This beach is right across the hotel we stayed in. We could smell it in the car even with the AC running. It wreaks! I mean, the beach just stinks so badly, I wouldn't feel comfortable dipping even one of my toes in the water. read more

The only sandy beach on Key West. Lots of seaweed. Slimey sand in the water so wear swim shoes so you don't get grossed out. Bathrooms don't have doors (Women's) which was very weird. Food truck vendors make lunch and refreshments convenient. Chairs and umbrellas available for rent for $10 each. Pretty blue color water. Nice to look at. Not nice to swim in. read more

This was the only beach we got to visit on our trip. Parking was pretty easy and the sand was really nice. Beach lounge chairs can be rented for $10. The water was not great as it was filled with kelp so we really only dipped our feet. I did not use the restroom, but the women's one apparently did not have doors for the stalls. As my friend said, "I pee next to a guy everyday". The ladies were not happy. read more

This beach is okay. The water is filled with kelp so it's not clear and beautiful but it's warm and the beach itself is beautiful. Lots of white sand and plenty of places to be alone if you walk far enough. There are places around to rent kayaks and other water toys, bathrooms and showers plus the occasional tables and benches. read more

Pay the $8 and go to Fort Zachary Taylor Park, the beach area is much nicer. The sand here in the water is mushy and gross between your toes. read more

Horrible Beach... loads of seaweed that smelled like poo. Hotel drove us here, had to take a cab to another beach.

One of the better beaches in Key West, but the sand and ocean floor is gross for your feet. There are some vendors, one of which is Sunset Watersports. We chose to go parasailing off the beach and that was the best decision ever! Highly recommended for the parasailing, not the worst choice for the beach itself read more

If you want to lay out in the sun at the beach, and your hotel does not have one, you come here. Parking is fairly easy and it is usually not too crowded. Once you arrive you notice that the beach is man made, and the water is not the most pristine in the keys. There are all sorts of vendors here for drinks and snacks, so that is good. You may be surrounded by some colorful characters, bordering on crazy, this is normal for Key West, so don't sweat it too much. They rake up the seaweed daily, but it tends to accumulate here, and give off an odor. I would not rate this highly as a best in Florida or anything like that, but it is acceptable. read more

Stinky stinky stinky! We couldn't even walk down the beach it was so bad...... I was very sad because I really wanted to walk in the sand

Dirty and smelly beach, left to go to the state park beach. No shade, and limited picnic tables to sit at in shade. The sand in the water felt gross. Don't recommend coming here, made this mistake twice!!! read more

It's a decent beach during the day, but do NOT go at night. It is full of no-see-ums, biting flies! They will really start to bug you - no pun intended. read more

Beautiful beach with great sand and a great view. Giving it 4 stars because of the lack of amenities surrounding the beach. No restrooms, no shacks for drinks, etc. Would prepare by bringing your own drinks/snacks! Overall, great! read more

Beautiful beach! The seaweed was a bit yucky but again, it's nature, what can you expect. Very cool view of cruise ships coming and going into port. Don't forget your sunscreen in paradise! read more

We went in the summer, on a weekday and we were the only ones at the beach. We walked out pretty far from the shore, the water was nice and clear. If you want to go to the beach in Key West, here's the place to go. read more

Nice beach for paddle boarding. Rentals are $25/hour and you can see and swim with nurse sharks, rays, turtles, fish. I was hoping for more variety of fish while snorkeling. Lots of seaweed and it is shallow with sea urchins in many places so be careful where you jump off your paddle board. read more

This is the main beach if you are looking for the traditional public sandy beach. Hotels on one side of the road, beach on the other. Great strip for mopeding. Easily accessible. Fun time read more

It was a beach... And that is the best thing I can say about it. The water was bath water warm. It was basically a big sand bar full of seaweed beds. Not exciting at all. read more

Nice beach with clean white sand, beach volleyball and mild waves. Great for families but watch out for topless Europeans. :)

Okay beach, though without waves as there is a reef six miles in. Sunset watersports rents out umbrellas and chairs. No showering facilities restrooms at the part we visited. read more

Key west was an awesome experience in my life. I car camped for 4 days with the love of my life in key west. Every morning we showered out doors on Smathers beach with the sun rising on our backs. Love that they have out door showers here. Key West is not a place of pretty beaches, it has a lot of natural debris on its sands. I knew this before hand. But for first timers...be warned. No pretty beaches in key west. You have to go to Tortuga Island for that. read more

The beaches in the keys aren't exactly the type of beaches you would expect. They're not the soft sandy beaches with water you'd want to swim in. Unless you just want to tan then there isn't much. But with a boat you can go out to where it's really pretty and get a good swim in. The water is beautiful and warm. read more

Small beach, clean with the exception of some seaweed. Blue water to wade in, sandy bottom. Food trucks available. Chairs/umbrellas/towels for rent. $10 for a chair and a towel. Also water sports for rent, jet skis, snorkel gear (no fish to see). No alcohol. Outdoor showers to rinse, bathroom facilities. read more

Like Higgs Beach, this is just ok as a beach. Do note that there's lots of seaweed out here so it doesn't make for a really pleasant, relaxing swim/hang out in the water. But there are bathrooms and street vendors and pavilions and palm trees, so it can make a nice change from the crowded pools and streets of Key West. read more

There are a lot of activities you can do at this beach like kayaking and paddle boarding and there's a lot of sand. Downside is it stinks from all the seaweed and makes the water look gross. If you go farther out the water gets clear and nice but you can't take the paddle boards and kayaks out that far so you are stuck in the nasty water. There's also a lot of trash in the water read more

i didn't like this beach very much. the volleyball and tiki huts are nice, but the water was too shallow, and very, very warm as a result. the parking was very convenient (and free). it's easy to get a good spot with a palm tree to shade you. it's right next to a salt water marsh. on the day we were there it smelled absolutely terrible. (SE winds) someone told me it was the smell of decomposing seaweed, but it was really foul. i found out they had a fecal coliform bacteria warning out later on. it's good for pictures and probably volleyball. there are much better beaches in the keys, like the fort zach beach. i would skip this one. read more

Beautiful to look at but woo wee what a stink! smells like a sewage plant...see weed and algae everywhere. Go to your hotel pool!

I was disapointed on our trip to Smathers Beach. The beach was not very clean, a line of seaweed the entire lenghth of the beach about 6 inches deep. Fort Zachary Taylor is a much better beach. I am used to the beaches along the pan handle of Florida where they keep the beaches clean. I did like the palm trees on the beach though. The bathroom there was also pretty dirty. read more

Maybe I'm too picky about beaches but I did not agree with the glowing reviews. I was expecting much more in terms of the length and width of the beach. I know the Keys aren't really known for their beaches. Keeping that in mind, if you just want a quick dip it's acceptable. If you're looking for a big, expansive beach this is not where you should go. My 12 year old nephew's review is 'don't go in the water or you'll stink for days'. The water shoes the family had on still have some residual odor. read more

where do I begin? I'll start with the big turd on the water's edge, followed by the muddy bottom that felt more like a lake bottom with kelp everywhere. The water was dark, not at all what I would expect for this area. However, I'd been warned a few times that Key West is not known for their beaches. We stayed 10 minutes and drove up the road about 40 minutes on our way out of town to Bahia Honda. I don't know where the great ratings for this beach come from, but in my personal experience this week, this place was awful. read more

All of the Keys are noted for a lack of decent beaches. No doubt Smathers Beach is by far the best beach in Key West and I suspect the entire Keys. The other so called beaches in Key West are either a small patch of sand (Higgs beach) or a rocky shore line (Fort Zach beach). At least Smathers is a long, wide (by Florida Keys standards) stretch of fairly nice, white sand with lots of palm trees. It's also a great place to see sunrises. read more

All I can say is RUN!!! The only thing Smather's beach has going for it is SOME of it's staff and parasailing. The people who checked us in were great, super helpful locals. They told us were to go and where to shelter our littles from (THANK YOU) Our parasaling crew where two funny and we loved every minute we spent laughing with them. However, that is where our happy Smather's beach day ends. When thinking of a beach you are more than likely like me sand, water, fun? Well, there is sand, and waste high POOP smelling seagrass water, GROSS!!! I was told by the check in staff I would get a discount on chairs at the other location due to my party of 8. When I arrived at the other location they declined the rate and was rude about it. My family wanting to have a blast on our 1st day tried to overcome the horrible smell and play in the water anyway. With NO instruction we were put on paddle boards tubes and other equipment. We lasted 1 hour and all agreed to suck it up as money lost to just not smell that anymore. If they were smart they would clear the sea grass and hire a few more helpful locals to replace the young kids just out for tips for nothing! read more