This is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen! My husband & I decided we had to take a…read moreseaplane (Seaplane Adventures) to the Dry Tortugas while we were in Key West to celebrate our 25th anniversary because we didn't know when we would ever get the chance again. I am so glad we did!! After an incredibly stressful year, it was great to see my husband enjoying himself so much! This was definitely the highlight of his Key West trip! We were the second seaplane to land so we practically had the island to ourselves (other than the few people that had camped overnight). It was amazing wandering the fort, snorkeling (him, not me), and just enjoying the spectacular views with very few people around. If we get the chance to come back, we would definitely do it the same way!

Difficult to get to (take Seaplane adventures), but a gorgeous way to spend a day exploring the…read morefort, having a picnic with the tortugas and snorkeling ship wreck ruins. Theres a vibe here for sure and if youre sensitive to the paranormal, you'll definitely feel it. The park has a dark history for humanity and the folks who were forced to endure it. But today its the gorgeous national park with crystal clear water and beach time.

Simonton Street Beach (aka Simpson Street Pier area) is my top pick after hitting five Key West…read morespots it's the smallest public beach, but that makes it the best hidden gem. Tucked at the end of Simonton Street on the Gulf side, it's super convenient: steps from downtown, Duval Street, and the Historic Seaport, with calm, crystal-clear water perfect for swimming or jumping off the concrete pier into refreshing depths where fish swim right below. Locals love it (a friend showed me the ropes, and it's a frequent local fave), and no wonder stunning Gulf sunsets paint the sky orange-pink, soft sand, nearby beach bar for cheap drinks/snacks/chairs, plus restrooms and a boat ramp adding quirky charm. While other beaches can be rocky (water shoes needed), this one's smooth and effortless. Pure, low-key paradise that's close to town yet feels worlds away hands down the best little beach in Key West.

Secret beach tucked in between the Pier House and Hyatt Centric. Lagerheads Beach Bar is the host…read moreof this tiny gem. There is the beach bar which has a bathroom as well as lounge chair and umbrella rentals. There are also small chairs on the beach that are free to use when ordering from the bar. Watersports such as jet skis can be rented from this same area. There is a small pier which we saw people sitting on and jumping off of into the water.

Went to Highs Pier to view the sunrise on our last day in Key West. Easy to park. Long clean pier…read morewith benches. Beautiful view. Would recommend checking

During our four days in Key West during a 2022 cross country road trip, the Picante family enjoyed…read morea great Key West morning at Higgs beach. We arrived early and found parking near the children's playground area, and walked out onto the white sand beach with only a few other AM visitors. We did not utilize or investigate what looked like umbrellas and beach chairs for rent, and instead waded out into the bathtub temperature water with our masks and snorkels. The swim area stays shallow farther than we SoCal folks are used to in our beaches, and it is roughly enclosed by a break wall of sorts, and a long walking pier with stairs down into the water for access. Still plenty of small snapper, grouper, and other fish can be seen out near the structure of the pier and break wall. After a warm morning in the water, we left our towels on the beach and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Salute (see other review) before packing up and exploring the other great parts of Key West. We found this beach to be cleaner than Smathers beach, and maybe more laid back. Also of note: there was a marked sea turtle nest on the beach surrounded by caution tape and signage. Yet another wonder of the keys for us touristy visitors who live in Sunny SoCal with her cold California current ocean temps.

This beach is tiny and full of gross seaweed. Maybe it's not always like that, but I wasn't getting…read morein that water. There is a little cage there and you can rent chairs and umbrellas.

It's more like a jetty. The beach part isn't very clean. However, right next to the beach, they…read morehave built a platform on which you can sit and enjoy as the wave hits your feet along the wall of the platform. The water is quite shallow and you can actually walk down a couple of feets. However, by the evening, the high tide takes over and the water level rises. A very good place to sit back, relax and enjoy the ocean. It is just one block away from the Southernmost point. However, it is not as crowded as the Southernmost point. There is a cafe nearby - Southernmost Beach Cafe - where you can have drinks and food. There are many more restaurants just one street away and if you are looking for fine dining, there is a Japanese restaurant Ambrosia, which we tried, and is really good.

Rented kayaks for the day and it was awesome! Friendly staff and the little beach is great compared…read moreto the ones out in town.

This beach sucks no facilities no bathroom just nothing hey mwr fix it and maybe more people will…read morelike to go there

We wanted to see Key West from the water and find a cool place to snorkel. We chose Captain Mitch…read morevs. the large cruise companies because we didn't want, as one local advised, to be on a 'cattle car'. Captain Mitch and his son took us to a shipwreck off of Wisteria Island and we snorkeled and swam around, heard stories about the island, and felt like we got the real Key West experience. Highly recommend.

I highly recommend Capt Mike's Aloha Private Charter, especially for those visiting Key West with…read moretheir young children. Capt Mike was recommended to us by the Westin concierge (Becki, who by the way is extremely helpful!). We were looking for a half day private boat charter for my wife and I and our 3 children (11, 8 & 3). The most important thing to us was flexibility. We wanted fishing, a private island visit and dolphin watching, but we also knew our kids would lose interest in any one activity after about 45 minutes. I'm happy to say that Capt Mike delivered all three, and then some. We met at the Westin Harbor. We first started dolphin watching... within 15 minutes, he had about 6 to 8 dolphins all around us, jumping and playing all around the boat. After 30 minutes of this, the kids started getting bored and were ready to move on. So we left for a private island excursion. On the way, he showed the kids seaweed with crabs and shrimp (they thought it was so cool to see up close), a shipwreck and wild stingrays. We then arrived at the private island and had a 45 minute walk where the kids found cool shells, pieces of coral and hermit crabs. Our next stop was to head back towards key west for a 1 hour fishing stop. During the stop, each of the three kids all caught fish and felt special for having done so. Finally, we took a 15 minute pause to watch the sunset from the boat for a full Key West experience. Capt Mike was GREAT with kids. They absolutely loved his personality, his kids-friendly jokes and the experiences. My 11-year old kept saying "This is so awesome!!" every 30 minutes or so. I would highly recommend anyone take this charter, especially if you have kids.

Captain Mike was absolutely great! January 2013 seven of us were down from Louisville, KY where we…read morespend a lot of time on the river and we were wanting to get out on the water when Nate our concierge at Ocean Key mentioned Mike and Aloha Charters. We were sold after Nate described Mike and let us know that we would not be captive and stuck doing something we don't feel like doing and that Mike was exactly what we were looking for. Nate was right, Mike picked us up right at Sunset pier and we were off. We had a great time and were more than pleased with Mike and his putting up with our crazy crowd. We brought drinks and food and had a great time out on the water and islands with Mike. I will always return to Captain Mike, and recommend anyone else do the same when in Key West.

Party of two. Called to book a four hour dive trip and indicated we were interested in lobster…read more Captain Rick said we would have to book a six hour for lobster. We were taken to the reef, given a ten minute oral lesson on mask and snorkel and left on our own while captain and mate dive on their own for lobster. We were left on our own in the water for 90 minutes. No one checked in us or gave us any dive assistance. No one offered us any assistance in identifying, finding, poking or netting lobster. Hmm. $900 private charter to catch lobster yet no help. Did we just hire a Captain-and no services? Came in for lunch - a basic meat and tomato sandwich with a handful of chips. Captain and mate got eight lobster was they swam off while leaving us all on our own. We Went back in for a second dive and we located two lobster which the first mate bagged for us. At the end of charter we asked about taking home the lobster and the captain stated that he kept what he caught. We were not offered lobster gear or offered any instruction I felt that since we paid $900.00 for a charter for only two people (same price as six) and paid for their time and gas and expenses, the catch should go with us. He said no way. I've never taken any fishing charter before that did not send the customers home with the catch- cleaned and bagged. What a disappointment. $900 doesn't get you much on this one - keep on looking.

Chartering boats can always be a little bit of a scary experience if you've never met the crew. We…read morewere pleasantly surprised in every way possible with the Tortuga Sailing staff. A few friends and I chartered the boat last weekend for a day trip and we had a great 8+ hour adventure visiting the reef, watching the boat races, and seeing Key West from the water. Even though the weather was a bit off they made every effort to make sure we had a great time and we did have a blast.