One of my favorite trips came about from finding inexpensive flights into Miami using Google Flights https://www.google.com/travel/flights and coming up with a plan of what to so with a family of five in Florida that would be exciting with pre-teen and elementary age kids.
So with our tickets purchased for around $60 each/one-way on https://www.spirit.com/ the planning began. During the time we went, a curfew had been in place for Miami. It was Spring Break of 2022, so everyone was back in full swing with travel. I knew Miami was beautiful, but may not be as appropriate for a week, with kids and immediately started researching our options. We had visited Disney a few years prior and wanted this trip to be relaxing and tropical.
I have had a life long dream of becoming a dolphin trainer, wrote journals filled with facts about dolphins in my spare time and have a background in environmental analysis of Geography, so the Keys immediately came to mind! After visiting, I can truly say this is one of my favorite places in the world.
So here is what our trip looked like, if you want to go on a similar vacation. First off, we flew into Miami (you can fly into the keys directly, but it is more expensive and the drive is beautiful). The first day we drove to Marathon Florida and stayed at Courtyard Faro Blanco Resort (2146 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL, USA 33050) https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mthmc-courtyard-faro-blanco-resort/photos/ It is a Marriott property and I am a loyal customer and advocate of Marriott. My husband and I both have the Bonvoy Marriott card and earn points, particularly for trips like this. This property was on the water, had a tiki torch ceremony, rock paintings for the kids (which we have kept pictures of, so we can find our rocks when we return again-hopefully SOON!) and so many amazing amenities. There was a restaurant on property https://www.bluewatersbarandgrill.com/ that was perfect for allowing us to stay in and relax our first night there, a pool that overlooked the gulf and white sands steps from the pool and best of all, it is walking distance to one of my favorite aspects of this trip; the Turtle Hospital https://www.turtlehospital.org/ (we will discuss a bit more about this, soon).
After a relaxing morning and having acai bowls and coffee for breakfast at the The Bistro inside the hotel, we packed our bags and headed thru the Keys to the Southern most point of the continental U.S., Key West. We walked around Duval Street, which reminded me of a mixture of Martha’s Vineyard, Front Street in Lahaina (what is used to be) and Nashville, where live music was playing in open air bars. The ocean was the prettiest I had ever seen, and we were even able to spot two nurse sharks and a manatee. The next day in Key West, we visited Smathers Beach, Fort Zach, Little White House, and of course, booked a photography session, which is another way I like to capture the memories of our trips and do so when we are all together, do not have our extra curricular activities planned and have beautiful scenery we want to remember. While in Key West, we stayed at https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/eywfk-fairfield-inn-and-suites-key-west-at-the-keys-collection/overview/ and https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/eywcy-courtyard-key-west-waterfront/overview/ The Courtyard has restaurants walking distance and was nice being on the water and the Fairfield allowed us to upgrade to a larger room (they were a bit dated inside) and had a great pool. Both were great options at reasonable rates.
After 2-3 days in Key West, we headed back up to Key Largo and stayed at Playa Largo https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/mthak-playa-largo-resort-and-spa-autograph-collection/overview/. This was my favorite hotel and we used points, because it was expensive; but absolutely worth it! There were private fire pits on the sand, shaved ice in the afternoons, an amazing pool, easy access to swimming in the ocean and lots of resort activities. This is one of those resorts that you never have to leave. The dining and activities are all right there and amazing!
On the way to Key Largo, we broke up the trip and visited the turtle hospital in Marathon https://www.turtlehospital.org/. This turtle hospital is the largest in the world, helping to protect through research, veterinary services and education. We were lucky enough to be able to observe a surgery happening while we were there. You need reservations and it is absolutely worth it, such a cool place and you can watch a turtle surgery if they have a patient. In Key Largo we went to Dolphin Plus Marine Mammal Responder https://www.dolphinsplus.com/dolphin-plus-charities/dolphins-plus-marine-mammal-responder and swam with dolphins. Being an animal advocate and lover, I am always selective, visiting places like this. This organization had rescued 685 marine mammals as of Spring 2022, when we were there and the dolphins they have at their center are unable to live in the wild, which is why they are cared for at the facility. The dolphins participate in research and education and are given the option to interact or not with every program offered. If they decide they are not up to it, as displayed by their behavior, they are never forced to do so. It was an incredible experience and I hope to return one day for a period of time to volunteer for this organization.
Back in Miami we went to a beach called Surfside, took a day trip to Everglades Holiday Park, which are the closest everglades to Miami to do an airboat ride, see crocodiles and go for a sunset cruise around Miami to see some of the amazing homes on the water. I cannot wait to return to the Keys!
Trip Trek Go 