Key West Review

This was our first time in Key West.  I’d always wanted to go there, so when the opportunity came for us to book a cruise to Key West, we took it. As always, I did my research online, and we decided to forgo the trams that take you around town and just walk instead of booking any excursions, since this cruise was just a cruise to get us through to our next cruise .  And from what I’d read of the trams in reviews, it’s hard to get off to see something and then get a seat when you want to get back on.  I’m not sure if that’s true, I didn’t really pay attention to the trams during the day, but there were different companies trams to be seen all over the place.  I think that they’re cheaper to book as an a ship excursion than on shore, but you can book them in different locations around town also.

We did get kind of confused and lost our bearings trying to find our way around.  The ship was not docked where we thought it would be on the map we looked at, so we kept walking in the wrong direction, thinking we were headed to the Southernmost Point.  We did end up at the Little White House where Harry Truman spent his vacation time.  There is a little gift shop in back, and also a tiny museum that is free to tour. The grounds are beautiful.  It was a nice surprise.  It’s in a really beautiful residential neighborhood lined with lots of trees. Eventually we figured out that we were not getting anywhere near the Southernmost Point, but were in a residential neighborhood, and we turned around to go back to the port and try and find a map.

After we found our way back and looked at a map, we walked along Duval Street, which is not far from the port, and saw all the shops. Duval is the main thoroughfare with most of the tourist attractions and shops on it.  Plenty to do and see there, you will not get bored.  We never did find the Hemmingway House, which was one of the places I really wanted to see because of the six-toed cats.  After we got on the ship, someone said we were really close to it. We probably should have taken the tour tram, I would if we ever come back to Key West.  We made our way down Duval to the end, and then walked out on a long pier.  It was a nice  breezy place to stop and watch the ocean and the waves.  We could tell where the Southernmost Point was from there, so we turned left and made our way there. It was so hot, that day, and the line to the Southernmost Point was really long,  so we decided to just take a picture of the Southernmost Point icon without actually being in the picture.  Then we made our way to Kermit’s to get their famous Chocolate Covered Key Lime Pie on a stick.  It’s as good as they say! Very creamy. I’d love to try that again.  Wish we had a Kermit’s at home.

One of the things that I discovered is that there is a shortage of public restrooms in Key West. At least, I could not fine one.  I found one in the CVS, but someone was in it and I was told that they were sick, so I left.  Never mind!  I’d imagine there are public restrooms in the restaurants and bars, but we had decided to go back to the ship to eat lunch. I’m not really into the bar hopping, but that seems to be popular in Key West.

Key West is small, and easily walkable if you are used to walking.  If not, there are trams everywhere.  You can also rent bicycles, scooters, and golf carts.   It’s a very picturesque town, with lots to see and do.  We only had a few hours in Key West, so we kept it simple, but there are plenty of shops, museums, and restaurants, and plenty of excursions from the ship to keep you busy.