Florida Keys, USA

Stretching 126 miles south towards Cuba, the stunning Keys are a perfect escape. Highlights along the way include Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key and the irrepressible Key West. Come face to face with an amazing array of fish while snorkelling, diving or fishing in the warm turquoise waters. Creeks, coral and costumed shows are other lures along the way. Highway 1 is a spectacular ribbon tying together the islands and atolls of this paradise between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.

Teeming with activities for visitors of all ages and interests, the islands of the Florida Keys make for a classic Florida vacation and include famous destinations such as Key Largo, Islamorada and, of course, Key West. Your time in the Keys can be as action-packed or as relaxed as you desire. Adventure-seekers can test their skills on a fishing charter. Get up close and personal with tropical fish on a snorkel trip, or dive to explore a ship wreck. Visit local art galleries and museums. Shop for unique gifts. Feast on fresh seafood at fine restaurants. Hang with the locals or just hang on a hammock. Simply unwind and let go with the outgoing tide. You will be, after all, on island time.

Florida Keys divided into three main sections - the Upper Keys, the Middle Keys and the Lower Keys.  The Upper Keys is from MM 108 to 65 and is where Key Largo, Tavernier, and Islamorada (the "Village of Islands") are located. The Middle Keys is from MM 64 to MM 40 and includes the city of Marathon and the 7-mile bridge.  Then the Lower Keys is from MM 40 to 0 and includes Bahia Honda, Big Pine Key, Key West and a few Keys in between like Little Torch Key, Ramrod Key, Cudjoe Key and Summerland Key.  Each area of the Florida Keys is unique to itself.

Upper Keys

The Upper Florida Keys are well-known for the two things:  Scuba Diving and Sport Fishing.  Key Largo has been dubbed the "Diving Capital of the World" and Islamorada has been dubbed the "Sport Fishing Capital of the World".  

The Upper Keys is the area where you'll find the most charter fishing boats, marinas and tackle shops and is where many celebrities and politicians come to vacation and partake in the world's best sports fishing.  President George Bush, Sr., President Herbert Hoover, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill are just a few of the famous that have visited Islamorada.  Its location along the Florida Keys chain of islands is closer to the Gulf Stream than any other Florida Keys making fishing in this area outstanding!

Off the city of Key Largo there are some of the best dive sites in the Florida Keys.  Several of the dive sites are located inside John Pennekamp State Park.  Sting rays, manta rays, spotted eagle rays, eels, turtles, nurse sharks, reef sharks, crabs, lobsters, huge grouper and tarpon, and tropical fish are what divers and snorklers should expect to find on their dive.

Middle Keys

The Middle Florida Keys consists of many Keys or islands starting with Long Key, the Conch Keys, Duck Key, Grassy Key, Boot Key, Crawl Key and Pigeon Key.  Marathon, "the heart of the Florida Keys" is on Key Vaca and is separated from the Lower Florida Keys on the south end by the Seven Mile Bridge. Marathon is a 10-mile-long island city which like the Upper Keys, is well-known for scuba diving and sport fishing. 

The Marathon Hump, a rise in the ocean bottom, is about 27 miles South East of Marathon and is a popular sport fishing location.  The Hump rises from 1150 feet on the east side to 410 feet at the top and is an excellent location for catching the huge game fish like dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna, huge amberjack, blue marlin, sailfish, white marlin and big sharks, chiefly makos and great whites. Fishing deep on the bottom, you might catch snowy grouper, queen snapper and a variety of other bottom dwellers.

Lower Keys

Leaving the seven-mile bridge, you enter the Lower Florida Keys.  There are no fast food restaurants, few buildings, as a matter of fact, hardly any businesses at all except on Big Pine Key.  

Bahia Honda State Park and Recreation Area at mile marker 37. With its white sandy beaches and abundant wildlife, it has been mentioned at times in important travel magazines as being one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

The National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key is a large expanse of mostly undeveloped pine lands where the diminutive Key Deer live.

There is a unique key in the Lower Keys called "No Name Key".  Here you'll see homes that are completely self-sufficient - there is no electricity on this island. You have to drive through Big Pine Key to get to No Name Key.  When you take a right at the only light on Big Pine Key, bear to the right and follow the road.    

The Lower Keys as well as all of the Florida Keys, offers great scuba diving, snorkeling and sport fishing.  Little Palm Island is a resort just off Big Pine Key where celebrities go to 'get away from it all'.  It is accessible only by boat and visitors ride an old restored wooden boat to reach the small resort.