Ideas for Your Family Vacation in the Florida Keys

Snorkeling

The Keys are home to the continental United States’ only living-coral barrier reef, which runs about five miles offshore. The ultimate entry point is at John Pennekamp State Park, 102601 Overseas Hwy., in Key Largo, where the remnants of an early Spanish shipwreck have been placed about 100 feet off the beach. Snorkeling tours that depart from the park daily are best for advanced swimmers, but there are also glass-bottom boat tours for small children and non-swimmers.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Beach, 601 Howard England Way, where the waters of the Gulf of Mexico meet the Atlantic Ocean, is the best snorkeling beach in Key West, with clear waters and a rocky bottom.

Swimming with Dolphins

At the Dolphin Research Center, 58901 Overseas Hwy., in Grassy Key, there’s a menu of interactive experiences that includes observations, play sessions and even painting with dolphins. Small children can join dockside encounters and older kids can participate in dolphin trainer programs.

Also in the Middle Keys, Hawks Cay Resort, Spa & Marina , 61 Hawks Cay Blvd., in Duck Key offers the country’s only hotel-based dolphin connection program.

In Islamorada, Theater of the Sea, 84721 Overseas Hwy., has been a family-owned marine mammal adventure park since 1946, with swimming and snorkeling dolphin programs.

Family Photo Spots

The Key West Sunset Celebration happens every evening at Mallory Square, where the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico meet for a sundown festival featuring carnival-like acts and entertainers. The glowing pink-and-orange sunset is the perfect backdrop for a memorable snapshot.

On the other side of the island, the Southernmost Point iconic landmark on Whitehead Street is a must-do photo opportunity for a southernmost family selfie. The red, black and yellow marker overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on Whitehead Street is the southernmost spot in the United States, just 90 miles from Cuba.

Tours

The hop-on-and-off Old Town Trolley – which cruises by 12 landmarks, including the Southernmost Point, Key West Aquarium and Hemingway Home and Museum – is a great way for families to get around Key West. Kids ages 12 and under ride free, and tickets include free admission to the Overseas Railroad Museum.

Also in Key West, grab a self-guided tour map at the main entrance of the 1847 Key West City Cemetery at the intersection of Angela and Margaret streets in the center of Old Town for a spooky time tracking down memorials and family plots, along with headstones with humorous endings, such as the famous one that reads, “I told you I was sick.”

Kayak and paddleboard tours are plentiful throughout the Keys, from Florida Bay Outfitters in Key Largo to Lazy Dog in Key West.

Best Beaches

A favorite sandy spot for locals, Sombrero Beach in Marathon Key is a small, manmade retreat off Mile Marker 50 in the Middle Keys, with a gentle surf, restrooms and accessibility for beach goers with disabilities.

In Key West, Smathers Beach, 2601 S. Roosevelt Blvd., is one of the island’s longest stretches of beach, with water sports rentals, volleyball nets and picnic areas.

Historic Sites

Introduce the kids to Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway at the Hemingway Home and Museum, 907 Whitehead St., in Key West, where he wrote many of his famous novels. Along with tours of the home and writing studio, there about 60 six-toed cats (descendants of Hemingway’s feline( that freely roam the property.

A drive across the Seven Mile Bridge, the longest segmental bridge in the world should include a stop at Pigeon Key, accessible from a visitor center at the west end of Marathon Key. The small island includes a museum and remains unchanged since it housed the workers who built Henry Flagler’s railroad in the early 1900s.