praisefor3 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 We have been to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale but never to Key West. DH has a conference at Disney in June but we are thinking of flying in to Key West for a couple days before the conference. We would arrive the night of May 30th and have to drive up to Orlando on June 2nd so we would only have 2 full days there. The airfare would be an extra $300 total for all of us compared to flying in to Orlando. Is it worth it? Is the water warm? Two of the kids are going with us ages 14 and 7. Would you do this for an extra $300? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Would it be possible to do another closer key, like Key Largo? We have always enjoyed John Pennekamp Park there. I like Key West and used to go there fairly often when living in S.FL. We would take our bikes and bike all over the area. It would be quite a drive from Key West to Orlando. It is a pretty drive through the Keys though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hmm..that's a long drive. Key west is fun for shopping, and has a great trolley tour to learn about the architecture and history of the island, but other than that there isn't much for kids to do. It is more an adult place. Lots of drinking, not a lot of bras. I think if you want swimming/snorkling you should go to Key largo. Or somewhere totally different would be St. Augustine. That is much closer to Orlando and has the Fort, Old Town, etc. More fun for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hmm..that's a long drive. Key west is fun for shopping, and has a great trolley tour to learn about the architecture and history of the island, but other than that there isn't much for kids to do. It is more an adult place. Lots of drinking, not a lot of bras. I think if you want swimming/snorkling you should go to Key largo. Or somewhere totally different would be St. Augustine. That is much closer to Orlando and has the Fort, Old Town, etc. More fun for sure. :iagree: That's quite a drive, and Key West is really an adult destination. St. Augustine is a great suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I think of Key West as more of a day trip to hit the historical sites, from a family perspective. I'm not too keen on showing my dd the bar where Ernest Hemingway hung out. Honestly, when we used to live in Florida, people in Tampa used to call Key West Freakville. Not very nice or PC but there you have it. I loved the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, the Butterfly and Nature Conservancy, and the Audubon House Museum, but we are more interested in history and nature than bars or the Ripley's Believe It Or Not kind of thing. Another thing about Key West is that they don't have much in the way of beaches. The keys are more rocky and have few natural sand beaches. Most of those that do exist are man-made, the sand being trucked in from farther north. IMO, the best thing about the lower keys is the incredibly beautiful, clear water. If you are considering a boat trip, this would be the place to do that. The water is nicer there than most other places in Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Hmm..that's a long drive. Key west is fun for shopping, and has a great trolley tour to learn about the architecture and history of the island, but other than that there isn't much for kids to do. It is more an adult place. Lots of drinking, not a lot of bras. I think if you want swimming/snorkling you should go to Key largo. Or somewhere totally different would be St. Augustine. That is much closer to Orlando and has the Fort, Old Town, etc. More fun for sure. :iagree: We did a family vacation to the keys a while back, and we had a great time staying on Key Largo. There is Pennekamp, a bird sanctuary nearby, the Dolphin Research place (on Marathon I think?). All very family friendly. We did a day trip down to Key West (an almost 3 hr drive) and did the historic tour, ate cheeseburgers in paradise :D, and stayed for sunset on Mallory Square, but left right after that. There are not a lot of good beaches on Key West, and it is not super kid friendly during the day, and not at all after dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 IMHO it is so not worth your time or money. My dh took me there for an anniversary vacation after I begged him to. He had been there before, and warned me about it, but I didn't listen. We drove there from Birmingham, AL, stayed two nights, and then packed up and drove up to Panama City to finish up our vacation. He was so sweet to me, and noticed that I was unhappy about it, even though I tried to put up a good front. I was so disappointed. There is no beach and bars everywhere. If you want to bar hop, this is the place to be, but if not, DON'T GO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I was very disappointed when we went to Key West. Like others said, it is very adult orientated. Lots of bars, lots of boobs (anatomy and people), lots of people that I couldn't figure out their gender. The beach is abysmal. The Hemingway house is neat but not something young dc would be interested in and not something I would have gone all the way to Key West to see. We were there for my dh's job so it was free - would never have gone otherwise and soooo glad we didn't take the dc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 There is an aquarium in Key West that is kind of small, but is pretty enjoyable and not real expensive. The train tour is fun. I don't know how much you have to spend but there was a place called Fantasy Dan's that offered Airplane tours. He did a good job and it was beautiful. He flies out of Sugar Loaf Key. There are very tame Key Deer on No Name Key that are a lot of fun to watch. You might want to consider staying about 1/2 way down the keys so that you can do things at both ends. It is a long way from Key West to Orlando, but it is a beautiful area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photomo Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My brother in law lives in Key West. Honestly not much to do if you have children. It really is a party atmosphere. If you are down at Duvall street area where the restaurants and shops are you will see people totally trashed at 10:00 in the morning. They do have a small aquarium that my 2 year old did enjoy but it only took 30 minutes to go thru. They also have a butterfly museum and you can pay to go into the area where thousands of butterflies roam . My daughter really did love that. Cruise ships dock there and the streets can get pretty crazy when the cruise ship vacationers are out and about. The only reason I will go back there for vacation is because my brother -in- law lives there. I would not go there just to go there and vacation. IF you were just going for a day or two I'm sure you could find other family friendly things to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayAlice Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Definitely skip the Keys and go to St. Augustine if you are on a family vacation. There is so much more to do in SA that is family friendly. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisefor3 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm so glad I asked this here. I obviously knew nothing about Key West and it does not sound like what we would want to do. We have already been to St. Augustine so we are looking into Key Largo. Thank you for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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