Key West - Kids Friendly?
 

Hello - so I want to be planning in advance for our vacation next year 2018 (late May/early June) to Key West. We have 2 kids (will be 3 and 6 1/5 by then). Is Key West a kids friendly place to visit? Since kids are still young, we just wanna stick to beach vacation, less hectic and we can relax. What would you recommend? How many days is good enough?

Are there direct flights into Key West? We are from Southern California.
Hotel better or renting a place there from airbnb or vrbo?
Car rental needed?

If no direct flights into Key West, which airport would we fly into? How far is the drive from airport to Keywest?

Are you FAMILIAR with sites like Kayak.com and hipmunk.com for finding out about flights?

There aren't many beaches in Key West...it's more of a snorkeling/diving kind of place. For family friendly, calm waters, and beautiful beaches I would choose a place like Anna Maria Island or Siesta Key. Or the beaches in the Panhandle (Pensacola Beach, Destin, Grayton Beach, etc.). But, this all depends on what time of year. When are you going?

Is Key West kid-appropriate?

First of all, there are no good beaches.

Second, the last time I was there, I walked down Duval St. early in the evening and was greeted by a male stripper in a Speedo-like outfit taking a smoke break on the sidewalk.

I'll let you decide the answer to the question.

(BTW, I like Key West.)

When your kids are awake, Key West is very kid friendly... chickens wandering the street, breakfast at Blue Heaven, butterfly conservatory, pirate treasure, conch train, six toe cats at Hemingway house, pools, sunset sails, aquarium, ice cream, t shirt shops, casual restaurants...

Just make sure you stay in Old Town... if you don't, it can be a nite mare getting back and forth to Duval...

If you want a better choice at their ages, pick Sanibel/Captiva... Fly into Fort Myers, rent a car and rent a cottage... save KW til they can walk up and down Duval on their own without whining...

Key West isn't a beach vacation. And you do know it's a gay hub, right/

Maybe you'd like to go to one of the other keys instead? Like here:

http://bahiahondapark.com/

3 and 6 year old kids don't care about "Gay Hubs"... Get a life suze...

Their parents might IF for some crazy reason they did not know this about Key West.

OK, Suze, so there are a lot of gays in KW. so what? There are also a lot MORE rednecks dragging Duval on weekends in cowboy cadillacs, too.


To the OP: you can fly to KW but you'll have to change somewhere such as Miami or perhaps Tampa to do so.

Didn't strike me as great for kiddies. Beaches are not large or particularly good. Also perhaps the drunkest town I've ever seen. I liked it.

Definitely would not take a 3 and a 6 year old to Key West. Not really a great kids destination. Eating, drinking, and relaxing are the main features. Good chance you will see some very un-kid friendly behavior on Duval street. You would be better off in Islamorada. But if you really want a beach vacation go somewhere else.

I recommend St.Pete Beach.

You do know many families with kids live in KW. It is great for anyone and the beaches are not bad. Orlando has connections to KW. Cab it to old Town. Great places to eat, history and water sports.

>>You do know many families with kids live in KW. <<

Which is not the same thing as going there for a family vacation. Lots of families live in Las Vegas, but it wouldn't be my first choice as a destination for a family vacation, including two kids under the age of 7.

>>and the beaches are not bad.<<

On a scale of 1 to 10 in FL, I'd give them about a 3. But maybe that's what you'd call "not bad."

I've only been to south Florida and KW once so definitely not an expert like some of the Floridians who have already responded. I really had a great time the 2.5 days I spent in KW . . . but I would not consider it (at all) a good destination for a young family. There are so many other/better options.

I don't know how you picked Key West but no, there are no direct flights from Southern California.

YOu can get direct flights from some place in FLorida, of course (like FLL), and from Atlanta on Delta, perhaps some other choices, but you won't find a direct flight from where you live.

So you can fly direct to FLL from LAX, stuff like that. Or a nonstop to Tampa.

Thanks all for your comments. Definitely helpful. My coworker talked about Key West alot saying how nice it is over there so I wanted to check it out. No specific reason.

But I love beach vacation and my kids love the water so I want to go somewhere that has nice beaches, nice sand and clear water. I've been on 2 Caribbean cruises already, so I'm done with cruises for now...and I picked Florida because I think it offers nice beaches and water just like the Caribbean, but it's still within the U.S.

Based on some of your comments, I did look into Anna Maria and Sennibel islands. Those two look great, too! What to do there besides the beach? Any recommendations as to how many days? places to eat and stay? I'm assuming no direct flights there either. So where to fly into? Thanks again! I appreciate all your comments.

jlee, here's a good example of why KW might not be the best place for kids. I was there with my wife (several years ago) staying at the Reach resort (owned by Marriott at the time). As we were sitting on the small private beach two young women came and sat near us and immediately removed their tops.

Also on the same beach a few days later we noticed a small boat approach the hotel next door as they had a dock attached to their pool deck. The people on the boat removed all their clothes and proceeded up the stairs to the pool deck completely naked. Well obviously I had to investigate so I went next door to check it out and the entire pool deck was clothing optional.

Just a warning that your kids may observe similar behaviors while in Key West.

Ok, great responses...I got a better idea now, no KW for us then. We'll put that on hold for when the kids are older and we can go without them. :)

Again, I would recommend St Pete Beach. Besides fantastic beaches there are also fun kids activities nearby:

Busch Gardens
Lowry Park Zoo
Rays baseball games
Fort Desoto/Egmont key/Shell key
John's Pass Pirate ship cruise

You might consider Sarasota, which has many condo rentals on or near its amazing beach on Siesta Key. The city itself has restaurants, theaters, and an attractive shopping area known as St Armand's. It has its own airport but flights to Tampa (an hour away) are more numerous and often less expensive.

Oh forgot direct flights into Tampa.

<What to do there besides the beach?>
That's the problem with Sanibel and Anna Maria--nothing there besides gorgeous beaches and some nice places to eat.

I think people here are scare-mongering about Key West. "Gay hub" is a pretty inappropriate remark in 2017. How would that be any sort of negative for kids? Gay people HAVE kids.

And a touch of nudity, easily avoided, never blinded anyone.

Listen to garyt22: <When your kids are awake, Key West is very kid friendly... chickens wandering the street, breakfast at Blue Heaven, butterfly conservatory, pirate treasure, conch train, six toe cats at Hemingway house, pools, sunset sails, aquarium, ice cream, t shirt shops, casual restaurants...>

My husband was stationed in KW and we go often and all the kids I see do just fine. It is an island and lots of bars but many other things to do as well. I would not take them down Duval at night but they would love Mallory Square at sunset.

http://www.familytravelnetwork.com/a...activities.asp

<"Gay hub" is a pretty inappropriate remark in 2017>

Why is that? It's a fact. Nothing "negative" about it. I'd say the same thing about Provincetown, parts of Seattle or San Francisco, sections of Puerto Vallarta, etc.




<And a touch of nudity, easily avoided, never blinded anyone.>

That is not what most people are hoping to find when they are asking about "kids friendly" destinations.

It's all about context. No, the term "gay hub" is in and of itself not offensive.

Tha way you used it is.

< And you do know it's a gay hub, right/

Maybe you'd like to go to one of the other keys instead?>

On a thread entitled "Key West--Kid Friendly?", your answer clearly says that a "gay hub" is NOT kid friendly.

We spent the week in Key West with our now 5 year-old son this past March. It was an amazing week! Our family booked a condo in the Truman Annex, the old Naval Administration building, via Historic Hideaways. It was 2BR/2Bath with washer/dry in-unit. This location was perfect. We could walk out the back and watch the cruise ships and their pool was right on the ocean.

Renting a condo also saved us considerably on eating meals out. We could make a quick breakfast and light lunch in the condo. Plus, it was very helpful to have a washer/dryer; less clothes to pack.

While in KW, we did rent a stroller from a local baby rental company. That made it much better as we don't rent a car when we visit KW.

As for things we did:
KW Aquarium
Sunset in Mallory Square
Walked through the marina and historic sea port
Beach day at Fort Zachary State Park (bring water shoes)
Visited the USCGC INGHAM Maritime Museum
Pool day at the hotel
Early happy hour drinks at the Green Parrot
Walk down to the Southernmost Point
Conch Train Tour


We pretty much avoided Duval Street after 3PM which was not difficult to do. Our son just loved watching the boats, ships, and jet skis on the ocean. We also spent a considerable amount of time in the pool at the condo complex. It was such a great week, we are returning next April.

When I was in Key West for about a week, I didn't feel it was a "gay place". Especially during the day, we went out at might but never out late though. It is a tourist mecca and draws all kinds of people. In all the activities we did (snorkeling, Hemingway House, Truman White house, and varuous other stuff) it was prerty family friendly.

There are really no beaches that are that nice imho.

For kids as young as yours I might consider another area, especially if you want lots of relaxing beach time.

You know, a lot of that "don't go on Duval at night" has to do with STRAIGHT people and how they are acting, not gays.

I agree with the characterization of both Sanibel and Captiva in terms of things to do.

Exactly Dukey1. I love Key West and the locals are what make it great.

"You know, a lot of that "don't go on Duval at night" has to do with STRAIGHT people and how they are acting, not gays."

I'll agree with that. Straight or gay, Duval is no place for kids at night.

Pushing Siesta, Sanibel, and Marco Island. You can fly into Ft. Myers via a lot of connections and rent a car. Marco Island may be the most family friendly in that there are more very casual restaurants. There isn't really anything to do in any of these places.

I wouldn't worry about a 3 and 6 year old needing entertainment if they have access to a beach and/or a pool. I think they are too young to enjoy Busch Gardens. There are enough spectacular birds and sleepy alligators at the Ding Darling nature reserve on Sanibel to amuse them, and the beaches are great for shelling. Marco is next to the Everglades, and you can take an easy day trip to South Beach, seeing plenty of alligators on the way.

It will be more humid than California with often spectacular thunderstorms late in the afternoon. It is a good time to have a siesta. Morning at the beach, nap, pool after showers routines keep the kids out of the worst of the sun.

Key West would be fine for adults and kids who are old enough to appreciate glass bottom boats, snorkeling, and fishing, but the beaches are narrow and man made by the look of them. The Hemingway and Truman houses are too old for them, and they are too young to find drunks and characters amusing.