lindsaypf

My husband and are planning a week long vacation in the end of February. We want to go somewhere warm with great beaches. We were thinking of Key West. We've always wanted to go, but I read on here that Key West isn't great for beaches. We're artsy. We love great, out of the way restaurants and beaches. Anyone know of the perfect place (in Florida)?

GoTravel

You'll love Key West. Smathers Beach and Ft. Zachary Taylor are two beaches in Key West.

While it isn't big on beaches, there are water views almost everywhere you look.

The Reach or the Casa Marina does have its own beach which is pretty large.

suze

you might want to include the word "Florida" in the title of your post, so more people with information will read it.

tpatricco

I wouldn't think of the Keys for "great beaches". GoTravel has mentioned two beaches...but great? They're ok, but I'd be thinking more of South Beach in Miami or of Sanibel Island if beach time is really what you're looking for.

That aside, there's plenty of other fun stuff to do in the Keys and good restaurants etc. too.

lindsaypf

Thanks for the info. I will repost with Florida in the title.

meesenbones

Since going down before and after having kids, we've managed to find alot of variety in Key West. We've found that the best thing to do is rent a home, in Old Town and live like a Conch (without all of the complaining about KW, of course--but then again, we don't have to pay Wind Insurance premiums). Just post Wilma last year, we rented a home across from the cemetary. Members of a water color class set up on our sidewalk and spent the day drawing the view. My kids even made it into one of the student's work. They let us watch (my kids were 4, 2 and 6 mo) and then invited us to follow them to the next location (we did and the kids shared their Halloween candy with the withering artists). We have found (after 8 years, at least once a year, visiting KW) that, by renting a house and making friends with the neighbors (i.e. remembering that people DO work and live in that neighborhood), you'll get directed in the right direction. Last year, we helped drag palm fronds, reposition satalite dishes and push flooded cars across streets (ok--I volunteered my husband for most of that). But, in doind so, we learned about Pepe's Sunday barbecue, Half-buck Freddies and the "secret room number" to use at the Reach to get free drinks for locals. This past July, we rented on the next street, met the neighbors and learned alot about that particular neighborhood. Plus, our neighbor on the Atlantic side missed her grandchildren and spent alot of time talking to my now-5 year old--a feat in itself--and twirling my 3-year old princess.
We also got directed to a chalk painting at the park, a "play-in" in the neighborhood, and neighbor having an secret open house of her gardens.
The city counsel passes regulations regarding weekly vs. monthly rental units. Houses-monthly, condos-weekly. But, in true Conch tradition, some houses are okay for weekly. Go to www.KeysTravel.com--Rand and Mar have been tremendously helpful (we told them the ages of our kids and our immediate needs when on holiday and they put us in the right spot for walking to everything). Plus, Mar has divided the website into weekly and monthly rentals.

Lastly, I AM SO JEALOUS! Had our three little angles not sucked the life out of our bank account, we'd be headed there right now. As it stands, we'll either be waiting for next summer and a lottery win--or live vicariously through the people on this site. Have fun--and have a fruity rum drink for me--with a floater of course!

tracys2cents

You might think about flying into one city (like Daytona or Melbourne) and flying home from another (like Miami)...renting a car between the two. Then you could visit some nice beaches and also plan a couple of days to see Key West.

Check car rental prices as sometimes they are half as much going northward as they are southward.