1st time to key west....4 girls...HELP!

[pazandak63]

I think the title covered it...we are taking 4 girls ages 10-15 to Key West for the day...what would you suggest? We are open to all options....thanks, Karyn

[bouhunter]

Lots of options:

 

Butterfly Conservatory

Aquarium (small but nice)

Glass bottom boat

Mallory square if you're there at sunset

Trolly or Train tour

PT Boat ride

Schooner sail trips

[pazandak63]

WHich beach would you suggest?

Karyn

[njscuba]

We were to Key West a few years back (wife and 12yo) and I think one of hte beaches we went to was Smathers Beach on the south part of Key West. If this is the beach we went to there were very nice restroom facilities with showetrs and loads of street vendors for refreshements and other sundry items.

[bouhunter]

There are only two beaches to speak of - Smathers and Fort Zachary Taylor. Consensus on most forums is usually that the fort is the nicer one, but neither is spectacular.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Lots of options:

 

Butterfly Conservatory

Aquarium (small but nice)

Glass bottom boat

Mallory square if you're there at sunset

Trolly or Train tour

PT Boat ride

Schooner sail trips

 

The PT Boat no longer has rides unless it just started again. I just read at Keys News.com that someone has bought the PT boat and plans to make a nautical museum out of it.

[bouhunter]

The PT boat is supposed to have a new owner and will be operational again, but I don't know if they've started up yet.

[BlueHerons]

WHich beach would you suggest?

Karyn

 

Key West isn't a beach town. What you do find, Ft. Zachary Taylor and Smathers are both small man made beaches with sand imported from the Bahamas. The hurricanes also did a number on them.

 

Instead, I suggest The Conch Train Tour and shopping on Duval Street.

 

Not sure but you may be able to get day passes at a pool but they will not be inexpensive.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I suggest the Butterfly Conservatory, climbing the stairs of the light house across the street from the Hemigway House for a magnificent view, and posing for pictures in front of the Southernmost Point land marker. Riding the conch Train gives you an overview of Key West's most interesting sights and history.

 

The girls are old enough to possibly enjoy the Pirate Soul Museum, but maybe the younge rone might be too scared. Be sure to look up to the second story window of the large red brick customs house. The doll seated there is said to be the model for the Chucky movies.

 

They also might enjoy going to the Aloe shop which has a wonderful collection of soaps, shampoos, lotions, candles, and similar items with tropical smells.

 

If you are there at night, take a ghost tour. Oh, of course, be sure to try Key Lime pie at Blond Giraffe or Kermitt's.

[theluckiest]

i think the conch train tour would be good with these ages. its interesting, my family went 5 or 6 years ago, so i was aroun 16 and my sister was 14, and the whole family enjoyed it. you really get to see a lot of the island and all the interesting sites and history. also, when we were there we went to the mel fisher museum which was fascinating to us :o)

[OPSoccermom]

Earlier posts are correct - Key West isn't known for it's great beaches.

 

I like Higg's beach - it is a public beach located next to the Casa Marina hotel. It's not as big as Smather's, but closer to the center of town, and has restroom facitlities, a small restaurant, and chair rentals. We have walked over to Casa Marina to hang at their pool bar when we wanted a break from the sand.

[KathyRN]

My husband and I went to the "Pirate Soul" museum last Oct. 05 and just loved it. We are taking our kids in April and they are very excited. They just wish Johnny Depp would be there!

[JMS920]

We just returned from 10 days in Key West. I would say the Conch train is a must! KW is an beautiful island and this is the best way to see the highlights in only 1 1/2 hours.

 

We spent 5 afternoons at Smathers Beach. It may be man made, but it is beautiful! There are lovely palm trees to sit under (hubby stays in the shade) All the beaches tend to have seaweed on the shoreline because there aren't any big waves to wash them away. I did notice that Smathers was raked often to keep it under control this year. As someone mentioned you can rent chairs and even rafts to float on. There are venders selling freshly made food along the road. (hotdogs, fries, hamburgers, wraps fruit smoothies etc) Everything was freshly made and good. We even decided one day to go parasailing right down the beach. This was awesome! It took about 2 hours time. If I can figure out how, I'll post a picture later.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

JoAnn

[Lsimon]

The PT Boat no longer has rides unless it just started again. I just read at Keys News.com that someone has bought the PT boat and plans to make a nautical museum out of it.

 

We were in Key West a couple of weeks ago. The PT boat is doing rides daily from the old seaport.