Key West is the southernmost tip of Florida, but feels like the Caribbean with a laid back style all its own. There are so many activities here for families and couples. It’s also an easy days drive from a cruise port making it a perfect add-on to your cruise vacation. If you’re not doing a cruise; Miami is the closest major airport and rental cars abound.

You’ll have your choice of places to sleep here. Whether you prefer to to be lulled to sleep on your boat hotel, take drinks poolside at a resort, you prefer the ease of an Airbnb, or you’re parking your RV; there are endless options in Key West. Since we’re a military family I booked a townhome at a local Navy base that was mere minutes from downtown.

The first thing we did was take an old town trolley tour to get a lay of the land. These are always a wonderful way to get a high level overview of each town along with information on places you’d like to explore further. Since it’s a hop in/ off tour you can go explore then pick up right where you left off.

One of the things the kids wanted to stop for was one of the world famous dessert… key lime pie. This was a frozen chocolate covered slice on a stick.

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There are many places to find this treat within Key West, but for the best mile high merengue topped slice head over to Blue Heaven.

While you’re on the trolley make time to see Flagler’s Casa Marina hotel or the Harry S Truman Little White House. One of our favorite museums is the Mel Fisher maritime heritage museum. Here you can feel the weight of a bar of gold in your hands and explore the riches that were found in a shipwreck. While you’re here head outside to take a photo with a massive Banyan tree!

While you’re taking photos go a few blocks further to the cruise port and recreate the famous sailor kissing statue with your special someone.

Mallory square after dark is a must. The carnival like atmosphere in comfortable temperatures is fun for kids and adults alike.

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Here you can snap a photo with your kids favorite characters, take part in a juggling show, or do some souvenir shopping.

A don’t miss tourist spot is the Southernmost point buoy. Get there early, it’s always warm and there’s always a line. While waiting in line you may spy roadside vendors hawking coconut drinks. It’s a fun treat on a warm day and so unique for kids to try.

After a good nights sleep Mathers beach was calling our name. The name may not come to mind, but the famous crooked palm tree on the beach is famous.

After a few hours of sun soaked fun we showered up and went for an awesome seafood dinner followed by some Tarpon feeding.

For our last morning of the trip we spent the day trying something new to us. We rented stand up paddle boards and beach chairs and made a day of it at the base marina.

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The kids loved splashing in the water, strolling the beach and a break for burgers at lunch. Many applications of sunscreen later we headed home to grill a few steaks and get some sleep.

Since we live in Florida we simply opted to drive the length of Florida to get back home. There are several tourist attractions along the way including History of Diving Museum and the large key lobster.

One last meal at Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill in Key Largo was burgers for the kids and tuna nachos for me and the hubby.

All in all we had so much fun making family memories. Key West is a major tourist draw and best if planned well in advanced especially for the most popular times of the year including spring break, Christmas holidays and lobster season; August through March.