While down in the Florida Keys I became fascinated with the crazy history of shipwrecks and how it literally built the town of Key West. So in my yearning to find out more about this I wound up in Mallroy Square at the famous Key West Shipwreck Museum.

Details

• Hours: 10AM – 5PM
• Cost: $15
• Location: 1 Whitehead Street, Key West, Florida 33040

Now I will admit this museum is pretty small for $15, I want to warn you of that before you go. That being said I felt like I got my moneys worth here as it was a really well designed museum with a lot of unique history. Plus, you can walk up to the tallest spot in Key West as well.

The Museum

From the moment you walk into the museum itself you will feel as if you have been transported to the interior of an old sailing vessel. The walls and ceilings are covered with artifacts recovered from the wrecks. Everything from large silver pieces to old rope and pianos dot this unique museum.

As you walk around you see many displays dedicated to the things that were recovered during the time of the wreckers, as well as history on the famous people that lived during the time.

One of the main exhibits is big piece of silver that weighs around 50 pounds which you can pick try and pick up if you feel so inclined.

On the second floor there is more of the same stuff with lots of history and artifacts. From this floor you can also exit out to the top of the museum where you can climb a replica of the old lookout towers from back in the day and get a great view of Key West from above.

I was the only one up here when I went so I just sat and enjoyed the 360 degree views, here is a picture.

After heading back down you will enter back into the museum and go down to the second half of the first floor. Here it talks about the end of the shipwreck era and what tools they are using for modern recovery.

Lastly there is a theater on the bottom floor that has a 15 minute history video and some information on the movies that were filmed in Key West as well. I watched the video down here and found it to be very informative.

All in all this is a small but awesome museum. I really loved the way it was laid out and would recommend you check it out if you are in the area and into this type of thing. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

On a recent trip to Florida I was trying to find out information on what to do in the Everglades and kept coming up empty-handed. A friend of mine then recommended Captain Jack’s in Everglades City so I decided to give it a try and booked a morning Mangrove tour for the day after I got in. This ended up being a fantastic experience and here is all the info on this trip.

Details

• Cost: $35 a person + Tip
• Hours / Tour times: Website
• 6 people max on the boat so it is more personal of a tour

After arriving the suggested 30 minutes before our tour time we paid the fee and drove to the meet up location. When we arrived we had time to kill so we checked in and waited for our airboat captain to show up. While waiting there was a small alligator and its handler, she let us all hold Snappy the alligator for a picture. It was fun to interact with an alligator like this up close and feeling its skin was pretty crazy.

After getting our photos our tour guide Ken showed up and got us onto the boat. The boats hold a max of 6 people, we had only 4 with us so we ended up lucking out and getting a boat all to ourselves.

Our journey began with a friendly little pelican like bird landing on our boat and just sitting there listening as we heard all about the history of the area. I half expected him to stay for the entire trip but after a few minutes he went about his business.

Right when he left we rounded a corner and saw an alligator sitting in the mud. This was the only alligator we saw the whole time and there is no gaurentee you will see one so keep that in mind. It was fantastic to see one on our tour though and to see it so close to the start. After taking photos we headed into the grove.

The true highlight of this trip is the amazing mangrove trees themselves. They form a puesdo tunnel with their crazy roots and large overhanging branchs. This tunnel is what you will be driving in pretty much the entire time and it is narrow and fantastic.

The driver started to let loose a little more after we got our feel for it and we start scooting through the grove and around trees. Here is a small video to help you understand.

Our guide Ken was a fantastic driver and he drifted around corners, did 180’s and just generally showed us a killer time.

Towards the end we even got to see a whole bunch of racoons all waiting on tree branch for food to come by. They must have been fed before as they were all holding out there hands but it was still fun to see.

After some more crazy driving our time on the airboat came to an end. If this was all it was it would be worth the $35 but it also included access to an animal sanctuary as well.

After leaving the airboat area we made our way down to the sanctuary. The sanctuary had lots of different reptiles, most of which were alligators in different years of their lives. They also had an alligator show that we watched for little while but it wasn’t really my thing to see animals doing shows like this.

After walking around we headed out of the sanctuary, completing out 2 hours of epic Everglades adventure. I can honestly say this was a fantastic spot to explore and one that I really enjoyed. I am sure I will be back to experience more of this amazing national park, but until then at least I got a good taste to wet my appetite. If you have suggestions for what to do in the Everglades I would love to hear them in the comments.

As one of the most amazing single day road trips in the United States, the drive from Miami / Fort Lauderdale to Key West is a fantastic adventure. This is especially due to the fact that this road trip includes almost 100 miles of driving that is pretty much completely over the ocean. The road itself hops from key to key and the closer you get to Key West the better the views get. I recommend planning at least a half day for this trip if not longer and since I recently took the trip myself, here is what I recommend you see on the way down

Details

• 165 miles
• Drive time without stops is around 3.5 hours

Robert is Here  (15 minutes)

Even before you get to the keys portion of the drive you should stop at this awesome old fruit stand that has been a staple of the area for half a century. Don’t let the name fool you, this spot is fantastic and the key lime milkshakes are to die for. They are currently renovating though so be sure to check if they are open before you go.

Massive Lobster at The Rain Barrel (10 minutes)

In between Robert is Here and this stop is the town of Key Largo. I left it off this list as you really should make it a destination in and of itself as it is filled with amazing aquatic adventures and fun eateries. So next on this list is the massive lobster statue located in the Rain Barrel Village in the town of Islamorada. There isn’t much to say about this other than that you really need a photo next to a humongous lobster for your vacation photo album

World Wide Sportsman (15-30 minutes)

Next on the list is a stop that every outdoorsman will droll over. The World Wide Sportsman store in Islamorada has literally everything you could need for your fishing adventure. The store is two stories, has a massive parking lot and includes a full boat right in the middle. Even if you aren’t a fisherman you will still enjoy walking around this fun spot.

Morada’s Beach Cafe (45 minutes)

If you are hungry after visiting Sportsmans then just walk across the parking lot and into Moradas Beach Cafe. This restaurant has tables right on the sand and is a beautiful and secluded spot for a meal. Sure the average ticket price is pretty expensive, but it is not often you can sit right on the sand and look out over the water as you indulge in ridiculously good fish tacos.

Tarpon Hand Feeding at Robbies

If you only do one spot on this entire drive then make it feeding the tarpon fish at Robbies. Its $1 a person to enter the dock and $3 for a bucket of fish. What happens next is something you have to experience yourself, but basically you can hold the fish over the water and have the massive tarpons come out of the water and grab the fish you are dangling, here is a video to show you what I am talking about.

This spot also has a lot of little shops and other things that you can explore as well.

Sparky’s Landing

If you passed Morada’s then here is the second of the three food spots I recommend. Sparky’s Landing feels like one of those local joints you stumbled on that no one really knows about. Of course this is not true as it is a very popular location, but the vibe still fits. The small dock restaurant has seating that looks over the water and incredibly fresh fish. It’s a more casual spot then Morada’s but the fish tacos are great here as well.

Keys Fishery for a Lobster Reuben

Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. This famous delicacy at Key’s Fishery is a reuben sandwich but with lobster instead of corned beef. It has mayo, sauerkraut and two good slices of bread with an ample helping of lobster in between. I went out of my way to try this and I can honestly say it was worth it. The sandwich was around $16 but I shared it with my wife and got sweet potato fries with marshmallow sauce (also great) on the side.

7 Mile Bridge (15 minutes)

The 7 mile bridge is the most popular spot on this entire drive and for good reason, it literally is what it says, a bridge that spans over 7 miles across the water. Right before you get on the bridge though look for a small turnout on the right and take it. From here you can walk on the old railroad bridge and take pictures of the 7 mile bridge as well. You can actually walk on the old bridge all the way out to the historic Pigeon Key but it is about a 2 mile walk. This bridge is one of my favorite photography spots.

Keys Deer

After driving over the 7 Mile Bridge you will start to see signs for deer crossing and I was initially surprised as to why there would be deer out here. Apparently, the Keys Deer are one of the smallest deer species there are and they live out on this particular key. I even saw a few as I was driving around, so make sure to go slow, especially at night.

Old Railroad Bridge (15 minutes)

After driving past the state park you will see the old railroad bridge in the distance, complete with its multiple missing pieces. There is a turn out on the left, right after you cross the bridge, from which you can walk down to a great viewpoint for the old structure. I love old bridges though so this might not be up everyone’s alley.

No Name Pub (30 minutes)

If you are anything like me then you are probably tired after this full day of exploring, I do have one more tip for you before you make it to Key West though. Only a few keys from your destination you will be close to a fantastic little bar and pizza place called No Name Pub. This bar is located right on No Name Key and has a slogan stating simple “you found it”  When you enter the bar you will notice that literally wall to ceiling and across the ceiling itself is nothing but dollar bills, there is pretty much no spots without them.

It is a crazy atmosphere and they will even give you a bucket of pens and a stapler to get you coloring your own dollar and adding it to their collection while you wait. It’s a fun little spot and a good end to a full day of exploring.

So there you have it, my massive list of suggestions for what to do on the drive from Miami / Fort Lauderdale to Key West. If you have other suggestions then leave them in the comments or check out my guide for what to do in Key West here.