With the weather warming and optimism in the air because of the COVID vaccine, more people are looking to travel for some fun in the sun. Writer Carole Jacobs spent a perfect day discovering all of the best things to do in Key West, while still staying safe. 

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Key West Travel Tips for One Perfect Day

Maybe four feet of snow just fell on your driveway, but right now in Key West, Florida, temps are hovering in the high 70s, the emerald waters are in the 80s, and what are you waiting for?

Worried about coming home from Key West with more than a Baywatch tan? Don’t! With one of the nation’s first coronavirus-fighting robots patrolling the Key West International Airport, it’s one place you won’t have to fret about catching cooties while claiming your luggage.

Plus, Key West is now easier than ever to get to. JetBlue has launched year-round service from New York City’s John F. Kennedy and Boston Logan international airports, United Airlines is providing daily nonstop service from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport through May 5, and Allegiant Air has new nonstop flights from Nashville, Pittsburgh, and greater Cincinnati.

While nearly everything in Key West is open with limitations, masks are mandated outside of lodgings and residences while throughout the Keys and outside the city of Key West, everyone must carry a facial covering for immediate wear inside businesses and outdoors when six feet of social distancing is not possible. Masks may be removed for eating or drinking. For new detailed Covid health safety guidelines, visit www.fla-keys.com.

Florida’s uninhibited and undisputed “wild child” is also quaint, pretty-as-a-postcard and even refreshingly, well, weird. Ghosts haunt its bevy of century-old plantation-style B&Bs, six-toed cats prowl Hemingway House, and even the dead here have a sense of humor: At Key West Cemetery, a tombstone from 1979 reads, “I Told You I was Sick.”

See pretty and colorful buildings in Key West, perfect for strolling and shopping. Photo courtesy Visit Florida.

Here’s our 24-hour guide for fun things to do in Key West from dawn ‘til the wee hours  in the country’s southernmost outpost:

9am: Chow down at Blue Heaven: At this historic and much-beloved local hang. Hemingway refereed boxing matches and customers cheered for cockfights, the shrimp and grits, lobster Benedict with key lime hollandaise and the homemade banana bread and cranberry-orange muffins are to die for while the free-roaming chickens and cats roaming the tree-shaded outdoor patio add that “what-a-hoot” factor.

10:30am: Spy on the fishies and catch some rays: The snorkeling is stellar at Sand Key Lighthouse, Eastern Dry Rocks and Western Dry Rocks, all located about eight miles southwest of town. Or, for snorkeling nirvana, hop the Yankee Freedom for an all-day snorkeling adventure to in Dry Tortugas National Park, located 70 miles offshore.

12pm: Do high noon at Sloppy Joes: Even if you’re still digesting breakfast, take it from Hemingway and “The Mob” of other literary greats who haunted this historic speak-easy when they needed a break from their typewriters: It’s never too early to start drinking in Key West. Owned by Hemingway’s fishing buddy and BFF, Joe Russell, the speak-easy serves killer conch fritters and the original Sloppy Joe sandwich that put them on the map.

1-2pm: Bed down with the greats: Key West’s hot, sticky afternoons were made for napping under a twirling plantation fan in one of Old Town Key West’s many historic and pedigreed hotels, many painted in crayon colors and sitting atop ingenious 3-foot piers that let the raging winds and waters of Key West’s tropical cyclones pass right through without causing structural damage. Some of them even have a past, including the Angelina Guest House a former 1920s bordello, gambling den and Hemmingway hideout that’s now a charmingly swank B&B.

2:15pm: All hail the Key Lime: You simply can’t visit Key West without stopping by Kermit’s Key Lime Shoppe. Kermit himself, a piece of work in his lime-green jacket and chef’s hat, blends in seamlessly with his Key Lime pies, cookies, ice cream, pie-on-a-tick, jams, jellies, jell beans, tea, olive oil, taffy, chutney –you get the drill. Breathless reviews from the Food Network, Nat Geo and Chef Paula Dean have established him as the Key Lime King – and (special bonus!) buy a pie and he’ll even throw in his granny’s secret Key Lime Pie recipe for free.

3pm: The Annual Conch Republic Festival: Check out the 39th annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration April 16-25, 2021, commemorating the Florida Keys’ symbolic secession from the United States — inspired by the 1982 establishment of a U.S. Border Patrol blockade that virtually stopped traffic on the only road connecting the Keys to mainland Florida. Activities range from a pirate adventure and wine tastings to a sunset boat parade featuring floating Tikis, historic schooners, and luxury catamarans. Coronavirus safety protocols are in place throughout.

5:30-6pm: Sunset at Mallory Square: As you might expect from the town where the country literally runs out of land, Key West is the Sunset Capital of the U.S. which it celebrates with a nightly beach fest featuring a motley crew of street performers, serenading minstrels.

Mallory Square in Key West is a stunning place for shopping. Photo courtesy Visit Florida.

7pm: Have Dinner on Sunset Key: Catch the tiny ferry to Sunset Key, a 27-acre private isle located 500 feet off the coast of Key West, and home to the plantation-style Sunset Key Cottages and Latitudes, a stunning oceanfront restaurant. The fish here is so fresh it was still swimming an hour ago, so try the Crab Stuffed Florida Lobster Tail or “Really Big” Gulf Shrimp. Pair it with Portobello Carpaccio or Prosciutto and Sun-dried Tomato Wrapped Brie and be sure to save room for dessert. The homemade Crème Brulee, Carrot Cake and Dark Chocolate Torte are to diet-for.

For more information about the Florida Keys, visit their tourism website.

— Story by Carole Jacobs

Hungry for more? Try this Tommy Bahama Key Lime Pie recipe.

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