating history and extraordinary wildlife then you have an outstanding destination.

Why your clients should go

The beauty of a holiday to the Florida Keys is that you can add so much value. First of all, a flight into Miami or Fort Lauderdale is the most expedient way of getting close to the Keys and then to explore the real splendour you will need car rental. In the near future I am sure this will be an electric car and that would suit the 21^st century culture of the Keys as they continue their sustainability revolution started some ten to fifteen years ago. The Keys represent a touring holiday with lots of highlights as you leave the urban areas of the North and take ones time to meander down Highway 1 to the most southern point on mainland USA, Key West which in itself is closer to Havana, Cuba than it is to Miami. A variety of hotels, attractions, activities and restaurants are available along the way the majority of which can be pre booked. I enjoyed trips to the Coral Restoration Foundation, Turtle Hospital, Islamorada Brewing company and a Tour of the Bahia Honda State Park all before I even got to the final piece of the archipelago jigsaw – Key West.

What to see and what to do

Key West, the home for many years of Ernest Hemingway (you can visit his house), is one of the most interesting places to go in the entire USA such is its history and heritage. Whilst I have been on a number of occasions, I always find something new about the place and this time I found it at the Key West Woman’s Club. The club itself, set up to help citizens who have fallen on hard times, is over 100 years old and housed in one of the city’s older properties which, for a small fee, you can be shown around. For me however the real gems came after the tour and whilst sitting on a rocking chair on the porch I was given a tour de force of Key West history. Starting with the pirates and wreckers of the early 19^th Century who made their living from the vessels that floundered in the rough waters, through to the role played in the American civil war when blockading Confederate cotton cargo, Jews who escaped war torn Europe via Havana and finally into the late 20^th century when exiles who had escaped the Cuban revolution settled in Key West. The history was fascinating but even better was the welcome given to me by the ladies of the Woman’s Club.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the city. Take a marine tour of the reef in an electric powered boat and see Dolphins at play, take a floating cycle onto the water and experience the sunset at Mallory Square, get a drink at Sloppy Joes where Hemingway hung out, gape at the maritime antiquities in the Mel Fisher Museum and take a tour of the oldest house in the area where once lived a civil war spy.

Food and Drink

The Keys has such an enormous variety of food and drink. On your way down the Keys make sure you make full use of the small cafes and diners that you will find en route such as Mrs Macs Kitchen in Key Largo, whose speciality is biscuits and gravy plus the Key Lime Pie is quite divine, or try breakfast at Midway Cafe and Coffee Bar, Islamorada.

Wherever you go to eat fish dishes, and some of the freshest you will experience, are in great abundance. Believe it or not The Fish House in Key Largo serves some of the best.

The further south you go you will find the greater influence of Cuban cuisine. In Key West a breakfast favourite for café con leche and a Key Wester (two eggs, cheese and a choice of meat sandwiched between two pieces of pressed Cuban bread) is the Cuban Coffee Queen.  In the evening try the original 1927 headquarters of Pan American Airlines, First Flight Island Restaurant, where the fare maybe more familiar with burgers, steaks and chicken.

Before you head back North make sure you stop at Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen. Sit outside, order a salad, your choice of beverage and gaze at the array of yachts anchored in the Marina.

Where to stay

If you don’t do anything else, make sure you stay at least one night in the Isla Bella Beach Resort in Marathon. Book into the Italian restaurant for dinner but before that enjoy the sunset whilst enjoying an ice cold brewski on the patio. If you’re lucky you will be rewarded, as I was, with a distortion of the sun’s rays through the atmosphere to give a truly breath-taking sight.

If in Key West I can highly recommend the Laureate Hotel which is made up of very well equipped and appointed apartments with good parking.

Don’t Miss

Henry Flagler was Rockefeller’s partner in Standard Oil and through that became one of the richest men in America during the latter half of the 19^th and early 20^th century. He chose to spend a lot of his money on tourism projects throughout the sunshine state and he is often referred to as the father of Floridian Tourism. From St Augustine in the North all the way to Key West in the South the fingerprints of Flagler finance can be seen. One of his more ambitious projects was to build a railroad linking all the separate Keys, as an extension to his existing Overseas Railroad, from Homestead, just south of Miami, to the very tip of the country. With lots of money, bridge building, innovation, labour, hurricane recovery and perseverance this was finally achieved in 1912. Unfortunately, the railroad did not last long as it became victim to the weather and the emergence of the motor vehicle. The now spectacular 100-mile US Route 1 extension is a direct result of that investment and whatever you do, DO NOT MISS the Sails to Rails Museum at Flagler Station in Key West where all is explained.

Grahams trip was organised and sponsored by Florida Keys Tourism where further information can be found on the region.