Barnacle Resort

The Barnacle sits on Long Beach Drive, down at the far end of Big Pine Key where the pavement runs out and the island gets properly quiet. Five rooms, each furnished differently, and a private beach of your own rather than a shared one you walk to.

The rooms are named rather than numbered. Tarpon Deluxe King and Dolphin Ocean View both take a king bed plus a queen sofa bed, Ocean Room Deluxe and the Treehouse Private Village are kings, and the Stars Room takes a double. The Treehouse is the one guests book months ahead and talk about afterward. Every room has air conditioning, a ceiling fan, a refrigerator, a television and Wi-Fi, and the whole place is non-smoking. Ask which bathroom arrangement comes with your room when you book, since they are not all the same.

Out front there is the beach, a tiki hut for shade and a hammock for the hour after lunch, with umbrellas, towels and loungers already there. Bicycles and kayaks are available to guests, which on this island is the right way to see things: paddle out over the flats, ride down Long Beach Drive at dusk. Key deer come through the property, and so do iguanas, and neither is remotely impressed by you.

Breakfast is included every morning, there is a grill and a picnic area if you want to cook your own catch, and parking is free on site. Bahia Honda State Park and the Looe Key reef are both a short drive or boat ride away, and the National Key Deer Refuge is on this same island.