Key West

Hi Everyone! It has been a long time since our last post. For the past 6 months, we took a break from our travels to spend time with family. Last year in January, Jen and I fled the cold and went to Key West for a couple weeks, but my Dad suffered a stroke on our 3rd day which interrupted our trip. So this year, we tried again! We just finished 3 weeks of RV camping in Key West and we were able to thoroughly explore the area.

There are many great things about Key West (and also a few negatives), so as a destination vacation, it might not be right for you. Hope you find this helpful.

The reason we chose Key West for a winter getaway is that we get a significant benefit with my status as a military retiree. The Navy has 3 campgrounds on Key West that cost a fraction of what other campsites and hotels cost down here. This year we enjoyed a "dry" (no hookups) campsite right on the ocean for $40/night. Private campgrounds in the area charge about $300/night, and hotels in the area are over $500/night. We heard rentals are no better. There is no way we could do this more than a one-time, short trip without that benefit. More on expenses later, but Key West is very expensive.

Our primary activities were sightseeing, eating out, bicycling, fishing, diving, and hanging out by the water. Another popular activity is the bar scene, but we didn't really do much of that so we can't provide too much feedback. The famous (and touristy) bars are "dive bars". Dark, open air bars with lots of stickers and stuff on the walls. If bar-hopping is your thing in a somewhat party atmosphere, then you would probably enjoy some of that here.

Sightseeing -

Truman White House - If you like history, you may want to see this. When Truman was president, he spent about 180 total days in Key West. This was his spot to vacation and relax. Admission provides a guided group tour. The buildings and grounds have been visited by several presidents. It was nice to learn more about Truman and his presidency, but the house/museum itself was just ok. (GRADE: C)

Mel Fisher Museum - This museum describes the life of the treasure hunter and his discovery of two large finds in the 1980s. Lots of artifacts brought up from the ocean of the two Spanish ships. We enjoyed it and thought it was worth the visit. There is also a section about a slave ship that was also found and recovered. There is some great information and history about the slave trade, but Jen and I saw the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. a few years ago which is much more comprehensive (and by the way...we STRONGLY recommend seeing that museum if you can. It's incredible and emotional.) (GRADE: B)

Sunset Pier - A very touristy waterfront location in downtown that is famous for gathering for a drink and watching the sunset. We couldn't believe how many people were there! But in all fairness, the sunset view is EPIC. You can see the pictures and judge for yourself. Worth it! (GRADE: A)

Duval Street - This is the main drag for bars, shopping, and some other points of interest. A little more crowded than the rest of the island, but if you enjoy casually shopping, drinking and eating (and don't mind a little bit of touristy feel), then it's worth a stroll. (GRADE B)

Southernmost Point - As the southern-most point in the continental U.S., many tourists find it fun to take a picture by a buoy that highlights this fact. Jen and I stopped by the spot during a bike ride and the line to take a picture was LONG. Not worth the wait for us, but we still snapped a selfie from the side instead of waiting in the long line to get closeup. (GRADE C)

Eating Out - Jen and I can't find fresh seafood in Roanoke, so we took advantage of getting it here! If you like snapper, grouper, pink shrimp and spiny lobster, you will find it plentiful here. We never had a bad meal here and we tried several restaurants. Overall the food scene is good, but a little pricey (GRADE B)

We were fortunate to meet someone local who gave us some great recommendations for restaurants. All of these were recommended and we would give a grade of A to:

Louie's Backyard - To celebrate our anniversary each year, Jen and I like to go out to a nice dinner. Due to my dad's health issues, we were not able to "celebrate" our anniversary last October, so we finally picked a nice restaurant to do so here. We got a great, cozy and private table overlooking the ocean and enjoyed some nice cocktails and small plates. Of note, we had the most tender and tastiest octopus we've ever had! There is a main restaurant, but we ate upstairs in the bar/small plate area so we could sample multiple dishes and enjoy the view. It was worth it!

El Meson De Pepe - A very traditional Cuban restaurant with a cool vibe. We enjoyed a very impressive traditional Cuban sandwich for lunch!

Sister Noodle House - Ok. We can't eat seafood everyday for three weeks. So one day we tried this Vietnamese/Asian restaurant near our campground. Wow! We were pleasantly shocked at how good the food was! It was so good, we ate there twice and a third time I did takeout. Pho, ramen, and curry were all delicious, and I was impressed with Kimchi noodle dish.

Mac's Place - To cater to the fishermen, there are several restaurants which will cook your fresh catch for you. This place was near the charter boats where we brought some fresh Cero Mackerel (Note: I thought all mackerel was dark and oily, but cero mackerel is white-meat fish with a texture similar to Mahi.) We had them cook it blackened and they brought us all the toppings for fish tacos. Doesn't get fresher than that!

Baby's Coffee - About 7 miles up Hwy 1 from Key West is this coffee shop along the highway. We stopped there two separate times during bike rides. If coffee shops are your thing, we recommend this one. They also serve biscuit and croissant sandwiches and fresh bagels.

Bicycling - Key West is very bicycle friendly. One many of the main streets (including Hwy 1) there are dedicated bike trails. Our favorite rides were along the water and up Hwy 1 where we crossed multiple bridges between the keys. And downtown the bikes move just as fast as the cars and no parking costs. It's a great way to get around if you enjoy cycling. (GRADE A)

Fishing - I (Mike) took three fishing trips in Key West. Two of them were bottom/reef fishing party charters where you fish over the side for fish that are at/near the bottom (Snapper, Grouper, Grunt, etc.) The other trip was a split charter and we fished for Mackerel.

All the trips went great. One of the fishing trips was a 10-hour bottom trip that we both took and we ended up with 31 keepers! Mostly Snapper (Yellow tail and Lane) and Grunt. Probably got nearly 5lb of fish after they were cleaned. A good haul! We also caught many grouper but had to throw them back because they were out of season.

Fishing is very popular in Key West with many different options and species to fish for. It's a great fishing destination.

Diving and Water Sports - Other than fishing, the area is popular for snorkeling, diving, boating, and jet skiing. Jen and I did one dive trip which unfortunately did not go great. The visibility was poor, the diving company wasn't very good, and the water was a little cool. Jen and I have been sporadic divers for 35 years and we've now determined that our diving days are probably over. We were told Key West diving is better in the summer, but it's not a great diving destination.

You would think Key West would have amazing beaches, but most of the shoreline is either rocky, or mangroves. There is very little nice beach. There is one larger nice beach which I stopped during a bike ride to take a picture.

Final Thoughts

Overall we really enjoy Key West. With the RV and military campground, it's a great place for us to "snowbird" in the winter and we plan to return again each winter (unless we plan a different trip).

If it were not for being a military retiree and having the perks that go with it, we would not return to Key West because of the expense. Besides the lodging expense I mentioned earlier, the food and attractions are also pricey. Lunch sandwiches are $18. Most dinner entrees are over $40. Even without alcohol, lunch for two will run $50 and dinner at least $100. Even the small museums are pricey. When we return, we will cook and eat most of our meals in the RV.

The weather, the water, and the fishing are great. The bars and shopping are fun. But there are many places you can get the same thing for much less.

We hope that gave you a better feel for Key West. Let us know if you have any questions about going to Key West for vacation.

Our next big trip will be a visit to Antigua in May/June. Until then...

Peace and Love,

Mike and Jen