Insider's Guide

When fall arrives in The Florida Keys, something delicious starts showing up on local tables, fresh stone crab claws. Stone crab season runs from Oct. 15 through May 1, giving visitors several months to enjoy one of the Keys’ best-known seafood treats. Sweet, tender and satisfyingly large, stone crab claws have been commercially harvested in Keys waters since the 1930s. The Florida Keys are an especially important home for stone crab. About 40 percent of Florida’s stone crab harvest comes from Keys waters.

Follow along with The Travel Mom, Emily Kaufman and lifestyle journalist Tommy DiDario as they journey through The Florida Keys & Key West, discovering memorable ways to relax, explore, dine and connect with the island chain’s colorful culture and natural world. From wellness escapes and fascinating history to only-in-the-Keys wildlife encounters, fresh seafood and luxurious hideaways, their travels offer plenty of inspiration for creating your own Florida Keys itinerary.

A trip to the Florida Keys can mean sunshine, turquoise water, some beach time, a romp in the park for kids or dogs, a museum stop, or an up-close look at incredible marine life. For visitors, those experiences are often what make a Keys getaway so memorable. But there is another side of the tourism story that is much less visible. Behind many of the places, experiences and natural resources that make the Florida Keys special, tourism is having an impact that continues long after a visitor heads home. It is a part of the story that travelers may never realize—and one that residents may be surprised to learn more about. Because in the Keys, a vacation can do more than create great memories. It can also help support the very place where those memories are made.

In the Florida Keys, sunset is more than the end of the day. It is a reason to order one more drink, take the long way back to the hotel, find a seat along the water and watch the horizon turn from gold to tangerine, pink, lavender and, on particularly memorable evenings, a fiery shade of red.

A rainy day does not have to wash out a Florida Keys vacation. The island chain has museums, aquariums, movie theaters, art spaces and other attractions where visitors can stay busy while the weather passes. From an indoor wave in Marathon to centuries-old shipwreck treasure in Key West, these stops offer a different way to discover what makes the Keys special.

A family vacation in The Florida Keys can be big on memories without being big on spending. Discover value-minded places to stay, free and low-cost activities, and casual restaurants with kid-friendly menus from Key Largo to Key West.

Nicole Navarro, the executive director of Key Largo fox rescue Pawsitive Beginnings, which also serves as an educational and healing organization for humans, didn't plan to become a fox rescuer. She didn't plan to create a nonprofit or launch a social media presence that would introduce hundreds of thousands of people around the world to the Florida Keys, or to build a therapeutic program that brings abused women and traumatized children face-to-face with animals who understand survival. Most of it, she'll tell you, just happened. One unexpected connection at a time. The thread that would eventually lead Navarro to fox rescue began with Hurricane Irma in 2017. After the storm she reached out to Jeanne Selander who runs the Monroe County Sheriff’s Animal Farm at the county jail to find out if she needed help and the answer was, “yes.”

Discover offshore fishing, backcountry charters, snorkeling, lobstering, museums, parks and family attractions throughout The Florida Keys when sargassum is present.

Enjoy every sunny moment in The Florida Keys by staying hydrated, wearing sun protection and taking refreshing breaks in the shade or indoors. Paying attention to how you feel can help you stay comfortable and energized throughout the day. By pacing yourself and knowing when to cool down or seek help, you can safely make the most of every outdoor adventure.

Discover the Florida Keys through first-time family moments made for every age. This guide follows families from Key Largo to Key West with easy wildlife encounters, hands-on marine life experiences, beginner-friendly snorkeling, calm backcountry adventures, kid-friendly fishing ideas and casual places to eat along the way. Highlights include feeding tarpon at Robbie’s in Islamorada, posing with Betsy the Lobster, exploring John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, meeting rescued sea turtles at The Turtle Hospital, visiting Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, watching the sunset at Mallory Square and finding relaxed family dining throughout the island chain.