We visited the beautiful Florida Keys in December (which I can say is the best time to visit as the weather is just perfect!). We did this trip first week of December beating the crowds and the holiday season.
Day 1:
Flew into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) airport in the night and stayed near the airport for the night. Rented the car from Alamo and the service was very good.
Day 2 - Miami and Key Biscayne
Checked out of the hotel and the plan was to spend the day in Miami. We had taken care to select a family friendly beach in Miami as we were travelling with our 6 year old. After lot of read the best beach which is kid-friendly in Miami is the South Beach Pointe Park. We took a drive through the Ocean drive to reach this place. Parking can be a pain and considering we were visiting on a Sunday was even the more worse. We parked at 137 Washington Street which was a short walk from the beach and was safe. It was $2 per hour and we parked for 4 hours.
Google Maps
We walked to the beach and spent an hour there relaxing while our son was playing in the sand and water. Then we took a walk to the pier. It is a must see with a beautiful view of the shore and buildings. There is a small eat-out and park close to the pier where we stopped for a quick break and ice cream and fresh smoothie.
After that we took a walk to the Art Deco Street. It was not that long a walk and there were free shuttle buses that would take you there, but it just did not come on time when we were waiting at the stop. So we figured it would be faster to walk. We did not walk the full stretch of Art Deco street and turned midway. By the time we clicked few pics and got back to the parking it was around 3 PM.
Google Maps
Next stop was the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park at Key Biscayne. The drive through the Virginia Key and Crandon Park was very scenic and beautiful. We did hear great reviews about Crandon Park and would have loved to spend some time there. Unfortunately we had to skip that since we did not have the time.
The entrance to the state park was $9. We ended up having a late picnic lunch there and then went to the beach. There is a lighthouse on the beach but by the time we reached there the entry to the lighthouse was closed. So we just spent the time on the beach enjoying the views of sunset.
There is a cafe there by the beach, but we did not try anything as they had very limited vegetarian options.
Day 3 - Everglades Alligator Airboat and Everglades National Park
The plan was to spend the day with Alligators!
We left around 9 AM from the hotel after breakfast and drove to the Everglades Alligator Farm for the Airboat ride. This a must do when you come to this part of the city and is quite an experience. I researched all the alligator farms and this was the only one close to the Ernest visitor center of the Everglades National Park. All the others are on the northern side and would take an additional 1 hour drive. And this one also had a alligator farm along with some shows. The entrance is $27 per adult and $19.50 per child but there are lots of coupons available online or at the hotels lobby for few $ discount.
Google Maps
We reached here around 9:45 AM just in time for the 10 AM boat ride. The air boat was quite an experience and we did spot many Alligators in the swamp along with birds and Iguana. The boat ride was 25 minutes and got very noisy due to the motor so we were provided headphones before we boarded the boat. And yes we do get wet, but not that you would need change of cloths.
After the boat ride we had few minutes to wander around before the 11 AM alligator show. The lady who conducted the show literally put her head inside the mouth! And we also had the chance to hold a baby alligator - of course with its mouth taped!
We spent some more time going around and then caught the alligator feeding show at 12. They were fed frozen mouse.
Next stop was the Ernest F. Coe Visitor center to get the map of the national park and learn some facts. We had a quick picnic lunch there and headed out to explore the park.
Half a day is quite sufficient to cover all the marked trails on this side of the park and this is just what we did.
We did the Anhinga Trail - the most famous one to explore and get the feel of the park. We did spot couple of alligators, Anhingas and other birds.
Next stop was the Pa Ho Okee Trail and then we drove to the Flamingo Visitor center stopping on the way to capture the beauty of the park.
Spent some time at the Flamingo Visitor center before we headed back out to the hotel.
Day 4 - Robbies and John Pennekamp State Park
The plan for the next two days was to explore the Keys. Today we decided to take the Glass Bottom boat ride to get a view of the Coral Reefs. There are two boats that offer this ride - The Key Largo Princess and the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat which departs from inside the state park. When you google 'Glass Bottom Boat' only the KeyLargo Princess shows up for some reason. But we opted for the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat and we were very happy that we did. This one does not offer drinks like the other one and thought would be more kid-friendly. It was around $24 per adult and $17 per kid and departs from inside the park. Since we had booked the 3:30 pm, we had the morning to explore the other part of the Keys.
Keys are famous for their delicious Key Lime Pies and our first stop for the day was the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory. They had a wide variety of fresh key lime pies, cookies and pastries. We picked up a few to eat later during the day. The place itself was very beautiful with a small area at the back with tables, chairs and hens running around!
The next stop was the Robbies at the Islamorada Key. This place is known for their seafood and Tarpon feeding. Though we did neither, the place by itself gave a local flavor and we enjoyed the visit. The Tarpon Feeding is $4 per bucket and an additional $2.25 to get on the dock. But there is another dock next to the Tarpon feeding dock that is free to enter and the view is the same or even better since we can see people feeding the Tarpons. So if you are not feeding the Tarpons, don't spend money just to get on the dock. We spent around an hour here before we headed back.
We stopped for a mid morning snack at the Midway Cafe. The cafe is very small and cozy and the smoothies are delicious.
Next we headed straight to the John Pennekamp State Park and reached there around 1:30 PM. The entrance fee is $9. Be sure to spend few hours in the park. There are 2 beaches and couple of trails. We spent a lot of time at the beach next to the visitor center. The tickets to the glass bottom boat tour need to be exchanged in the store next to the visitor center. We had our picnic lunch at the beach and relaxed till the tour. The boat tour was about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Since it was a weekday, the boat was less than half full so we had a lot of place to move around. The view of the coral reefs and ocean life was very beautiful to see. The view was pretty clear that day so we got lucky.
We headed back to the hotel for a break. After dinner we headed out to get some memorabilia. The Largo Cargo Co. gift shop down the road had a wonderful collection.
Google Maps
Day 5 - Bahia Honda State Park and Key West
We left the hotel at 9 AM and drove to Bahia Honda State Park. On the way is the Seven Mile Bridge, one of the largest bridges connecting two keys. The Bahia Honda is an hour and 45 minutes from the hotel and we reached there at 11AM. This is one of the most beautiful places on the Keys and given a choice can spend the full day here. The water to has a different blue tinge and clear. We spent around 2 hours here and had our picnic lunch. We took a stroll by the beach, collected some shells, took a walk to the broken bridge and spent time admiring the nature.
Next we drove to the Fort Zachery Taylor and spent an hour there. There is a fort and a beach.
Google Maps
Around 4:30 we drove back and parked at the Firehouse Parking for 3 hours. We walked to the Ernest Hemming House, Lighthouse and Truman House. Did not have time to go inside to just viewed them from outside. Then we went to the Mile 0 marker and from there walked to the Mallory Square to catch the sunset.
The sunset was indeed beautiful along with some local talent street performances and some local food like fresh guacamole and chips and coconut water. We spent an hour here and then walked back to the car through Duval Street.
Google Maps
It took around 2 hours to get back to the hotel.
Day 6:
This was the last day of the trip and our flight was at 3 pm from Fort Lauderdale. We spent the morning at the resort beach and spotted a huge Iguana there. We left around 10 AM and drove to Little Havana - Versailles Bakery. The cuban coffee there is out of the world and a must have. After the coffee break we drove straight to the airport.
End to another wonderful trip!
Day 1:
Flew into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) airport in the night and stayed near the airport for the night. Rented the car from Alamo and the service was very good.
Day 2 - Miami and Key Biscayne
Checked out of the hotel and the plan was to spend the day in Miami. We had taken care to select a family friendly beach in Miami as we were travelling with our 6 year old. After lot of read the best beach which is kid-friendly in Miami is the South Beach Pointe Park. We took a drive through the Ocean drive to reach this place. Parking can be a pain and considering we were visiting on a Sunday was even the more worse. We parked at 137 Washington Street which was a short walk from the beach and was safe. It was $2 per hour and we parked for 4 hours.
Google Maps
Google Maps
Next stop was the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park at Key Biscayne. The drive through the Virginia Key and Crandon Park was very scenic and beautiful. We did hear great reviews about Crandon Park and would have loved to spend some time there. Unfortunately we had to skip that since we did not have the time.
The entrance to the state park was $9. We ended up having a late picnic lunch there and then went to the beach. There is a lighthouse on the beach but by the time we reached there the entry to the lighthouse was closed. So we just spent the time on the beach enjoying the views of sunset.
There is a cafe there by the beach, but we did not try anything as they had very limited vegetarian options.
The next stop was the drive to Hampton Inn at Key Largo where we would be spending the rest of the trip. It took around 1 hour 30 mins to the hotel by taking the Turn Pikes toll road. I suggest taking the toll road for around $3 as it would save a lot of time.
Google MapsThe plan was to spend the day with Alligators!
We left around 9 AM from the hotel after breakfast and drove to the Everglades Alligator Farm for the Airboat ride. This a must do when you come to this part of the city and is quite an experience. I researched all the alligator farms and this was the only one close to the Ernest visitor center of the Everglades National Park. All the others are on the northern side and would take an additional 1 hour drive. And this one also had a alligator farm along with some shows. The entrance is $27 per adult and $19.50 per child but there are lots of coupons available online or at the hotels lobby for few $ discount.
Google Maps
We reached here around 9:45 AM just in time for the 10 AM boat ride. The air boat was quite an experience and we did spot many Alligators in the swamp along with birds and Iguana. The boat ride was 25 minutes and got very noisy due to the motor so we were provided headphones before we boarded the boat. And yes we do get wet, but not that you would need change of cloths.
Half a day is quite sufficient to cover all the marked trails on this side of the park and this is just what we did.
We did the Anhinga Trail - the most famous one to explore and get the feel of the park. We did spot couple of alligators, Anhingas and other birds.
Spent some time at the Flamingo Visitor center before we headed back out to the hotel.
Day 4 - Robbies and John Pennekamp State Park
The plan for the next two days was to explore the Keys. Today we decided to take the Glass Bottom boat ride to get a view of the Coral Reefs. There are two boats that offer this ride - The Key Largo Princess and the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat which departs from inside the state park. When you google 'Glass Bottom Boat' only the KeyLargo Princess shows up for some reason. But we opted for the John Pennekamp Glass Bottom Boat and we were very happy that we did. This one does not offer drinks like the other one and thought would be more kid-friendly. It was around $24 per adult and $17 per kid and departs from inside the park. Since we had booked the 3:30 pm, we had the morning to explore the other part of the Keys.
Keys are famous for their delicious Key Lime Pies and our first stop for the day was the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory. They had a wide variety of fresh key lime pies, cookies and pastries. We picked up a few to eat later during the day. The place itself was very beautiful with a small area at the back with tables, chairs and hens running around!
The next stop was the Robbies at the Islamorada Key. This place is known for their seafood and Tarpon feeding. Though we did neither, the place by itself gave a local flavor and we enjoyed the visit. The Tarpon Feeding is $4 per bucket and an additional $2.25 to get on the dock. But there is another dock next to the Tarpon feeding dock that is free to enter and the view is the same or even better since we can see people feeding the Tarpons. So if you are not feeding the Tarpons, don't spend money just to get on the dock. We spent around an hour here before we headed back.
Next we headed straight to the John Pennekamp State Park and reached there around 1:30 PM. The entrance fee is $9. Be sure to spend few hours in the park. There are 2 beaches and couple of trails. We spent a lot of time at the beach next to the visitor center. The tickets to the glass bottom boat tour need to be exchanged in the store next to the visitor center. We had our picnic lunch at the beach and relaxed till the tour. The boat tour was about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Since it was a weekday, the boat was less than half full so we had a lot of place to move around. The view of the coral reefs and ocean life was very beautiful to see. The view was pretty clear that day so we got lucky.
Google Maps
Day 5 - Bahia Honda State Park and Key West
We left the hotel at 9 AM and drove to Bahia Honda State Park. On the way is the Seven Mile Bridge, one of the largest bridges connecting two keys. The Bahia Honda is an hour and 45 minutes from the hotel and we reached there at 11AM. This is one of the most beautiful places on the Keys and given a choice can spend the full day here. The water to has a different blue tinge and clear. We spent around 2 hours here and had our picnic lunch. We took a stroll by the beach, collected some shells, took a walk to the broken bridge and spent time admiring the nature.
We left to the Key West around 1 PM and reached there around 2 PM. since it was a weekday there were lots of available paid street parking. We parked next to the Southern Most Point and walked there. Usually there are long lines to take a picture but it was not bad that day. We managed to take some good shots and then took a quick stroll to check out the place.
Google Maps
Around 4:30 we drove back and parked at the Firehouse Parking for 3 hours. We walked to the Ernest Hemming House, Lighthouse and Truman House. Did not have time to go inside to just viewed them from outside. Then we went to the Mile 0 marker and from there walked to the Mallory Square to catch the sunset.
The sunset was indeed beautiful along with some local talent street performances and some local food like fresh guacamole and chips and coconut water. We spent an hour here and then walked back to the car through Duval Street.
It took around 2 hours to get back to the hotel.
Day 6:
This was the last day of the trip and our flight was at 3 pm from Fort Lauderdale. We spent the morning at the resort beach and spotted a huge Iguana there. We left around 10 AM and drove to Little Havana - Versailles Bakery. The cuban coffee there is out of the world and a must have. After the coffee break we drove straight to the airport.
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