3 Days in Key West

It has taken me too long to pull this blog post together. It kept getting put on the back burner for weddings and I’m so happy to finally have a few minutes to sit down and write out this post about our trip to Key West!

For my mom’s 50th birthday I took her on a short three night trip to Key West I knew there wasn’t a single material gift that would stack up to the amazing mom she is but also like… be worth it. We thrive off of travel. If I’m going to spent buttloads of money, it’s going to be on plane tickets.

She turned 50 on May 1st, I celebrated 28 on May 4th and then the first week in June (when I finally had a weekend off) we flew to Florida to celebrate! HBD MOM!

There were chickens, lots of margaritas and a whole lot of sweat. The “feels like temps” were in the 101 - 109 range for the entirety of our trip but it was so worth it.

Keep scrollin’ for more Key West goodness!

There is so much to do in Key West. Because most of the waters around Key West are reef, it’s not known for long sandy white beaches but there are some beautiful spots to visit the beach if that’s what you’re hoping for!

We opted to just walk the (very walkable and accessible) old town end to end while gawking at the amazing homes, having a few walking-around-drinks from the small bars along the streets (Hooray for no open container laws!) and popping into local shops.

The entire Mallory Square area and Duval Street are beautiful and fun but if you’re looking for different things to see and do in Key West, step off of those beaten paths and explore some of the quieter, lesser known streets! I enjoyed walking through the area around the Truman Little White House, shopping at some of the boutiques like Antica Sartoria and seeing all of the sailboats and huge yachts at the Galleon Marina.

There’s really not a bad place to get a drink or something to eat and almost every restaurant has outdoor seating (WIN!!) but we highly recommend Garbo’s Grill for really badass tacos, Blue Heaven for breakfast or really just anything because WOW and Sunset Pier for the perfect place to grab a drink with a million dollar view.

The Ernest Hemingway Home is obviously another popular attraction in Key West. We were happy to learn more about the home and the famous residents during the short guided tour but honestly, we were just there for the cats. We learned that the famous six-toed cats are cared for by a veterinarian who is dedicated exclusively to them along with an entire team of volunteers and staff. Their breeding is very carefully planned out, they never leave the property and they are protected by Federal law. There are literally just cats everywhere. My heart was happy and my allergies were NOT.

One of the biggest highlights of this trip was our time visiting the Dry Tortugas. It exceeded every single expectation that I had. Even for my mom, who gets very sea sick/motion sick quite easily, it was an amazing day and a MUST SEE when in Key West!

Drop everything, shift around your itinerary and block off a day to visit one of the most remote US National Parks.

You can visit the Dry Tortugas by boat or seaplane but the NPS’ partnership with Yankee Freedom is the best way to visit. It is a day trip and be warned, you should allot an entire day. Camping is also available and I cannot even imagine how incredible the night sky must be because when you’re located 70 miles west of an island that’s 150 miles south of the mainland, you’re pretty darn remote.

Learn more about how to get to the Dry Tortugas HERE.