Did I miss something in Key West?
 

Can people tell me what it is about Key West that makes it so appealing? I'm sure the tropical climate, beaches, and laid back lifestyle is appealing. However, after going there (in early August before the hurricane season), we left feeling like it didn't matter if we ever go back, unlike some other places we've visted. What did I miss? I did love the key lime pies--ate it everywhere I could. The Blond Giraffe's was a bit too sweet for my taste, but ate it anyway. Yummm.

Are you sure you were in Key West? I ask that because the beaches there certainly are not appealing.

Spent a week there, and my husband and I bouth found it to be very relaxing and a lot fun. Don't know that I'd go rushing back there, but I like to try different places.

Did you have the chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick? To die for.

I agree that the beaches really aren't much in Key West. I've only been there for spring break so it was more the party atmosphere that was appealing at the time. I also liked a lot of the neat artsy shops on Duval.

While I like Key West, I can take it or leave it. Some people however, really develop a love for Key West and return year after year.

The same can be said for any location.

Personally, I'm more of an Islamorada type chic.

Key West is my favorite travel destination in the continental US, but darned if I can tell you why. It certainly isn't the beaches, they really aren't very nice.

It certainly isn't the late night bar scene on Duval, I'm in bed by 10pm almost every night.

The restaurants are good, but many aren't really great, and some are somewhat overpriced.

But, I certainly do love getting up early every morning and walking the streets of Old Town. Watching the locals getting up and starting their day, lots of cats to talk to, beautiful tropical plants.

For a few years, I was sure this was where I would head for retirement, but I'm afraid it's priced itself out of that possibility. Still enjoy my trips there, heading back again for Thanksgiving, this time with my two adult children in tow. I wonder if they'll take after their parents and love it, or be more like the original poster of this thread, and think it is just 'ok'. I'll let you know in December.. Jean

Key West is nice enough, but it's a too long drive for those of us who don't want to join the crowds in bars at 10 in the morning. The once lovely sunset on the pier has turned into a commercial enterprise for untalented street performers. Restaurants and most else is more expensive than warranted.

I think it's the kind of place you want to see because you've heard so much about it. Now you can cross it off your list and go to someplace really interesting, such as the Everglades and Corkscrew Swamp.

What do *I* miss about Key West? The 0LD Key West from the '70's & '80's before all the tourists found it and it became so commercialized and full of dull T shirt shops, and drinking wasn't the main source of entertainment. We still go because we have a daughter down there, but we never stay long, anymore. I like what they have done to renovate the old Victorian homes, and sprucing up and rebuilding the old buildings, but after *touring* and seeing all there is to see down there...there just isn't that much more to do. Except fishing, and even that has gotten extremely expensive...as has everything else down there. We took friends down there in May, since they had never been...two days and we were out of there.

I have to agree with Mamajo. I remember paying $15/night for a hotel room in August of 1979. It was August so it wasn't the most desirable time to be there. But then in the 1980s Goldie Hawn was in a movie situated in that same hotel. Once Elizabeth Taylor bought a house in Key West, that was the bitter end. What was once laid-back and quaint became an overnight cliche. And the people, the local "conchs", are no longer there. It's just an endless stream of tourists, tee-shirt shops, knick-knack shops. Key West is a victim of its success.

If you don't go to Key West to check out the history of the place, then it will be difficult to appreciate it. And I think a trip there without a trip to the Dry Tortugas is incomplete as it also has so much history.

Never visited the keys in the 70s but they were sure a lot of fun in the early 80s! And cheap as can be.

I remember one New Years week in 1987 that we spent in Key West in some motel with a full kitchen for $38 per night. Should have bought one of those old shacks back then when they wer $60,000.

*GoTravel*...those little shacks/conch houses just up Margaret St. from the Turtle Krawls rent for about $1,000 per month now..our kid lives in one of them. Needs Lots of work...and it would probably sell for $200,000!!!

I've heard that they have lots of Gay bars. Did you try any of them? Maybe that's where all the fun was!

mamajo, those shacks go for $500,000 now. I doubt you can rent one for under $2,000.

Jor has a point. It is perpetually non-stop party time in KW. And there is a healthy dose of tolerance for everyone from bikers to gays. That is a truly wonderful thing that is hard to find in many places in the US.

TG, it seems Key West has a large tolerance for everyone but tourists. They held a protest this summer over the tourists from the cruise ships. I'll see if I can find the link from the Citizen.

I think it also goes back to why are you vacationing. KW is a great place to travel if you don't want to do much beyond relaxing. You can sleep late, hang out by the pool, take a stroll, hang out by the pool, go see the sunset.

If your idea of vacation is having every minute planned and being "on the go" every day, then it will be disappointing. I liked Key West because I didn't feel like I was obligated to do anything or be anywhere.

Now as I peruse my memory which was jogged by GoTravel, I recall two other examples of intolerance in Key West. One was a story about a woman who actually shot a gun at lobster trappers who she said were taking her lobsters. She claimed the swam closer to her house than they were allowed.

The second was an article about how the residents were tired of all the chickens in the neighborhoods. And they wanted to round them up and have a fry. Yummmm. I'm not sure what the outcome was of that one.

Key West is an awfully small place to receive so many tourists from cruise ships. But if you look at the history of the industy there, I'm sure they must have had to decide to create a tax to pay to deepen the channel to accomodate the ships. That was when they were likely hungry for tourism. Me thinks they've had their fill.

Key West is kind of like New Orleans without the food. Or the music. Only thing left is the drinking!

OK, thanks everyone. I feel a lot better now after hearing from you all. My husband was disappointed because he had gone to Key West as a little boy with his family and loved it, and thought it would be a nice trip with our kids this time around. He remembers seeing shells and sand dollars all around. We went to one beach that he remembered going to, and there now is a security guard house blocking the entry to the shoreline area. The guard said there isn't any good snorkeling there anymore. Back in town, a sales clerk at one of the gift shops said all the shells they sell are imported from foreign lands. Seems Hawaii is a much better deal--just as expensive and touristy (or more), but at least it has beautiful beaches, tons of good food places, and people are friendlier (as a whole). I did have the chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick--and everything else in between. I think I've developed an addiction to those pies.

I always find it odd that areas which rely on tourists (cruise ships) complain about the hand that feeds them. Tourists at cruise ship ports leave millions of dollars behind for the area.

I wish criuse ships stopped by my town in Minnesota. What a Bonanza that would be! Tourism is the best source of outside money.

Mamajo, you said it all for me. My sister has lived in Key West for 25 years, and if it wasn't for her being there, I know I wouldn't bother going there (it's an eight hour drive for me). In the past 25 years it has gone from a funky little "anything goes" town that welcomed everyone to an overpriced "Welcome to Key West, now get the f--k out of here town. They hate the tourists yet can't make it without them. The scuba diving used to be great but now the reefs are ruined. My sister is finally ready to leave KW and personally, I can't wait. To me, it's the type of place most people would visit once and never return.

Well, it certainly looks like I'm in the minority when it comes to loving Key West. Your posts make me wish I would have started going there 20 or 30 years ago instead of the seven or eight since we started visiting.

Jean

Jean, the difference in Key West now and even the eary 90's is huge. I can remember going to Key West and the closest thing to a chain was the bar at the The Galleon Marina. In fact, when we used to go to Key West for Race Week to race, we were actually wanted by the locals.

KEY WEST is still beautiful , but is not the same from old times. With the Banana Republic and GAP and others..it looks different...
IT IS NOT LONGER A GAY OR SPRING BREAK DESTINATION AT ALL... SO THINGS HAVE CHANGED

Miguel, is there some reason you like to yell when you post? And are you sure KW is no longer a gay destination? Perhaps you're the authority here but I don't think you're right.

I'm pretty sure TG is correct. I haven't heard anything about it no longer being a gay destination and I know college kids around here still go there for Spring Break.

I think KW is perfect for a weekend getaway. Anything longer would be a strech, just not enough to do unless drinking at Fat Tuesdays and the Green Brier are your thing.

As far as the gay issue is concerned, that is their place and no doubt they feel comfortable there. Everyone should respect that and not make an issue out of it.

I'm headed to Key West in a few weeks and will report back on some of the things I have read here lately such as public nudity, less-than-welcoming locals, etc.

This will be my fourth visit over the last 13 years, and to my knowledge, the gay population has not decided to shun it. That wasn't the case the last time I was there a few years ago anyway.

I agree that it was less commercial in the 90's, but these times, they are a changin' everywhere.

I imagine the things that gays like about KW are the same things that everyone else who goes there and likes it (including me) does - the art galleries, the good dining, the dance clubs, the fun bars, the laid back funky vibe, the history and beauty of the old homes and historic building, and most of all - the lack of judgemental morons to be found.

Jor wrote: "I always find it odd that areas which rely on tourists (cruise ships) complain about the hand that feeds them. Tourists at cruise ship ports leave millions of dollars behind for the area."

It may well be true that cruise ship tourists leave millions of dollars behind in the ports they visit, but the only way they do so is by sheer volume. The average cruise ship visitor in Nassau spends about $25; likewise in Tortola. So, you need 40,000 of these not-so-free spenders deposited on your shores before even a million dollars is spent. That's an astoundingly large number of visitors for a place so small. They consume as much infrastructure and resources as someone who is paying $300/night for a hotel room, is renting a car, is patronizing dining establishments, etc., but they leave proportionately little benefit behind. Is it any wonder the locals are not so thrilled? Is it the locals who invited the cruise ships in? And do they share in the "wealth"? Or is it the local government collecting docking fees that benefits most?

My questions are rhetorical -- I certainly don't have the answers.

Incidentally, I am a fan of Key West (but I stay FAR away from the cruise ship offloading zone when a ship is around). It's a great destination for a long weekend, and to me is a cross between New Orleans and Annapolis, with a touch of the tropics thrown in. Good food, good fun, good shopping, lovely architecture, etc.

I didn't like Key West either, and I thought I was the only one on earth who had that opinion! We saw a bumper sticker on a local's car that pretty well summed it up: "Key West is a great party town with a tourist problem." No thanks.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse or anything, but we've never felt anything but warmly welcomed by the locals. Maybe it's the places we hang out at, I don't really know.

I know the cruise ship industry and it's supposed huge influx of cash is a sore subject for many ports. Cozumel has become absolutely overrun on some days. The delicate reefs just can't take that many people, no matter how careful they might be. And way too many tourists aren't very careful, standing on coral etc.

Off my soapbox and back to counting the days until we return. 15 and counting.

Jean

What do you mean yelling....
My opinion was based on articles published by The Miami Herald..
Too expensive for spring breakers..
Too commercialized for gay population..

Where are the gays and spring breakers going these days?

MIGUEL ISN'T YELLING, HE JUST ISN'T WEATING HIS READING GLASSES AND TYPES IN ALL CAPS TO SEE BETTER.

Key West? I remember it was a nice place, with or w/o the gays, college kids, greasers, cubanos, whatever.

Philadelphia was nice before the New World was "discovered". Just keep moving around the earth, looking for that special place, and then move on when everyone else follows you...

MIGUEL ISN'T YELLING, HE JUST ISN'T WEARING HIS READING GLASSES AND TYPES IN ALL CAPS TO SEE BETTER.

Key West? I remember it was a nice place, with or w/o the gays, college kids, greasers, cubanos, whatever.

Philadelphia was nice before the New World was "discovered". Just keep moving around the earth, looking for that special place, and then move on when everyone else follows you...

SEE WHAT TYPING IN ALL CAPS DOES TO YOU?

I think Key West is overpriced. The food is horrible, the expensive are not very impressive. When we went to the shops, the locals complain a lot about the tourists, so why don't they move, it only made for an unfriendly attmosphere. Love it or leave it....I'll leave it.

I've been going to the Keys since the mid'60s. I've seen it change a lot in 40 years. Some for the better; some for the worse.

I personally find the whole cruise ship thing to be a major problem, and not just in Key West. But that's just me.

I love the Keys. I will always love the Keys.
It is what it is. Nothing more. It's not Bermuda; it's not Hawaii. It's just a little slice of heaven. For me.
If you don't like Key West, that's fine with me.

JeanH,

I have been away to Hawaii for the past 10 days or I would have posted sooner to agree with you. My husband and I (late 30's) absolutely love Key West. It is our yearly trip to just relax. Our other trips are more active with sightseeing, hiking, etc. but as soon as we land in Key West, the tension melts away. Yes, much of Duval Street is very touristy but if you wander around a bit off Duval Street, you will find many wonderful surprises (some hidden gems await down the alley, such as Virgilio's). We love the seaport area (Schooners-we'll be back soon!). It is a wonderful place to wander, ride bikes, etc. We also feel a warm welcome from the locals whenever we visit. Friends have joined us on several trips and they also loved KW and have returned. We sometimes spend a few days in Islamorada too.

Fine with me if everyone doesn't go rushing down to Key West-we'll still be there every year (and maybe no one will be sitting in our favorite seats at Louie's and Conch Republic!).

Jean, have a wonderful trip! I wish we didn't have to wait until May 2005 to return...

kb

I'll leave key west. At least in Hawaii you can easily get away from the "touristy" stuff. Coming from the east coast, its much longer flight to Hawaii, but it's well worth it !