Are the Keys the right place to go?
Jul 16th, 2005, 11:51 AM
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Are the Keys the right place to go?
My husband is recovering from hip surgery & we thought we might plan a mini vacation (4 days) before he has to go back to work. We can not do a lot of walking so a sightseeing type area is out. Thought we would go to the Keys & sit on a beach. We both love to snorkel, but he would need an area of snorkeling that is right off a beach. Not sure if that is possible in this area. Thinking of Florida instead of Caribbean because the air fare would be less expensive. Any ideas for us? Thanks
Jul 16th, 2005, 12:40 PM
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Key West is my favorite vacation destination, but I'm afraid the keys wouldn't be right for you at this time.
The beaches in the keys aren't much to get excited about: they're all man-made and most are tiny. You won't find those nice, wide, white sandy beaches like in the Florida panhandle or the Clearwater area.
I don't really think you can rely on snorkeling off the beach, either. Most snorkeling is done at reef(s). In Key West there's one beach (Ft. Zachary Taylor) that is used for snorkeling, but it's not always dependable.
The beaches in the keys aren't much to get excited about: they're all man-made and most are tiny. You won't find those nice, wide, white sandy beaches like in the Florida panhandle or the Clearwater area.
I don't really think you can rely on snorkeling off the beach, either. Most snorkeling is done at reef(s). In Key West there's one beach (Ft. Zachary Taylor) that is used for snorkeling, but it's not always dependable.
Jul 16th, 2005, 01:13 PM
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Decent wade-in snorkeling is virtually non-existent in the Keys. As other poster said, also few decent natural beaches. The reefs are 5-6 miles offshore, so all snorkeling is done by boat tour. There are non stop flights to St.Thomas in the USVI where Secret Harbour Hotel has very reasonable prices and excellent snorkeling right off the beach. You could get there almost as fast because of the drive from Miami to the Keys. See www.secretharbour.com
Jul 16th, 2005, 02:44 PM
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As the previous posters pointed out, Keys beaches are not of the best. In addition, the recent bad weather battered them. Go to http://keysnews.com/291106105310460.bsp.htm for details. Ft Zach, and Sombrero Beach up in Marathon were both hit pretty bad.
