Key West in June?
 

We're planning a vacation with 2 adult daughters to Key West in the middle of June. How long to you all suggest to stay to see most of the Keys? The major interest is the Dolphin Research Center. One daughter wants to swim with the dolphins. Has anyone done any of the programs there?




How is the weather during this time?They listed hurricane season as June-sept.




Can anyone suggest a luxury hotel, with ocean-front view, similar to the Yacht and Beach Resort in Disney World?




We hope to fly into Fort Lauderdale. HOw far is that from Key West?




Thanks for your help!!

FLL to Key West is a 4 to 5 hour drive with no stops. The Keys are 100 miles long so you might want to split your stay between say, Islamorada and KW to really see it all. The Dolphin Research Center is about an hours drive from KW. Be sure to book in advance as this fills up. It's got a great reputation.
Hurricane season officially starts in June but usually does not get active until August.

Four hours from FLL to Key West.
In Key West, the Hyatt, Pier House, Westin, Wyndham, and Casa Marina have man made beaches (like Beach and Yacht) and all are good vacation destinations.
The Dolphin research center is on the east side of Marathon, about 50 miles from Key West. If this is your main activity, you aren't staying next door in Key West.
Key West has good restaurants, shopping, water sports, history and character.
You might consider staying in Islamorada or Marathon one or two nights to be near Dolphin Research and spend the balance of the trip in Key West.

The weather will be hot.

Thanks for all the great info!! Sounds like a good idea to spend a couple nights in Marathon or Islamorada. Any suggestions for good hotels there? Then go to Key West for the rest of the trip.

I saw Santa Maria Suites was rated #1 . What do you think of that resort?

Thanks!

There are no more Wyndham hotels in the keys.

The Westin, Pier House, and Hyatt would be my pick in Key West. On the other side of the island both the Casa Marina and Reach are both nice hotels. Also, check out Sunset Key which has one, two, and three bedroom villas and is a private ilsand a couple of minutes off Key West.

The upper and middle keys can be quite boring if you aren't boating, fishing, diving, snorkeling however Islamorada is my favorite part of the keys. Check out The Moorings or Cheeca Lodge in the mid keys.

The most lux place in the Keys is Little Palm Island. Don't know your daughters ages but I think the age minimum is 16.

Cheeca Lodge had an awful fire not long ago and is closed for repairs.

Santa Maria was built as condominiums for sale, but when they didn't sell, they were offered for rent. They have no beach and no water view. I think you'd be happier with the Casa Marina, the Reach, the Hyatt, the Ocean Key Resort (no beach at all, but a wonderful location and view), or the Pier House.

Oh, and one more thing. Key West will be miserably hot and humid in June.

Actually, Key West will be cooler than many locations in the continental US that time of year (it won't be in the 100's or anything like that) and there are sea breezes. Because it is surrounded by water the average temp in the summer is several degrees cooler than some inland locations. For instance, it will be more comfortable in Key West than in Orlando.

The issue with heat in Key West isn't the temperature. I live in Arkansas, where we have frequent summer temps over 100, and have visited Las Vegas when it was 114.

But when you add the humidity - which is VERY high in Key West - it can be really miserable. We've been there in late May (and staying on the water) when it was in the 80s and 90s with no breeze whatsoever and it was stifling.

I might add that we've visited all over Florida for decades, including the panhandle, East and West coasts, Tampa, Orlando, etc., etc. and have experienced worse heat, but not a worse heat/humidity combo.

Good to have a "heads up" on the weather so we can be prepared. Thanks!

Anyone go to the programs in the Dolphin Research Center, like trainer for a day, etc. How did you like it?

I went to the half-day swim with the dolphins at the DRC and absolutely loved it! It's been years but it was wonderful. DH wouldn't do it - he is inexplicably afraid of dolphins - but he took pictures. The tour of the facility is very interesting. It was a long time ago, but I remember that you had to call on the first day of the month of your visit to get reservations - looks like they have online reservations now.

Sounds great, THomas! How strong a swimmer do you have to be? We're not very good swimmers at all. I need to call them to see how far in advance to reserve. Thanks for the info!

Just to weigh in on the time of year and weather -- yes, it will be really hot and humid (but not as bad as July or August), and you should definitely take mosquito repellant. That said, I'm a South Florida native and June is probably my favorite time to go... it's before the active part of hurricane season, it's not overrun with people, you get the "between Memorial Day and Labor Day" cheaper rates, and it's not at the WORST peak of the heat. Everyone is different, but I wouldn't call June in the Keys "miserable" (August, with no A/C yes!) Just come prepared and you'll love it... drink lots of water, use sunblock, wear a hat, ponytails for the women and girls, tank tops, sandals, sunglasses, bug spray, margaritas... you'll be happy! ;)

Disney - when I went there was not an option for a deep water swim so mine was in the sheltered area of the research center. I am a good swimmer but you didn't need to be. If I remember correctly you have to wear swim jackets, anyway. Nothing you do takes you very far away from the dock. I think you can make reservations online now - not sure how far ahead they book up but I would plan early.

Carol-thanks for the "heads up" on the temps during June. I would have forgotten about the bug spray. Each time we bring it to Disney World, we end up not using it. I guess we better pack it again this time. Thanks!

Thomas-I'm glad being a good swimmer is not a pre-requisite. My girls did the swimming with the dolphins at Sea World many years ago. They required a full wet suit. From the pictures, it looks like people are just wearing regular swim suits and maybe vests at DRC.

CarolM,

I totally agree. With the right preparation and attitude (and plenty of frozen margaritas to boot), Key West is great in June (or anytime of year) :)