Florida Keys Family Vacation, Spring 2022

Day 1:

We flew into Fort Lauderdale bright and early. Got our rental car and then drove straight to Gator Park in the Everglades.The airboat ride was awesome – we got to see quite a few alligators. Afterwards, we watched their animal show. If you’re further north (near Orlando), then I’d recommend going to Wild Florida. The show was better and it had more to do. 

From Gator Park, we drove down to the Keys. I had planned on stopping at Alabama Jacks in Key Largo for lunch (supposed to have great conche fritters) but we decided we wanted to get to our hotel sooner so we kept driving. Made a quick stop at Rain Barrel Village, a unique shopping area with lots of souvenirs, boutiques, and galleries. There’s also food and drinks available. Great place for a photo op with the giant lobster. Can’t miss it when you’re driving by. 

A few minutes further is our hotel, Pelican Cove Resort and Marina. Our room is tiny but we have a nice balcony that overlooks the ocean and a small marina. We got to the room, quick changed into bathing suits, and headed to the marina where we saw a mama manatee and her baby. Amazing! Lots of fish too. Then we walked to the sister resort, Postcard Inn, to go to their pool. It’s larger than the one at Pelican Cove. We swam, searched for sea creatures, and played football on the shore. Kids enjoyed a free snow cone. 

For dinner, we headed to Lorelei. It’s right on the bay (perfect spot for watching the sunset) and they usually have live music. On certain nights there’s a magician that does shows. The wait was over an hour and a half and there was no guarantee we would get seated (since people like to hang out there all night) so we left. If you want to go to Lorelei during popular times, definitely get there early. We ended up going to Morada Bay Beach Cafe which is right on the water. Food was good and we were able to watch a beautiful sunset.

We were exhausted from a 5:15 am flight, so afterwards we went back to Pelican Cove and put the kids to bed. Chris and I hung out on the balcony for a little adult time, which is one of the main reasons I’ll always choose a balcony, if possible. 

Such a good first day. Looking forward to more!

Day 2:

Chris and two of the boys woke up early so they walked to Starbucks, about a 3 minute walk from Pelican Cove. We did some more fishing at the small marina right outside our room, didn’t catch anything but we did get close to sea life via the complimentary stand up paddle boards and kayaks at the hotel. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing the mama manatee and her baby. We spent more time at the sister resort, Postcard Inn. We found crabs, lobsters, jellyfish, and a puffer fish near the rocks by the shore. Also played bocce ball and a giant game of Connect 4. I tried a key lime mojito but quickly realized it’s not my thing. 

To save money (and calories), we ate breakfast and lunch in the room. We only have a small fridge and a microwave but we made it work. 

At night, we headed to Robbie’s to feed the tarpons. It’s terrifying and so cool! They jump right out of the water to get fish. You have to fend off pelicans because they want the fish just as badly. The cost is $2.50 per person for the daily entrance fee and then you can pay for buckets of fish to feed the tarpons. I had planned to eat at Lazy Days but it was getting late, so we ate at the restaurant at Robbie’s instead. It’s called Hungry Tarpon. Service was slow and food was bland. I wouldn’t recommend eating there but definitely go to Robbie’s to feed the tarpons. Such a fun experience! 

Day 3:

Time to switch resorts! We had breakfast in the room and then packed up. Our new resort is pricey and we only had one night there so I wanted to get there early to enjoy it as much as possible. On the short 30 minute drive, we stopped at Anne’s Beach Park. Named after Anne Eaton – she has an interesting story. Not much of a beach but the boardwalk is a nice place to take a walk. If you go about half a block further down the road, you’ll see a small parking lot on the bay side. It’s a good spot to go fishing and to get in a quick history lesson – you can see remnants of a bridge that was built by WWI veterans. 

We checked in early to our room at Hawks Cay Resort. Everything about the resort is beautiful and the customer service is great. Prior to check in, I noticed that the current room rate was $150 LESS than what I had paid so they refunded me the difference. They also gave us a complimentary upgrade to a pool/ocean view. Never hurts to ask :) We ate lunch in the room and then headed to the pool and lagoon. Chris and the boys saw a bull shark in the canal! We also enjoyed checking out the dolphins that they have on property. The resort has a lot of different activities – we went to the kids area, Coral Cay, to play dodgeball, basketball, and mini golf and to swim in the pool. Then we got ready for dinner and walked over to an on-site restaurant at the marina called Angler & Ale. Ate the best fish tacos I’ve ever had! Afterwards, we enjoyed some live music by the main pool and then went to bed. The kids don’t want to leave! 

Day 4:

We spent most of the day at Hawks Cay. It’s so nice here that we don’t want to leave. If we weren’t paying spring break prices, I’d definitely want to stay another night or two. Our family won a competitive game of poolside “Versus”. It included trivia, Pictionary, number confusion, and a scavenger hunt. The kids also had a fun time playing kickball. We enjoyed exploring more of the island. It’s so beautiful. 

On our way down to Key West, we stopped in Marathon for dinner at Sunset Grille. It’s a unique restaurant right on the bay. There’s a pool so kids can swim while you wait for your food. There are also bags, Four Square, and Ring Toss. We left because we wanted to get to our hotel in Key West, but otherwise we would have stayed for the sunset. 

If we hadn’t stayed so long at Hawk’s Cay, I had planned to stop at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon and Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key. Maybe we’ll check them out on the way back up. 

I was disappointed when we checked into our room at Laureata Key West. Our room is beautiful but I couldn’t believe the extra taxes and fees that were added. Also, I checked the nightly fee prior to check in and the room was less than what I paid but they wouldn’t credit me for the difference. Disappointing customer service, especially considering I booked directly through the hotel’s website. I have issues, but I literally feel sick to my stomach about what we’re paying to stay here. I hate to feel like I’m overpaying. Chris keeps telling me to let it go and just enjoy our time here so I’m trying :) 

Day 5:

Another gorgeous day in paradise! We’ve had the most perfect weather. Today we drove to downtown Key West, about 15 minutes from our hotel. There is a parking garage in the heart of it all for $5/hour. We did some exploring, looked at souvenirs in the shops, saw the cruise ships, and other boats. We checked out a sister resort to our hotel, Opal Key Resort & Marina. While we were there, they were passing out fruit popsicles for free so we enjoyed one of those while we sat by the pool. Then we boarded a ferry to Sunset Key. It’s a private island that is for resort guests only, unless you book an appointment at the spa or restaurant, Latitudes. It’s only about a 7 minute ferry ride but it’s free and a fun little boat ride. The island is very Mayberry-ish. I at first thought the meal would be way overpriced but I justified it because of the experience but now that I’ve been in the Keys for a while, I’ve learned most meals are pricey. It was a beautiful place to sit and eat right along the water and the food was delicious too. If you go, get a reservation early. I did about 4 weeks ago and there was only one opening. After lunch, we wandered around the resort for a few minutes before boarding the ferry back to Key West. 

Next, we checked out the Truman Little White House. There’s a gift shop and a free museum room. We ended up just doing that, rather than paying for a tour. The free room had plenty for us to see and read. 

We were hot and ready to cool off so we went to another sister resort, the Capitana Key West. It’s beautiful and right on the bay. We swam, played football, giant chess, and bags. When you travel, definitely check out the sister resorts of your property if it’s allowed. It’s like a free excursion! The private island resort we visited earlier in the day is technically part of the same collection of hotels but they said we’re not allowed to use that pool because the resort is on a whole different level. LOL. 

After the sunset, we went back to our hotel – ate dinner in the room and then did more swimming. Played some Pop-a-Shot, bags, and ping pong on the pool deck. I love a good relaxed night like that.

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Day 6:

In the morning, we visited Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. There’s a beach there and an old fort that played important roles in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. Daily at 11:00, there’s a free guided tour of Fort Zachary. I’m really glad we got to go on it. It was fascinating to learn about the fort. Then we went to the beach. It’s quite rocky but beautiful. It’s supposed to be a great spot for snorkeling but we didn’t see much because the water was stirred up. If you go, I’d recommend water shoes.

Afterwards, we went to the nearby Truman Waterfront Park. There’s a Coast Guard ship you can tour (paid entry) and a free splash pad and playground. After cooling off, we stopped for a photo op at the Southernmost Point in the Continental USA. I was expecting more, but it was an easy quick stop. On the way back to our hotel, we went to the Stoned Crab to feed nurse sharks. They do free feedings every day at 1 and 5 – no food or drink purchase required. It was a great experience.

For dinner, I had planned to go to Shor, which is supposed to be a great place to watch the sunset and you can feed turtles but we missed our reservation so we went to Salute instead. It’s located right at Clarence Higgs Memorial Beach. They are a sister restaurant of Blue Heaven (another restaurant I wanted to go to) and serve the same award-winning key lime pie. It was delicious and impressive looking. The beach has much more sand than most in the Keys. There’s beach volleyball and a playground. From there, we drove over to Mallory Square for the Sunset Celebration. We were too late to see most of the street performers, but still had fun. 

Day 7: 

When the kids woke up, I told them the good news – that the Key West Extreme Adventures Tour had some openings and we were able to go after all! We packed up and headed to downtown Key West. Parked in the $5/hour parking garage and walked to the cruise port for our tour. We boarded our boat, The Tiger Cat. The father/son duo were great – taught us a lot about the Keys and the sea life. We saw so many dolphins and watched lemon sharks being fed right alongside our boat. Afterwards, we drove to Bahia Honda State Park. Such beautiful water! It’s nice and shallow, so ideal for throwing a ball around and to let littles play. Chris and the kids also did some snorkeling. We saw a stingray, lobsters (which I guess are technically a type of crawfish), and some fish. The Bahia Honda Rail Bridge is right there too. Cool history and a beautiful view. We also got ice cream at the little shop. Most affordable food we had the whole trip. I think it was $3.50 for a waffle cone. The single scoop was more than enough ice cream.

We had originally planned on spending two nights in Fort Lauderdale but it was rainy there so we ended up staying in Marathon instead at the Courtyard by Marriott. I was pleasantly surprised – It felt more resort-like than your typical hotel. It has two pools, bags, outdoor ping pong, chess, outdoor movies, fire pits, and a bar/restaurant by the pool, called Blue Waters. The food was much better than I expected. Chris ordered the crab cakes and they were the best he ever had – they were pretty much all crab. 

Day 8:

Our last full day in the Keys was one of the best! In the morning we took a 3 minute walk (from our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Marathon) to the Turtle Hospital for our 9:30am tour. On the 90 min. tour, we learned about different types of sea turtles and the dangers they face. The story of how the Turtle Hospital started was quite fascinating. We also got a behind-the-scenes look at the hospital facilities and rehabilitation area. One of the injured turtles can right up to me – we were basically face to face! We also got to feed some of the turtles that are permanent residents. 

For lunch, we went to the Key’s Fisheries Market & Marina. It’s a casual place where you order at a window and eat at wooden picnic tables. Food was delicious! Bring your quarters because you can buy fish food to feed the fish in the marina. We saw nurse sharks, huge tarpon, parrotfish, and a lot of pelicans. 

We spent the afternoon on a fishing charter called the Marathon Lady. It was the most affordable fishing charter I could find. $55 for 4 hours. You can bring your own food/drinks onto the boat.  It’s a larger boat so there are more people but the crew did a great job of getting around to everyone to help. They were especially helpful with the kids. We each caught at least 6 fish – even me who spent half the time feeling seasick. They mark the fish so they know whose are whose. Then when we got back to shore, they cleaned and prepped them.  And we brought them to dinner at Lazy Days South. Apparently, almost any restaurant down there will cook your seafood that you bring. We had our fish cooked Lazy Style, which was recommended to us. It was so good and fun to eat what we had worked hard for.