We are going to Key West at the end of August
Which would you recommend for a family kids 2,6 and 9. Also, thinking about staying at the Hyatt vacation club in Key west. Is Key West appropriate for kids or should we stay in the other keys? Any suggestions are more than welcome!!

Better choice, kid-friendly, would be Hawk's Cay.

It's somewhere about MM66 (with Mile Marker 0 being in Key West.)

Key West is an adult-oriented town. You really should visit, but you won't find much that's oriented to the children. The Butterfly House comes to mind--I'm sure others will have suggestions.

The main Keys information site is http://fla-keys.com/ . Might want to check with the relevant information center(s.)

I think Key West would be a lot of fun for children. The sunset celebrations alone provide interesting entertainment for people of all ages. There's also an aquarium, glass-bottom boat rides, a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, etc. etc.

However, I think you'd find the Hyatt Vacation Club inconveniently located. The Hyatt Resort and Marina on Front Street is in a much better location.

How many days are you going and what kind of things do you like to do? If you have for or more days, I would suggest sampling different parts of the Keys. If you have a weekend, you'll need to pick one spot.

On the flip side, I like Cheeca much better than Hawks Cay.

Granted, I've stayed at Cheeca and not Hawks Cay but I have been on their grounds.

Cheeca is in the middle of Islamorada so you don't have to drive forever to get to attractions and dining.

World Wide Sportsman and Robbies to feed the tarpon for kids. Dining, Lorelei, Islamorada Fish Company, Marker 88, are just a few restaurants.

I would suggest dividing your time between Key West and another key. I can't comment on Hyatt Vacation Club; in June we stayed three nights at Southernmost Hotel in Key West. It is quite a hike from Mallory Square, but we managed by walking or taking cabs. Honestly, our kids we ready to leave KW after three days. While they enjoyed the sunset celebration at Mallory Square, two nights of it were enough for them. There are many shops along Duval and our kids tire of those quickly. I talked to a couple with younger children and they did a glass-bottom boat cruise one afternoon. Their kids enjoyed that.

We spent one night at Cheeca Lodge (Islamorada). Our kids, boys ages 14 and 12, loved it. Beware--there is a $30-$40 resort fee on top of the base rate. I booked our reservation through hotels.com (I think) and the resort fee was $15. That aside, the property is beautiful. Two pools--one adult and one for all ages. There is a saltwater lagoon with marine life. I noticed a small playground with kiddie slide, etc. There are kayaks, sailboats, and bicycles available. You can fish from the pier. Our kids wished we had spent more time there. We had dinner at Islamorada Fish Co. and watched the tarpons being fed. World Wide Sportsman is neat. Be sure to get key lime pie at Manny and Isa's! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Have fun!

Sunbabe,

We are going for 7 days. We are dividing our days up - 2 in Islamorada, 3 or 4 at Hawks Cay and maybe 2 in Key West. We might do 1 on fisher island (the day we arrive). Thanks for all the replies. I feel much better about my reservation with Cheeca Lodge. I am still very tentative about staying in Key West with 3 small kids - don't need the party scene.

Paris--don't worry about Key West with your young ones. At night we went to dinner, shopped, and walked Mallory Square. We were back in our hotel by 10:30 p.m.

Our kids were never exposed to anything inappropriate in KW. Your kids will probably love the cats and chickens that have been adopted by the town!

We were in the Keys in mid-June. My kids are older than yours, and I would say 1 night is plenty in Key West. It just didn't feel as much for kids as other parts of the Keys. In part because of the very happening bar scene starting in the afternoon and continuing in full swing at night. It felt safe and it was fine walking around, but it is adult-oriented. Key West is indeed beautiful, and my husband and I would put it on our short list to go with friends, but with the family....1 full day was plenty---suggest you ride the Conch Train to get an overview and tour a few of the museums. Some great restaurants and shopping was fun...but we were really glad we spent most of our time in the middle and lower Keys. Some of it depends on what you are looking for--nature, history, water activities, etc.

We stayed at Hawks Cay, and it's a great place for kids. Lagoon is nice for "contained" swimming, band by the pool, kids club area, etc. We were in a "villa" with a full kitchen--very roomy. The only distressing part was the "resort fee." Hawks Cay is also near The Dolphin Research Center--highly recommended for a day trip (only about 5-10 minutes away). It is not at all a theme park.

Also looked at Cheeca--sounds great too. We just wanted to be a little lower in the Keys to reach some of our other activities.

Have a great trip--we LOVED the Keys!

We've been going to Key West with our children for years and they've never been bored. There are lots of families, (many with two mommies or daddies) but definitely also lots of singles and partying. One caution-you do need to be wary of some of the shop windows on Duval which could display a few sex toys or very sexually explicit clothes. There aren't many and it all feels safe, but those shops are intermingled with shoe stores and art galleries and can catch you unaware-- it can be tough to explain what you see to kids (also to some adults!!). Also many of the t-shirts hanging everywhere can be pretty raw. It's not a town for the uptight (think New Orleans at the beach), but in all our years there, we never felt out of place with our kids and their friends and everyone, everytime loved it. There are nice uncrowded beaches. The water is mostly coral-bottomed (take the Conch Train for an explanation)not sand, so it's not the greatest for serious swimming but the beaches are very pretty and great for lite fishing, kite flying, snorkeling, walking, sand castles and ship-watching (several cruise ships make for awful crowds at the sunset celebration but fun watching as they go in and out). There are chickens everywhere--make sure to stop in at the Chicken Store to see them close up. Also the Butterfly Experience if you want something indoors. There are beautiful tropical fish visible from beaches and docks. Go to Blue Heaven Restaurant. You eat outside as in someone's backyard. There's a rope swing for kids, a musician or two in the evening (not too loud), cats and chickens running around and up into the trees and onto rooftops. Turtle Kraals is also a good spot to take kids--it's on the docks where you can walk around and see the ships/boats/dinghies, the fish in the water and ship people with their dogs. If cemeteries don't give you the creeps, there are some "fun" gravemarkers to hunt for (one for a woman's dogs)in the only KW cemetery--there are directions available. Great people watching on Duval, great houses in Old Town. In general,we all found the other keys waaaay too quiet. If you're driving, check out the Key deer (on only one key whose name I forget). It's fun to drive around (very slowly and cautiously) to try to spot them (although sometimes they're just out like lawn ornaments). There's a pond there with an observation deck to check out the alligator who's been sunning himself for tourists to photograph for years. Great photo when he yawns! Have fun!