Key West Questions: Conch Chowder and Catamarans
 

I'm planning a trip to Key West for March 2002, and I've already found lots of great information by doing searches on this site. It's obvious that our six days will not be enough to sample all the good restaurants. Blue Heaven, Louie's Backyard, and the Half Shell Raw Bar are on the short list so far, but we are interested in knowing where to get good conch chowder and I haven't come across any discussion of that dish specifically. (Fritters sound greasy and unappealing to me, but I'm willing to have my mind changed about them, too.) So, where do you Key West experts suggest we go for the best conch? <BR> <BR>Second question: The Dry Tortugas trip on the big catamaran sounds great, except that my son and husband both get seasick and 2 1/4 hours is a long time. I have heard that seasickness is not a problem on catamarans as compared to regular boats. True or not? I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has gone on this trip. Thanks!

First, an unasked question. In recent years, Louie's has become more a tourist trap and less a reliable restaurant. The seating hosts/hostesses have the worst attitude problems I've ever seen anywhere. The great thing about Louie's is the beautiful facility and water view. If you're determined to go there, go for lunch and don't allow yourself to be seated in one of the tiny tables that don't overlook anything but the dipsy dumpster. As for the catamarans, you're partially right. They definitely cut down on the motion of the boat, but if the water is rough, the ride will be too. You might consider the sea plane, which will get you there faster but is expensive.

Definitely Half Shell Raw Bar (Turtle Kraals grill) for the chowder! It's been a long time since I had it, but still remember how good it was!!

I was a bit disappointed in the conch chowder at Half Shell Raw Bar - heavy onthe tonmato base and not spicy enough for my liking but I haven't tried it elsewhere recently and can't offer other suggestions. Some of the tastiest fritters I tried in Key West were at an outdoor cart adjacent to the aquarium entrance - very good and they make great street food when you're out wandering around.

My wife and I took the "Fast Cat" trip to Fort Jefferson two years ago and it was very smooth. It was also the best snorkeling of our trip.I think it only takes 70 minutes on this boat.

Thanks for good tips and suggestions so far. Hope to get more from anyone who has taken that trip to the Dry Tortugas or eaten good conch dishes in Key West.

Took the catamaran to the Dry Tortugas two years ago and although I had never been seasick in my life even though I've been on water in everything from a kayak to a cruise ship and never even felt queasy, I was so seasick by the time we got there that I considered taking the seaplane back. Several others on the trip were also sick. The crew was passing out trash bags to vomit in.

We took the boat to Fort Jefferson on New Years Day 2001. I get seasick standing on the beach so I took dramamine before the trip. It was VERY rough and I was fine. Others were throwing up out the back. I shared my pills for the way back and they seemed ok but never said thank you! i took more for the trip back. It was well worth the trip. A very interesting National Park and the boat people were great. The food they offered was good as well (for those who were not sick!) Sorry I don't remember which company it was but I imagine they are all the same. <BR>Enjoy the trip!

I think conch chowder is very overrated. I had it once, so I could say, I had tried it, but, I have not had it again. But, everyone has different tastes....mine, just does not run to that. <BR>We have been to Key West three times, and to Ft Jefferson (Dry Tortugas) a total of four times. The Fast Cat. is pretty smooth, usually. The last trip, the water was rough, and the return trip wasn't any fun. I took Dramine and slept most of the trip back, but, the previous poster is correct, it just takes about 70 minutes. There are two groups, that go out to Ft Jefferson, the 'Yankee Freedom', and 'Sunny Days' I have used them both, and I would vote for the 'Sunny Days' group The crew on the 'Yankee Freedom' is a little better, but, 'Sunny Days' takes more things to drink, (important detail, really!) I would go with them again, and we plan to, when we go back in May 2002 <BR>Hope I helped. <BR>Melva

i live here and i have taken the trip tortuga trip a nearly a dozen times, the catamarians (there are 2) are the best way to spend a day. they feed you a continental breakfast on the way and provide a cold-cut lunch on the island. i highly recommend this trip to all who come.

I, too, think conch chowder, and conch fritters, are overrated. At worse, they are rubbery and tasteless. At best, they're tasteless. <BR>But, the best restaurants to know how to do conch right (if that's possible), I'd say Camille's and Pepe's. I loathe Louie's Backyard. too trendy and uppity. they don't know how to laidback Key West food. Turtle Krall's is good, but it's better at lunch than at dinner. I prefer Blue Heaven at breakfast - it gets too busy at night (and it's starting to get uppity, too.) <BR>I prefer the seaplane to Fort Jefferson.

hi karen, <BR>i dug up my trip report from last year under "Florida Keys Trip Report" so here it is ... mostly i just wanted to point out the great snorkelling catamaran tour we had, and it was just half day for $25 ... max capacity of 16 people, felt very UNcrowded: <BR> <BR>Saturday <BR>SNORKELLING WITH ADVENTURE CHARTERS (1-888-817-0841, 1/2 day snorkeling $25 w/equipment included - bring your own drinks and snacks) WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR TRIP! When I called the night before to confirm our reservation, I got bad as well as good news. The weather was going to be perfect, sunny and calm, and this was the good news. As a result, however, the boat was going to be full and this was the bad news. Still, even at maximum capacity of 16 people, the outing on the catamaran felt more like a family group rather than a cattle boat. I didn't feel crowded at all. We left at 9:30 on the 40-foot catamaran sailboat Fantasea for West Sambo Reef. On the way we say a dolphin lead the boat for about 10 seconds - definitely sit at the front to dolphin watch. The snorkeling itself was ok at first, with lots of different color fishies and several large barracuda ... then it got exciting when we found a shark and a green sea turtle. We called our co-snorkelers over and as they took over the turtle pursuit, we went on to find another shark. Lay out on the Catamaran nets on the way back and my suit dried completely in the 45-minute sail. The boat made ALL the difference and I hope Adventure Charter doesn't outgrow its charm. <BR>Restaurant - lunch at the HALF SHEL ROYAL BAR, right on the waterfront in Lands End Marina: they have great seafood, moderately priced, and enormous oysters at $6.95/dozen AND free parking, oooh. There's a good souvenir shop nearby - I bought a little wooden hanging parrot ($2). <BR>Camping - We happened to notice Leo's Campground on the way into Key West - it's right off Highway 1 on Stock Island about a 10-minute drive from the city hotspots around Mallory Square. When we called and found out their tenting rates were $22/nite, we boogied over there. The sites are small (it's mostly an RV place), but right on a little river so there's plenty of privacy and the showers were hot, yeah! The people there were super super nice and it was definitely one of our super deals. <BR> <BR>FISHING - If we had had the time, we would have opted for the smaller fishing trip (6 people max) rather than the party boat, especially when we found the super deal at $60 per person with Sea Dog Charters (305-743-8255). <BR>BEACHES - The beaches themselves in the keys aren't bad. The sand is soft at Sombrero Beach, Bahia Honda, and my favorite was the big key west Beach along the southern coast. The unfortunate thing is that the sea grass and weeds wash up along the shore, and the sand once you're in the water can get rocky, so bring some water socks. <BR>TRAFFIC - We drove down on Friday afternoon and back up on Sunday evening and there was NO traffic. Maybe it was slow season? <BR>COUPONS - You can save some $$$ using the coupons ... there's one for everything in Key West. <BR>KEY LIME PIE - Snooks wins

If you're into great food at a very reasonable price and don't care about the decor you can't beat El Siboney (Cuban food) in Key West. Their roast pork (pulled pork) is terrific and the delicious Siboney skirt steak (one of the most expensive items at $10.95) doesn't fit on the plate. Also be sure to have Cafe Con Leche after the meal. <BR>Another great place if you have a car is the 'No Name' pub on Pine Island, just before the bridge to 'No Name' key, which is a key deer preserve. They have by far the best and most unusual pizza in the keys and great specials, i.e. Shrimp Gumbo. <BR>We've taken the Sunny Days cat to Ft Jeff. and will definitely do it again. My wife is very prone to seasickness but was able to fend it off by spending much of the time on the open stern.

Don't even think about taking the catamaran if family members get seasick. True, if its calm you will probably be fine... <BR>My fiance and I happened to get on the Fast Cat on a rough day--we knew when we got on and the captain told us to "get off if you get seasick AT ALL, this is NOT the day to go to the tortugas" we were in for a ride. We had 8-10 foot seas, on the way there we would kinda surf down the breakers, but on the way back we were slamming up the crests of these same waves. Trust me, after 5+ hours on that boat my inner ear had no idea what was going on. I grew up around boats and the water and have never been seasick, and I almost lost it once or twice. About 30% of the boat got sick (really really sick). My advice, Take the seaplane. Take the seaplane. Take the seaplane. You will have more time on the island, get to and from quicker, and avoid the vomit. Totally worth the extra bucks. If you do have the guts to take the boat, sit out back in the open air--and watch the seasick come rushing out of the cabin once underway.