The Best Road Trip from Fort Lauderdale to the Florida Keys

 I had an amazing island vacation recently, yes, flew to the Florida Keys from Burgh. And that’s one of the best vacations I had in this year. This year has been an eventful year. I visited National Parks in Utah and Yellowstone during May. To read about my experiences in Utah, check out my blog post here – Mighty 5 Utah & Yellowstone National Park. After a rewarding experience of visiting canyons and hot springs, I wanted to have an island vacation and explore underwater life. I made it at the end and flew to the Florida Keys recently. It’s truly a tropical paradise in America brimming with natural beauty and rich heritage. I have written a separate blog post about Key West and the best things to do in Key West in a separate post. Read about my experiences here – Best things to do in Key West, Florida.

Key West is bite-sized and you can explore the tiny beautiful town in a couple of days. But then, there are a lot more places to explore in and around Key West. We had two days to explore Key West and we decided to explore the nearby region on our 3^rd day.

We stayed in Marathon and on our 3^rd day, we decided to explore the nearby region towards our drive to Miami. There is numerous way to spend your day on this island. You will never run out of opportunities. If you don’t want to check out places, then simply drive leisurely along the Overseas Highway with turquoise water on both the sides and it leaves awestruck. Here are some of the best things we explored during our vacation.

The drive from Fort Lauderdale to Key West will take around 4 hours but then it depends on the traffic. So be prepared for the traffic if you are planning to visit during weekends. There are a number of sightseeing spots on the way and be sure to stop at them.

Alligator Farm, Key Largo, FL

The Everglades Alligator Farm located near the entrance of Everglades National Park, Homestead is South Florida’s oldest alligator farm and contains more than 2000 alligators. The ticket prices include an exciting airboat tour, alligator show, snake show and a demonstration of feeding alligator. The airboats are noisy and hence be prepared for that. Check out their site for more information here – Everglades Gator Farm https://everglades.com/airboat-rides.html

Go Fishing in Islamorada

Islamorada is the fishing capital of the world and offers all kinds of fishing sports and tours. There are many fishing bridges on the way where you can go fishing.  There is a number of fish feeding stations all over the Islamorada and you can feed fish for few dollars.

Sombrero Beach

Sombrero Beach is a few minutes away from Banana Bay where we stayed. Sombrero Beach has the undisturbed coral reef system and is one of the best places known for snorkeling. Sombrero beach offers a variety of options like fishing, swimming, Kayaking, and snorkeling. It is also the best spot to view the sunrise. We visited the beach on the first day evening and also visited the beach on the 3rd day in the early morning for sunrise. It is such an amazing experience to view the sunrise and its color hues which paint the early morning sky. 

Turtle Hospital, Marathon

Marathon Key is widely known for Turtle Hospital. The Turtle Hospital is a small non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of endangered sea turtles and supported by the interest and generosity of the public. The admission includes 90 minutes educational tour about sea turtles and at the end of the program, visitors are allowed to feed the sea turtles.

Aquarium Encounters, Marathon

If you are a beginner in swimming and would love to do snorkeling, then Aquarium Encounters is the best option, where you will snorkel in a guided environment and also feed sharks at the end of the snorkeling. The place is great for kids to watch fishes and feed them using their hands.

Bahia Honda State Park

Pronounced as Buy a Honda State Park, the park features an award-winning beach and historic bridge. The old railroad bridge is clearly seen from the State Park and one could see the damage caused by the hurricane devastating the railroad. The park encompasses over 500 acres and also an offshore island which offers the best snorkeling in Florida. The park also offers various activities like Kayaking, Camping, Snorkeling, Bicycling, and Swimming. The park is a perfect gateway for the entire family. Stop here for a perfect capture of the Old railroad and it’s also a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Old Seven Mile Bridge

Once you pass the Marathon key, you will encounter the old seven-mile bridge. The Seven-mile bridge has a very interesting history behind it. Henry Flagler built a railroad which opened Florida to rest of the World is the first land route from Miami to Key West. But however, it was never a financial success and a downright disaster. A part of the bridge was washed away completely by a devastating hurricane on 1935 by 20mph winds and a 17-foot storm. Due to bankrupt, he sold the old railroad to the state of Florida and the seven-mile bridge which we see now is used by the state government as an automotive bridge. The seven-mile bridge is closed now till 2021 for repairs but however, you can see and click a selfie of the bridge from the nearby region.

The bridge was earlier used to commute to Pigeon Key by bikers or walkers but now the only way to access the Pigeon Key is through Ferry.

Tour the Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key is a 2-acre small island located in the heart of the Florida Keys. Pigeon Key is accessible only by Ferry and home of 11 historic buildings which once served as a base for the workers involved in the construction of Old Railroad. The Pigeon Key is now maintained and operated by the Pigeon Key Foundation and Marine Research Centre. A short speedboat ride takes you to this island where you can wander among its 100-year old picturesque cottages and explore its history. Pack your lunch and plan a picnic in the Keys. Or bring your snorkeling gear and snorkel near the dock to watch colorful fish in the waters rich in sea life.

Visit the National Key Deer Refuge

We visited Key Deer Refuge in the early morning on our day 3 and I would say it’s worth the visit if you love wildlife like me. We saw Key Deer gazing on the road and also in the backyards. The Key Deer refuge is in Big Pine Key and also extends to No Name Key. The visitor center was hard to find from the main way and after a little search, we figured it. We grabbed the pamphlet and followed our way towards the Key Deer Blvd. We found Key Deer at the end of the road and then when we drove towards Watson Blvd, we saw a deer at the backyard of a home. It looks like a small white-tailed deer. We reversed our vehicle and stopped to capture it. The Key Deer walked towards us thinking we would feed it but then feeding Key Deer kills them. Hence, we had to disappoint the poor fellow.  Key deer can be best seen at dawn or dusk throughout Big Pine Key. Ensure to watch on the sides of the road during your drive in the late evening. We found 3 Key Deer gazing on the side of the road during our return journey from Key West.

The 84351 Key Deer Refuge is located in the Lower Keys on 25 islands and consists of pine forest, mangrove forest, hardwood hammocks, freshwater wetlands, and marine water. The refuge offers Blue Hole Site, Jack Watson Wildlife Trail and the Fred Mannillo Wildlife trail. The trails were closed due to the damage caused by the hurricane Irma during our visit. Hence we visited only Blue hole, an abandoned limestone quarry. And we saw an alligator in the Blue Hole.

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Thanks,

Karthi