Key West St John

[parrot eyes]

Just spent a week in Beautiful Key West with my daughter, I love the Keys, but I am anxious now for December and St John. St John is a magical place that cannot be duplicated. The Keys are too, but each in their own way. Hope everyone is doing Awesome this sunny June Day!!!!

[SOonthebeach]

I have wanted to go to the Keys for a long time.... would love a trip report! We usually just head to STJ.....

[Larry]

I went to key west last month. It was very touristy and I got the flu.

The beaches are not soft sand, they are rocky and annoying. The views are beautiful but nothing like St John.

Drinking is a sport there and its pretty much all there is to do if you're not doing a water sport. Things were also very expensive. $30 for 15 minutes of jet ski.

[Tawni & Scott]

Larry - thanks for the "report" on Key West. My husband and I were thinking about heading there next February for a long weekend (mini-trip before heading to St. John in April).

[SOonthebeach]

I went to key west last month. It was very touristy and I got the flu.



Larry- that's funny! Not funny ou got the flu, just funny how you said that. Gives a good picture- thanks!

[rumbandit]

I have Key West in November and then St John in May!

[AH]

If you have the chance to go to Key West you should. No, it's not STJ but it is great fun. While drinking is a favorite pass time, there are other things to see and do. We usually feel a long weekend is enough time to spend there. Since the nightlife does go on into the wee hours of the morning we are pretty exhausted after a few days. In fact the streets are pretty empty during the morning hours. I love to shop there. Lots of tropical stuff to buy. We bought a great hammock on our last trip. I love the shop in Jimmy Buffet's bar. There are some great places to stay as well. By all means at least give it a try.
AH

[samoka]

You should check out some of the other keys - we have never stayed in Key West be have travelled to the keys several times and we really love it there - it is a good place for villa gravity to take over - not a place to go if you want beaches, but it is beautiful just the same - we like staying in Marathon and this past winter stayed in Key Largo which was nice - a short drive from either MIA or FLL and easy to go to the Everglades for the day - good luck.

[SOonthebeach]

We would definitely go in ADDITION to an STJ trip- not in place of- will definitely check it out some time. Will look into all the keys and see what sounds good. Have to keep exploring! As long as it's near the ocean I can't be that dissapointed....

[DuxDweller]

I would completely agree that Key West is no match for St John. That said, it's a cool place to check out. Bars/restaurants are good (even if expensive). The shops and "town" are fun. I've stayed up higher in the keys (Islamorada and Key Largo) and found Key West a reasonable drive. There's a park/beach called Bahia Hondo which is listed in Conde Nast as one of the top beaches in the world. Kind of funny to me. We went (wife and 4 kids) and wondered who possibly could have voted for that! Any one of the 39 on STJ are nicer - and coming from the Cape Cod area, I can safely say we have a few that are better beaches as well. That said, we rented a small power boat and rode around the inland waters there. It was great. Had dolphins all around the boat - and found a restaurant to dock at and eat seafood. I say GO AND ENJOY IT for what it is. A neat place on the water!

-Dux

[Tawni & Scott]

Thank you everyone! I think my husband and I WILL try the Key's in February!

[parrot eyes]

I'm glad to see some great thoughts regarding the Keys. yes it is the opposite of St John, however, while I was there this last week, I took time to explore the island, other than the bars... Hemmingway was a great author, you can learn about his life and travel though his home,(neat place)... You can explore the light house that kept the boats safe thru the 1800 and into the early 1900's, and the how they kept the lights on etc, or go thru the fort that still stands, as the barrier from several wars, that kept the United States safe. or explore pirates treasures, go on a sunset cruise, or even try paddle boarding, (standing on a surf board, with a paddle and cruise thru the waters, ( 21.00 for as long as you can go).... Then you have Mallory Square at sunset, they celebrate sunset every night, Gods gift and they love it, it's like a big carnival!!! or take in some of the great talent at Sloppy Joes, or Hogs Breath. One of my favorite places is the Conch Republic, great food and fun place. Another awesome place is Blue Heaven, the Key Lime Pie there is awesome!! and the food awesome as well. If you love to snorkel or scuba, those are options as well. Rent a Moped for the day 35.00... and cruise the entire island, there are tons of art galleries, (I only took cards,(grin), wow some awesome galleries and talent... cruise Duval at night and people watch, or sit down and talk to a local, they can tell you stories. It's a neat place where everyone is welcome.

and If you get by the Hyatt on Front street, tell my daughter Danielle hello...she is the food and beverage manager.... and that is one kick $%# place to eat!!! sunset view and lobster..... yum... They had the Iron Chefs there a week ago competing with the local chefs, and guess who won.. the local chefs... fun times.

It's magical in it's own way!!! The Green Parrot is where Hemmingway hung out and alot of the locals do!! Good Blues Bands, If you go in April, they have the songwriters festival. All the songwriters of your favorite county artists are in town and are performing for several days!! That is really cool...

Enjoy your time, and have fun doing the Duval Crawl!!!

[SOonthebeach]

Wow- thanks for the great tips Parrot Eyes- I have never learned so much about Key West all at once! Will definitely figure out a time to go. Sounds like fun times. No replacement for STJ- but still sounds worth a trip. After all there are a few other places I still want to see, or return to (Amalfi Coast..... sigh...)