Glass bottom boat

Key West is a tough place to bring kids. I found it full of drunken boomers singing Jimmy Buffett songs and Duval street gets loud and gross at night. The food is okay. NOTHING there is that upscale (and the people who say it is have key west goggles on)
The beaches are small & not great (especially in comparison for other parts of Florida) and it's mostly a boating scene. You can go on boats and go parasailing a few times, but as far as beach vacations go, you can do way better.

Bakers Cay in Key Largo
Tranquility Bay in Marathon (next door to the Turtle Hospital)
Hawks Cay

All better for kids than Key West! We have been a few times and stayed in different places, Key West is a fun day trip with kids but it’s more on the adult side of things. The best part of the keys is the spectacular views on the highway as you drive from key to key. Marathon in particular is a great location because it’s right in the middle.

That said, I’m sure you could plan a fun family trip in Key West as well.

Make sure your lodging has a pool, because the Key West beaches are entirely man-made and pretty grim.

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Thanks for that info. Would a different part of the keys have been better with a day trip to Key West to do Dry Tortugas? We want to do 3-4 days down there.

Thanks!

I would personally do a resort in Key Largo or a vacation rental in Marathon. The Keys was pretty boring frankly - it’s a lot of walking and looking at historic stuff, plus eating and drinking. I think Dry Tortugas is way too far/too much hassle for such a short vacation. Have you actually looked into it?

OP here.

Thanks for that info. Would a different part of the keys have been better with a day trip to Key West to do Dry Tortugas? We want to do 3-4 days down there.

Thanks!

We stayed at The Reach, I would also recommend Casa Marina. I took my kids when they were in 6th and 9th grades and they loved it.

We took our 10 YO there for a long weekend this winter. The main reason was visiting Dry Tortugas. We found enough to keep the kid entertained for two and half days with golf carting around, beaches, butterfly house, aquarium. It felt like just the right amount of time with a kid before running out of things to do.

Travel advisor here, also lived in Key West for a year. I think you can make it work. There's a small aquarium, beaches (not that great though), some museums, you can do snorkeling and other water sports. If you have enough time I would do a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park (seaplane is nicer, but can also do ferry).

What is your hotel budget? Sunset Key is my favorite but it's $$$$.

Is Key West a good long weekend spot with upper elementary kids? Or is it mostly adult nightlife?

If you think it’s fun for kids, where have you stayed?

Thanks!