Family of 5 has reservations on Marathon between Christmas and New Years. Got a good deal and thought that would be a great "central" place to stay with access to boating and Key West if the weather was not great. Now I'm wondering if I should bail on that and make a reservation in Key West due to the time of year. If it's cool or cold, we'll be wanting to do more touristy things in Key West as opposed to being out on a boat, won't we??? I'd love any advice, places in Key West are getting impossible to find now, this close to Christmas. We only have a few days and want to make the most of it! We're driving from Ft. Lauderdale airport. Thanks again,

Michael

I'm a big fan of the Keys (all of the Keys.) But, if you have limited time, and have never been to the Keys before, and have a family of 5 to entertain, I'd probably stay in Key West (this comes from someone who used to always stay at Bahia Honda Key when he was a kid.) I think you should have pleasant weather in December, but I'm not sure if it'll be boating/snorkling weather. As you no doubt know, you will have many more options as to what to do in Key West (restaurants, shopping), than in Marathon (which has never been one of my favorite Keys.) Plus, if the weather is nice you can still take a boat out of Key West. You WILL have a bit of a problem finding a place to stay this late in the game, but there are TONS of places in Key West. There are some websites which list lodging choices (www.FLAKEYS.com comes to mind). Good luck.

OK, a slightly different view. IMHO, Key West has three things the other Keys don't- (1)concentrated downtown shopping/historical sights, (2) Mallory Square sunset celebration, and (3) a "strip" of bars that are in stumbling distance of each other and most lodging sites (no driving needed). Bottom line, you can enjoy 1 & 2 on a daytrip to Key West. If 3 is very important to your family, yes, you want to stay there. If boating and relaxing by the water are what you want, save some money and stay on another Key and visit Key West for a day. Another thing to consider is that as New Years approaches, the Keys gets more congested with people- and it's worse in Key West. As to your weather question, I wouldn't worry about it. It would be unusual to have much unswimmable/sunable weather. You can get wind, but the beauty of boating in the Keys is there is almost always a leeward shore to get behind. You say you got a good deal in Marathon, so I say stick with it!

Larry's right: Key West (at night) is a drinking town (which I care little about). And on New Year's Eve it will be crazy. But, I think you will still have a better array of options than at Marathon. But if price is a concern than stay at Marathon. You'll have fun in the Keys no matter what.

I don't think there is much to do in Marathon, other than visit the Home Depot if the weather turns chilly. I would opt for Key West, besides Mallory Square, there is the Key West Aquarium, walking tours of Old Key West, The Shipwreck Museum and other things to do.

well, when i would go to key west as a child, i wasn't very interested in the bars and t-shirt shops. now we go to the keys (marathon, largo) for 1 thing only....diving and boating.....if we get tired of that or the weathers bad we day trip to key west. stay in marathon and do day trips to KW....it will only take about 1 hour and the drive is beautiful. the only advantage of staying in KW would be that you could walk out of your hotel and be in the middle of the action immediatley......this might not be worth canceling your reservations and re-booking.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I see that there is no clear cut answer and I'm afraid that whatever I do will be wrong! I will say this, my kids are at the age where they like alot of things going on. They are easlily bored! For instance, we stayed in Fort Myers Beach last year for 3 days, and they had pretty much consumed everything there in 2 days and were ready for something new. I'm leaning toward key west for that reason, and also because we were only able to get a 5 passenger rental car and would prefer to get someplace and stay put. Again thanks for your imput. Anyone have any comments on any of these places to stay, please feel free to pass them on: BAYVIEW HOUSE (TRUMAN sT, KEY WEST), BEST WESTERN KEY AMBASSADOR (KEY WEST), OR SOMBRERO RESORT (MARATHON)
Thanks again,
Michael

For the sake of your sanity and your children's entertainment, I'd suggest you stay in Key West. Although my husband and I go so often we seldom do any of the touristy things anymore, there are LOTS of things to do with children. Mallory Square has street entertainers nightly, there's a Conch Train Tour, a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, an aquarium, glass bottom boat tours, and of course all the other water and boating opportunities available in other keys: snorkeling, sunset tours, diving, fishing, etc. As for a place to stay, I'd advise you to try to get someplace within Old Town, so all the tourist things and restaurants will be within walking distance. The Key Amabassador is on Roosevelt, is currently being reconstructed after having hurrican damage, and is near the airport - not a good location. Truman Street is not the best location either...look nearer to the Gulf side.