My Honest Travel Review About Solo Trips to Florida and the Keys

As I mentioned in my post, The Troubles of a Solo Traveler in Islamorada: A Fiasco at Sunset, I decided to go to Homestead, Florida, since there were two National Parks within 30 minutes from there, and it was close to the Florida Keys. This post will give you more background on my trip and my travel review of Homestead, the Keys, and South Beach/ Miami.

Homestead, Florida: My Home Base

Homestead is in an excellent location for a home base to the National Parks or the Keys. When I looked at hotel prices (this was in Aug 2021), this area was cheaper to stay in than the Keys or Miami.

I stayed at the Courtyard Miami Homestead, which had a bar, restaurant, and pool and was close to everything, like a Publix and Starbucks.

The "big" attractions in Homestead are Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, and Coral Castle, which I recommend going to. 

Coral Castle is one of the most enchanting places I have toured since it has a captivating back story.

Edward Leedskalnin, the builder of Coral Castle, was born in Riga, Latvia. When he was 26 years old, he became engaged to marry his one true love, Agnes Scuffs. Agnes was ten years younger than Ed, and he affectionately referred to her as his "Sweet Sixteen." Agnes canceled the wedding just one day before the ceremony.

Ed used his heartbreak to create a monument to his lost love, which was initially called Rock Gate Park. He single-handedly built the Coral Castle with no outside assistance or large machinery, carving and sculpting over 1,100 tons of coral rock.

His is a sad but remarkable story. It's always interesting to see what people do after heartbreak. Hell, I road-tripped and camped solo, and I thought it was badass, but Ed took badass to a different level! Or maybe it's totally crazy that he did this.

What are your thoughts?

Another place I went to was Miami Brewing which isn’t near anything except the winery next door. You walk in, and it's an immense warehouse building that acts as a taproom with pool tables and other games. You can also sit outside and enjoy the palm trees. 

FUN FACT: This was one of the first places I started to write my blog!

The last thing I did was try authentic Cuban food, so I was told to go to Casavana Cuban Cuisine—which was delicious. They give you a lot of food which was great since I could eat the leftovers in my hotel room. Also, this was across the street from my hotel room and near Publix, which I had no idea was a food store until my friend Rachel told me to go there to get food for the week!

The Florida Keys and Sunset Chasing!

 The Keys were by far my favorite thing about Florida. I loved how the people down there were so laid back, friendly, and welcoming. They just chilled and wanted to have fun. The traffic wasn't nearly as bad here (or maybe I was lucky). Going places in the Keys was not hard.

 The three places I went to the most or visited were Key West, Islamorada, and Key Largo. 

Key West

I flew into Miami early on a Saturday morning and road-tripped to Key West. My first stop was the Hemingway House. If you want to do the tour, you must use cash; they will not accept cards.

The house was unique because of the décor, the history, and the 60-plus cats living on the property!  The first cat, named Snow White, was given to Ernest Hemingway by a ship’s captain. Since Key West is a small island, there is a good possibility that the cats on the property steamed the original cat. What makes these cats so special is they have six toes.

Now, you are probably wondering if these cats are taken care of. And they are!  Veterinarians perform routine procedures such as ear mite treatment, flea spraying, and worming here at the museum. They also administer annual vaccinations and performs routine animal health maintenance.

So if you are a cat person, like me, you would love stopping here. If you are allergic to cats, I would then recommend skipping!

Next door was a restaurant called Moondog. I was crazy to sit outside since it was hotter than hell, but I wanted to enjoy the homes nearby and take in the scenery. They had great food, drinks, and fun vibes.

After lunch, I went to the Southernmost Point Buoy to get that famous picture. But I was disappointed in this area because it was filled with trash like beer bottles, water bottles, newspapers, you name it.

I got really pissed and started picking up litter while waiting in the queue to take my picture. Some people were happy I was cleaning, and others thought I was crazy.

Next was Duval Street. I knew I couldn't partake in the partying scene since I still had to drive back to Homestead that night. So instead, I enjoyed walking around watching people start to get drunk, and I had my Key Lime Pie. I would love to come back here to enjoy Key West for a night or two.

Islamorada

For years in the metro stations in DC, I have seen pictures of Islamorada. Sunsetting making pretty pink and purple colors shaping the outline of palm trees. Years later, I was excited to check out this Key. I went for my first sunset in Florida after leaving Key West since it was a good midpoint to take a break from driving. I had dinner twice at Lorelei, and this is the place where I had my sunset fiasco. 

I also went here to do the Clearly Unique Charters snorkeling tour, which was my favorite thing! This is also where I saw large fish and nurse sharks at the doc. If you want a good lunch before going on your tour, I recommend Wahoo's Seafood Bar and Grill Restaurant.

 Key Largo

I spent many nights in Key Largo since it was only 30 minutes from Homestead. The restaurant I went to was Jimmy John's Big Chill. This was my FAVORITE place to eat on my whole trip. It was on the water, had fantastic sunset views, had the best Mahi Mahi tacos, yummy drinks, and live music, and saw a nurse shark on the dock! I highly recommend this place!

 South Beach/Miami

After my week in Homestead and the Keys, I wanted to experience Miami or South Beach since everyone loves those two places. I got a hostel in South Beach Called Freehand Miami. I have wanted to check this place out for years—ever since I stayed at Freehand Chicago.

This is where I will probably lose some people (please don't leave):

I hated South Beach.

The only things I like are Pubbelly Sushi, a place my friend Rachel recommended, and the beach. But even those two things probably won't bring me back there again. Well, the sushi, maybe.

I knew going in that parking and traffic would be an issue, but this was a WHOLE different level of the problem. I wanted to explore more of South Beach and pop into Miami, but once I parked, I stayed put because the parking was that terrible.

My hostel didn't have parking, so I had to park at the lot across the street. That doesn't sound bad, right? Wrong. I had to feed the meter every 4 hours, which meant I needed to set alarms in the middle of the night to pay for parking.

 My hostel was great; it had awesome vibes and fantastic food, drinks, and a pool, but it was next to all this construction, and I kept hearing ambulances and people fighting outside all night. 

But the beach was only 3 blocks from my hostel, which was great. And they had cool, colorful lifeguard stands. 

Honestly, that one night was plenty for me. I do not get the appeal of this area. Yes, I know it's great for nightlife, and I'm sure if I had explored more of the area, I would have enjoyed it more, but that parking fiasco left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Overall, I loved the Keys, and I hope to go back there soon to get my diving cert, but the Miami/South Beach area … I am okay with not hanging out there again.