My husband and I hope to bring our kayaks to the Florida Keys in February. Never having been there, we think it looks like a perfect place to plop them in and take short trips. Has anyone ever done this? Is is relatively safe? Any recommendations? We will probably be based in Cudjoe Key. Thanks!

Should be fantastic.

The great thing about kayaking the Keys is that even if it is pretty windy, there is always one side of the island(s) that is relatively protected. You can poke around the small mangrove islands or paddle up and down residential canals. Just don't stray too far from shore, wear your pfds, and you will be fine. Water clarity should be good and allow you to see some sea life, but you should realize that the coral reefs are too far offshore for kayakers; you will mainly be going over sea grass beds and near mangroves. There is plenty of life there but not the coral reef "aquarium" type stuff.

Hi -- I've been researching this a bit myself. If you search Amazon you'll find a number of guide books on the subject. There is also this outfit on Key Largo (a long way from Cudjoe, but you could stop off on the way down) http://www.kayakfloridakeys.com/, maybe get some suggestions. At any rate, to answer your questions, plenty of people have done it and it is relatively safe!

Yes, very safe. As LarryBee pointed out, you can usually find some protected water where the wind won't be a problem. We've kayaked in the middle keys; I like the bay side where it seems we usually see plenty of marine life.

Thanks, everyone! Your responses were exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Don't know if you're still watching but stumbled on this today: http://www.keyskayaktours.com/

Man who runs it has also written a "Florida Keys Paddling Guide" which they have at Amazon.