Florida Keys with kids?

[Anonymous]

Thinking about a Florida keys trip with kids (ages 12, 10, and 8) in August. We would stay in Marathon or Islamorada. Any recs for hotels or activities?

[Anonymous]

Hawks Cay

[Anonymous]

Cheeca Lodge is pretty nice

[Anonymous]

I have done hawks cay and stayed in a harbor villa which I liked.

[Anonymous]

We stayed at baker’s caye which we liked.
Big recommendation for the Italian Food Conpany.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in an AirBnB in Marathon and would NOT recommend that key (house was great). It's like staying in a strip mall. I would do Islamorada if we were to do it again.

[Anonymous]

Just FYI we went last June and it was ungodly hot. Even just laying on the beach in the shade. We had planned to explore Key West one day but ended up just driving around it in our rental car with A/C blasting and popping out quickly for photos where we wanted. We did not even get a photo with the Southernmost Point Buoy because it would have required standing in a 30 minute line in the heat to do so.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in an AirBnB in Marathon a few years ago and loved it. Perfect location to access tons of things in the Keys. We did the dolphin encounter in Marathon and snorkeling. It was an easy drive to Key West where we did the butterfly house and a glass bottom boat. It was a great vacation.

[Anonymous]

I love Cheeca

[Anonymous]

I am likely in the minority but Cheeca was the worst hotel for value I have ever stayed in my life. I frequent Rosewood and other top resort brands and the money I spent on Cheeca was a joke. For $800/night it was totally not worth it. I'm happy to drop $1200/night on a place if it it's all that but Cheeca was like a $400 room I swear to God. Was it dirty, messy, too small? No. But it was not worth the price + resort fees for what it was. I do not feel the pool area was to die for and it's not like it's oceanfront or anything. I personally would not go to the Keys if you are seeking beach time. Hawk's Cay and Playa Largo are 2 you can look at however if you really want to do Keys. Keys are not known for beaches unless you did Key West but there's less to do there for little ones. One of my best friends lives on Islamorada so I know it somewhat and I'd rather pick a cheaper place than Cheeca just as nice, which you def can find, It's a good Key for little ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just FYI we went last June and it was ungodly hot. Even just laying on the beach in the shade. We had planned to explore Key West one day but ended up just driving around it in our rental car with A/C blasting and popping out quickly for photos where we wanted. We did not even get a photo with the Southernmost Point Buoy because it would have required standing in a 30 minute line in the heat to do so.

Ha. I positioned the kids across the street with the buoy in the background and clicked at the moment there were no people next to the buoy and no cars driving by. It worked! Great picture!

[Anonymous]

We really liked Hawks Cay over winter break. The resort is stunning, and there were lots of kids. We went on a boat ride around Duck Key, and my son did the dolphin connection experience where got to train a dolphin.

[Anonymous]

We enjoy Theater of the Seas in Islamorada and, up in Homestead, the Everglades Alligator Farm and Robert is Here for the best fruit milkshakes of your life.

[Anonymous]

We did a summer road trip staying on Key Largo, Key West and Marathon. It was great, but ungodly hot as a PP mentioned. We took two snorkel trips (from Islamorada and Marathon), which were a highlight for me. We did a half day excursion that included jet skis, parasailing, banana boat, and hanging out on inflatables in the middle of the ocean. Our teens really liked that. We also did a nighttime kayak trip on Key West that was interesting and different. Baker’s Cay on Key Largo was lovely, but I don’t know how I would have felt if we were paying cash ($700) vs points. On Marathon, we stayed at the Faro Blanco resort, which was very nice and moderately priced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a summer road trip staying on Key Largo, Key West and Marathon. It was great, but ungodly hot as a PP mentioned. We took two snorkel trips (from Islamorada and Marathon), which were a highlight for me. We did a half day excursion that included jet skis, parasailing, banana boat, and hanging out on inflatables in the middle of the ocean. Our teens really liked that. We also did a nighttime kayak trip on Key West that was interesting and different. Baker’s Cay on Key Largo was lovely, but I don’t know how I would have felt if we were paying cash ($700) vs points. On Marathon, we stayed at the Faro Blanco resort, which was very nice and moderately priced.

I’m the “ungodly hot” poster - those are the three towns we went to as well, and we also stayed at Baker’s Cay! Great minds! We loved Bahia Honda State Park. That was our favorite along with Baker’s Cay.