Key West Florida Getaway
The Tropics USA

by Virginia
(Florida)

The tiny tropical island of Key West, Florida is perfect for a getaway. It has warm, sunny weather year-round and is accessible by car, plane or boat from the mainland. By car, you will travel over the Gulf of Mexico on bridges with a lovely view of the blue-green waters and the many mangrove islands that make up the Florida Keys.

I recommend staying in "old town", which is very historic and has lovely Victorian architecture, museums, art galleries, boutiques, bars and restaurants. There are two guesthouses right on the Atlantic Ocean beach, La Mer and Dewey House. They are part of the Southernmost Hotel Collection and have been turned into bed and breakfasts from Victorian mansions. Their location is near Duval Street, which is the main street that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. So you can walk just about everywhere without the need of a taxi or car.

They are near the Southernmost Point of the Continental USA marker, which is a great photographic opportunity.
Square One Restaurant, a fine dining establishment with good food and ambiance, is a few blocks away. They are open for dinner nightly and lunch every day except Monday.

Nearby also is the wonderful Key West Butterfly Conservancy, which is a beautiful building housing the butterfly museum and a good gift shop, all interesting for the young and the old.

Nightlife is always rocking in Key West, with open air bars or Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. There is a movie theater downtown called Tropic Cinema with three theaters showing the latest in art cinema and also good new films.

For a little city, Key West offers so much to do, including fishing, diving, sailing and all the watersports you would expect to find on an island.