Key West, off the beaten path
 

We will be visiting Key West for the first time in mid-April. Could someone please tell me where we can go to find some peace and solitude. Is there any way, short of marathon swimming, to get to the Dry Tortugas without taking one of those pary boats?

Did I say"pary" boat?? I meant "party" boat -- sorry!

You can also get out to the Dry Tortugas by sea plane.<BR>This takes about 35 minutes and if you go with the first flight of the day you will be over to Fort Jefferson long before the cattle boats get over. <BR>I think the cost is about $165 per person and it includeds drinks and rented snorkeling gear. <BR>If you can afford it, by all means do it, it's a lovely day. I think Key West Seaplanes is probably the best.<BR>Good luck and enjoy<BR>Ciao

Do the seaplane but keep in mind it will be more expensive compared to the boats. For quiet places to stay look at the Heron House, The Colony, The Mermaid and The Alligator or La Pensione. Pull up keywest.com for descriptions of these.<BR><BR>

Fort Zachary Taylor. Very nice, tree lined beach (the beach is sorta rocky, though). Picnic benches in the shade. A little snack shop. It's a great, quiet place to watch the sunset, too. In fact, it's my favorite place to watch the sunset.

If you want some very laid back, local Keys flavor, go to Geiger Key Marina bar about a mile south of the Circle K convenience store on Big Coppitt Key, about mile marker 10.5. You go south at the store for about a mile, when you see the road making a curve to the right, you turn left. Tiki bar, wonderful peace and quiet, awesome BBQ dinners on Sundays. Live music then too. They used to call it the "back side of Paradise" and it is.