We decided to visit the Florida Keys as Isla Bella Beach Resort had recently opened (a week before our visit) and it did offer something completely different than what was previously available in the area. But again, it could have been so much nicer (it had cutlery, but plastic glasses). We did not go all the way down to Key West on this trip, but we managed to stop at Lazy Days in Islamorada for a first ‘island lunch’, which was a bit on the casual side, but came with proper “peel and eat shrimp”, so that has my vote. But we definitely made the most of our stay. We saw beautiful scenery, but we couldn’t help but notice how ran down some of these towns were. I had been to Key Largo 10 years before but never anywhere further afield.Īs we left the US mainland, the impression we got was that we went back 30 something years – which absolutely has it charm. The islands are all connected by the same road – so there is no need to use ferries or anything.įrom my understanding, there are 4 “ main Key areas“: Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and Key West.
How to get to the Florida Keysįrom the mainland (Miami, to be precise), you get on US-1 and make your way towards the Florida Keys. So after a few days in Miami, we drove the 2 and a bit hours down to the Florida Keys. A recent hotel opening kind of changed all that. I had delayed this trip for 39 years almost for a reason: there really wasn’t ‘a place to stay’ that ticked all the boxes (or I hadn’t come across it). Having returned to Florida the previous year and loved the experience (in Miami, Naples and Sarasota), I thought it was time to go to a very obvious place: the Florida Keys. Exploring Isla Bella Beach Resort in Marathon Florida – our first visit to the Florida Keys