The Florida Keys are a collection of islands at the southern tip of Florida that are connected by a highway. You can drive to each of these islands (or just some of them) for a fun weekend getaway from Miami. Get on to island time, enjoy the sun, the ocean and of course some delicious key lime pie. This Florida Keys weekend itinerary has everything you could want for family fun on a long weekend away.
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Florida Keys vs Key West
One thing that is important to know when visiting The Keys is that there is a difference between “the Keys” and “Key West”. Key West is one of many islands that make up The Keys. However, Key West is the furthest island in the keys and it will not make sense for everyone to drive all the way there on your trip. Depending on the length of time you have to visit and how much time you want to spend driving can help you decide where to go.
Key West is probably the most popular or most thought of Key in Florida. And it offers true picturesque island living in my opinion. What I mean by this is that it is an island that moves at a slow, relaxed pace, it is circular and you can drive or bike around the island and see everything.
The rest of the Keys feel a little different because of the highway that cuts through the middle of them. Because of this set up you really drive down the center of the island and everything to see or visit is off to the side. Here you are definitely going to want a car to get around. I also feel like this makes things a little less cute and a little less island feeling. The only way you really feel like you’re on an island is because of the water you see as you drive across the bridges that connect each key to the others.
Our Weekend Trip to The Florida Keys
This was our third trip to Miami and we LOVE it. If you need any Miami recommendations I’ve got you! But this time we decided to take two days out of our Miami vacation to see a little more of the Florida Keys. We had previously only been to Key West on a cruise ship stop several years ago. We had a blast on that trip and we have been wanting to explore more of the keys ever since. This felt like the perfect opportunity.
Since we had already been to Key West and had only the two days to spend in The Keys, we decided to stay in the upper keys for our trip. Key Largo is only roughly an hour and a half from Miami making it an easily accessible jumping point to explore the rest of the Keys from.
We started by spending two days in Miami and then we drove straight from Calle Ocho to our hotel on Key Largo. If you are wanting to stay in the upper keys for all, or some, of your trip Key Largo, Islamorada or Marathon Key are all great options.
Day One: Snorkeling, Turtle Rescues and Fried Key Lime Pie
Snorkeling
Bright and early day one we hit the ground running with a snorkeling excursion to explore the only coral reef in North America (FK). The most popular place to book snorkeling is inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. You can see underwater sights among the coral reefs such as a shipwreck and a Christ Statue alongside the fish, turtles and other marine life.
We could not find a snorkeling tour that allowed toddlers inside the park but we did find Island Girl Snorkel and Tours. They allowed kids, including in the water and we had an absolute blast with them. Island Girl starts their tours from Islamorada, the next key over. We got to see the reef, our toddlers got to get into the ocean and swim which was so fun and we got to bring along our babies! We just switched off making sure there was an adult with them at all times. Our guides were funny, kind women who went out of their way to make sure things went smoothly. They never once made us feel like our kids were in the way, a bother or being too rambunctious. If you have young kids and still want to get out and snorkel, I highly recommend them.
People in our group got to see colorful tropical fish, a barracuda and even a sea turtle!
Upon our guide’s recommendation we head over to Hobo’s for lunch to eat some delicious seafood. They have a unique key lime sauce that they can put on shrimp, fish or chicken depending on what you feel like eating. It was really good food!
The Turtle Hospital
After a short break at our hotel for the kids we set out on our afternoon adventure: a sea turtle hospital. The Turtle Hospital offers tours of their facility every couple hours to guests. They use the admission fee to help pay for the resume and care of turtles from around the country! Turtles at sea can get injured by trash and boats. Then the injured sea turtles get brought here by tourists, local fishermen and even transfers from other animal hospitals. The doctors and staff rehabilitate the turtles and release as many of them as possible back into the wild. We had a great time learning more about sea turtles and we even got to feed some of the permanent residents that are unable to be released.
After a fun afternoon with the turtles we headed across the street to grab dinner at Burdines. A local dive on the water that is famous for their deep fried key lime pie. The food was good and the pie was a yummy treat, a little different than I expected but definitely worth trying.
Even though we were tired from our busy day in the sun, we closed out the night with a swim at our hotel pool. Our toddler had been waiting patiently all day to go to the pool lol.
Day 2: Feeding Tarpon and Key Lime Pie
Robbie’s Market
Our second day in The Keys was also the day we had to drive home but first we had some more we wanted to see! Our first stop was heading over Robbie’s Market. We went ahead and ate breakfast here but the real reason for our visit was to feed the giant tarpon fish out back.
It costs $5 per bucket of little fish and you can drop the fish into the water for the Tarpon to eat, or you can hold the fish in your hand and they will jump up and eat it. The fish are massive at about 6-8 feet in length.
You do have to watch out for the pelicans that like to hang out. They absolutely will try to take the fish out of your hands or bucket while you are walking to the fish or waiting to feed them. The pelicans are pretty aggressive about snatching the fish from your hands or the buckets. So be cautious of children or not paying attention to your surroundings.
At Robbie’s Marina you can also enjoy water sports by renting boats or jet skis. After you have thoroughly explored the shops in Robbies Market then it is time to grab some key lime pie!
Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory
Even though the deep fried pie was good, nothing beats a classic slice of key lime pie when you are in the keys. We decided to try the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory on Key Largo. This is one of the best places in the keys to snag a piece of pie.You can grab your pie to go or eat it in their lovely garden out back. It tasted delicious and creamy, I would definitely eat it again. And again. Haha.
The Lower Keys
If you have more time to spend in the Keys then it is probably worth your time to take the drive all the way down to Key West. Key West is the furthest key you can drive to and arguably the most famous one of them all. It is about a three and a half hour drive from Miami to Key West.
In my opinion Key West feels the most like a true island out of all the keys. It runs on island time, has fun beaches, you can bike around the entire island and it has fun super colorful buildings. There is a lot of fun to be had in Key West such as kayaking mangrove forests, enjoying live music at sunset on Mallory Square and seeing the southernmost point in the U.S.
I have a whole guide to the perfect one day itinerary in Key West to help you plan it all out.
Alternatively you could visit Dry Tortugas National Park, the most remote National Park in the United States. I haven’t been but it is on my list to visit one day. You can start learning everything there is to know about visiting this unique destination on the National Park website.
Getting to the Florida Keys
A Florida Keys road trip is the best way to see the Florida Keys. This way you can enjoy driving through each key, thoroughly enjoying all the fun roadside attractions and hidden spots along the way. You can fly into Miami International Airport, rent a car and head out for a long weekend road trip through the keys. And it would be pretty simple to do.
Driving the overseas highway would definitely be my recommendation. Plus this way you get to drive across the seven mile bridge that connects Marathon Key to Little Duck Key. You’ll get to see gorgeous ocean views of turquoise clear water, palm trees blowing in the wind and beautiful beaches as you drive all the way to mile marker 0.
Florida Keys Weekend Itinerary
The Florida Keys are a wonderful beach destination right here in the U.S. No need for a passport or a crazy long flight. Get your fix of sunshine and have fun while doing it. There is so much to do in the keys for the whole family to enjoy together. And this Florida Keys weekend itinerary will guide you through all the best highlights there are to see.
