Florida Keys Information

Key West - Key West Florida Travel information.

Cheap Key West Hotels - After coming down the overseas highway, don't leave finding a hotel up to fate. Find great deals on the best hotels and resorts in the Keys.

About 110 miles from Miami Florida to Key West Florida which is about 90 miles over the Atlantic to Cuba, you'll find the Florida Keys. With Key Largo being the northernmost and Key West being the Southernmost in the chain of islands. One of the worlds most popular vacation destinations, the Florida Keys offer a variety of activities that are not only the best but unique to the keys alone. Long known as the deep sea fishing capital of the world, Islamorada is the hub for fishing charters and vacations for anglers worldwide. Ranging from about 3 to 8 miles off shore and running parallel with the Florida Keys you'll find the only living coral reef in North America. Many travel south to experience swimming among more than a thousand species of fish and wildlife in this one of a kind marine sanctuary. There are several dive charters and day trips to take visitors out to the reef for scuba diving and snorkeling. The coral reef is what makes the Florida Keys famous around the world for travelers. From a search perspective, Key West and the Florida Keys is also one of the most popular search destinations in the world as well. Millions of visitors virtually travel to this chain of more than seventeen hundred islands.

Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the islands of the keys separate the waters of the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Long inhabited by those who came by boat, Henry Flagler changed all that with his dream of a railroad that went all the way down the keys to Key West in the early part of the twentieth century. The keys were changed forever, but it was not a quickly accomplished task. After a brief run that put the keys on the map to the rest of the world, a rescue train bound for workers on bridges and a highway system failed and over two hundred US war veterans lost their lives. Flagler's railroad was also damaged beyond repair and remnants of the bridges and crossings through the lower keys still stand to this day. Unfortunately the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 saw the end of Flagler's railroad, but the proverbial wheels had already been set in motion. Work continued on bridges and a highway system to bring the new Caribbean destination of Key West to the rest of the world. The overseas highway is still the most popular route followed by travelers wishing to experience the American Caribbean island.

The Best Cabs: I noticed you didn't have any reviews about the cabs in Key West. I moved here after a week long vacation and was hooked on the island life. While I was here on vacation I used cabs to get around. If anyone has experience with cabs, they know that no two are alike. There are pink cabs in addition to the typical yellow cabs, but they all are really cool for the most part. Obviously there's no doubt that if you use cabs for transportation you're going to run into a few quiet ones and the occasional bad attitude. What I love about the drivers here is that they are dealing with people on vacation all day and running them from their hotels to the bars for the most part, but if you want a recommendation for a cool restaurant or pretty much anything, most of the drivers are really cool and will take you to the best kept secrets on the island. It's a great way to find things that are local favorites and get to know the real people when you travel. Be careful though you just might move here and fall in love with the place. I've taken my chances in other vacation towns and this rarely works out because most cabbie in most tourist towns hate the tourists. I hate to say it, but they tend to have an attitude and arrogance about them that when you ask where the best Italian restaurant is, they tell you they take everyone that asks that question to the same corporate restaurant where everyone else goes. Not here in Key West. Most would ask what your budget is, what kind of view you want, and try to give you a little variety. Then they will take you to the typical tourist restaurant or ask if you want to go where the locals go. I know I would not be living here right now if the cab drivers I happened to get didn't really care if I had a good experience or not. I didn't just get lucky and have one good driver, I had several that were really cool. The best was when I left my credit card and hotel room key at a bar. I couldn't remember which bar however. This guy took me back to each place and a couple of them where closing including the one that had my cards. This guy knocked on the window and dropped a couple of names and got me in. As fate would have it, the guy behind the bar smiled and handed me my cards. Now that I live here I know what a small town it is and everybody knows everybody after a while. It's a great place to live and although a bit expensive, the cab drivers do their part to make sure tourists feel welcome and should get the credit they deserve. They have the power to make or break travelers experiences. They do a great job.

Jason Carmona - ERA Lower Keys Realty: We came down during off season and decided to stay at the cheapest hotel we could find in Key West while researching all the Keys. We weren't certain that we wanted to live right in Key West or live up the Keys just a little ways. We decided that Big Pine was the furthest north we wanted to look. We found ERA Lower Keys Realty while looking for Key West Real Estate Agents, and went with Jason Carmona because he had experience in the area for a while and was willing to show us different properties. We spent days looking for the perfect home to vacation in for a few years and eventually retire in. The market all over the country had been in decline for the last couple of years and we felt now was the time to buy because the market would certainly rebound shortly. We love it here and dream of retiring to a life of leisure and fishing. After a little tire kicking, we realized that we wanted something on a clean and deep water canal. Prices kept us in the area between little torch and Big Pine. We didn't think that we'd be driving down the keys constantly and for the most part, being on good water access for fishing and diving was important to us. Guests could stay with us if we got a larger home, but could save a little with something smaller and let the relatives stay in hotels. It finally came down to the infrastructure and amenities that Big Pine offered us.

Becoming permanent residents, we wanted the conveniences of a grocery store, gas station, post office, etc. Big Pine was the only island that offered all of this and it was a short distance from Key West and marathon key. We traveled up to Marathon and stopped off  at Bahia Honda State Park on the way. This has to be one of the most beautiful state parks in the country. White sand beaches and great trails through the park to explore and find little private areas to enjoy the views of the blue Caribbean waters. It's heaven on earth. The price difference between a 2 bedroom and three bedroom was not hardly worth considering and most homes had 3 bedrooms. After making the decision that Big Pine had everything we wanted, Jason showed us some of the best deals and we found our dream vacation / retirement home the next day. Jason took care of the paperwork and we closed without issue 30 days later. The entire experience and search was a lot of fun and Jason is a nice and importantly competent realtor. We were glad to find such a great agent to help us in our search. Now if we can just retire in a couple years!

Flights to Key West can be affordable if you choose the right layover city. Most flights from international destinations will land in Miami Florida. Cheap flights from Tampa and Orlando Fl can save you a lot especially if you stay in those cities for a day or two. There's a lot to do in all three. Orlando has the Disney theme parks it's famous for as well as Universal parks. There's plenty of fun to be had by the entire family. Miami is known for its non-stop party. Many vacationers stay in their hotels right on the beach. The strip off of South Beach is known for great bars with trendy lavish style. If you're into extravagance, then you'll have a great time for a few days in Miami. Tampa is somewhat of a mixture between the two. There are great theme parks and a downtown area called Ebor City that has great nightlife as well as an elite crowd of wealthy residents out to display their expensive cars and fashion. Tampa has many fine dining restaurants near their airport. Some of the finest luxury hotels with ocean view suites are closer to the St. Pete area which also has an airport. Allegiant Air has very cheap flights from many destinations across the US. It's about an 8 hour drive from this airport, or you can catch a connecting flight to Miami. It's worth taking a little time to research prices and itineraries that include these cities. It can save you a bundle. The drive down from any of the these airports is gorgeous. Particularly from Miami south on the overseas highway. 110 Miles of pristine highway and views of Caribbean waters around you as you go over the bridges and islands. When comparing prices of flights and car rentals, you may find prices are comparable with renting a car and flying the rest of the way. Most hotels in Key West are within walking distance of the old town area, but there are a few hotels and vacation rentals that will require a car or taxi ride to get to the old town district.