Various Articles

The Florida Keys is a beautiful place. In fact Key West, the Florida Keys most distant island, is only 90 miles from Cuba. On the gulf side you can go offshore for miles, stop your vessel and stand in knee deep calm as glass water and not see shore anywhere around you. It's an absolutely surreal experience for an ocean lover and nature loving person. I've encountered many a sting ray and whales while there.

The Florida Keys can be considered the American tropical paradise and features all the same things to do and hotels as other island destinations. There are many things to do for example world class sport fishing, skin diving and snorkeling, boating, kayaking, sailing, and species tours beyond belief. Each of our island destinations has some special experiences. I invite you to visit each area yourself and discover our tropical paradise in the Florida Keys.

One of the main reasons for my trips to the Florida Keys is for Lobster Sport Season. The locals call it bug hunting. It only last for about 3 days and the place is packed. If your into hunting for lobster, this is quite an exciting affair. Don't forget your snorkel/mask, tickle stick and net! The kind of Lobster you'll find down there are the Spiny Lobster type, which have no claws and can get quite enormous. Spiny Lobster are larger than some Main Lobsters in some cases. Remember, recreational harvesters are required to have a valid Florida Saltwater Fishing License with a current crawfish stamp. Consult a local tackle shop for exemptions to licensing requirements. Licenses are available through local convenient stores, tax collectors, many tackle shops and marine supply stores.

How expensive is it to travel to the Florida Keys? I'm finally getting to that. The Florida Keys is by far the most awesome tropical vacation destination for any novice fisherman, scuba diver, or just plain traveler. But watch your pocket book! The Florida Keys can be quite expensive. My family and I shopped around extensively for the best hotel rates and by far the best we found was a 32 unit motel right off the highway called Big Pine Key Motel. They had the best rates and the largest rooms of every "affordable" place to stay down there which were around $70 and up! And I'm talking crazy up! Some establishments were asking over $400. If you've got the nut, I would highly recommend Little Palm Island. It's one of the top 10 resorts in the world and the only way you can get to it is by boat. The Big Pine Key Motel is just a 20 minute drive from Key West and is surrounded by dive shops, fishing expeditions and great places to get your grub on.

I'm going to leave you with a caution. The Florida Keys is protected by many environmental laws that are specific to endangered species. If you do any hiking keep a watchful eye out for the poison wood. It looks as innocent as an oak tree and 10 times more dangerous than poison ivy. The locals can't cut it down because it produces a fruit that an endangered species of bird eats.