Insider's Guide

Experience an in-depth sojourn in the subtropical Florida Keys & Key West, and you’re likely to discover some fascinating indigenous species in hidden, tucked-away gardens nestled throughout the 125-mile-long island chain. Here’s an intriguing look at five gardens well worth exploring.

Captain Samantha Zeher, owner of Islamorada's KeyZ Charters, earned her license at just 18 while still a college freshman. Today she offers sightseeing charters that include snorkeling and sunset cruises, paddleboard, eco-tours and Everglades excursions. She’s also happy to treat passengers to island trips exploring Indian Key, Lignumvitae Key and Alligator Lighthouse -- each with a history dating back to the 1800s.

Key West is well known for its residents’ welcoming and accepting attitude toward all people -- an attitude that gained formal recognition when local artist JT Thompson conceived the now global “One Human Family” concept.

As a co-producer of Islamorada’s annual Baygrass Bluegrass Festival, local singer/songwriter Robby McClung is passionate about generating more interest in that musical genre — and about bringing performers from around the world to enrich the Florida Keys' cultural and arts community.

Key West is gloriously, outrageously abnormal — a place where wild chickens roam the streets and people feel comfortable wearing tiaras to lunch. A place where dogs are favored customers at more than one bar, and nobody thinks it’s strange to spot grown men dressed like Darth Vader or Marilyn Monroe (sometimes during the same evening!).

Billy Kearins is the founder of COAST — a rustic, funky space made up of a retail store showroom, studio workshops, an event venue and more — originally on the fringes of Front Street, Stock Island, now in the historic Bahama Village neighborhood of Old Town Key West.

For more than 15 years, Randy Roberts has excited and entertained Key West audiences, impersonating a wide range of characters in a live multimedia tribute to some of the world’s most beloved female performers -- from the divine Bette Midler to the incomparable Cher.

Artists and artisans from across the globe flock to the Florida Keys and stay, making the island chain their home while helping shape its reputation as a cultural mecca. Whether textiles, jewelry, housewares, reclaimed wood furniture or other temptations, their quality handcrafted items are quintessentially “Keys.”

If one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, then the late Key Largo resident Stanley Papio was a treasure hunter extraordinaire. And ultimately, he became a treasure creator — crafting some of the edgiest and most eclectic metal sculptures of his generation.

Ben Daughtry’s passion for creating educational experiences in marine conservation led him to open Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters — where visitors can enjoy immersive experiences with reef fish, invertebrates, stingrays and even sharks without entering the ocean.