I have been to the Florida Keys twice now, and this time, I really made an effort to explore more than I did on my first trip. Some of the places below were last-minute decisions, thanks to a tropical depression, but nevertheless, these places should be on your must-do list throughout the Keys.

My two visits to Key West were both filled with delightful discoveries, but this time was particularly special. I enjoyed spending a few days indulging in the local cuisine and beverages, all while a tropical depression raged outside. Here are the charming spots that became my favorites during this unique experience.

If you have already read my posts Top 5 Fun Things to Do in the Florida Keys and Top 6 Places to Eat and Drink in Key West, you know that I spent much of my time indoors because of the tropical depression. I guess Mother Nature was giving me a chance to stumble upon this special coffee place, Doing Work.

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.

I had three main goals on this trip to Florida, besides not catching Covid, and they were:

Biscayne National Park

Everglades National Park

Snorkeling (Praying I would see a shark!)

And I achieved all my goals! 

In this post, I will discuss all my snorkeling trips, where I went, how much I paid then, and if it was worth it. I will also discuss the mishaps, my combined love and fear of snorkeling, and the importance of taking care of the ocean…..

After work one afternoon, I headed to the preserve, which was about an hour away. The drive was pretty straightforward until I saw I was driving straight into a massive thunderstorm. I debated just turning around but stuck it out and finally made it to the preserve.

Once I got to the visitor center, I saw it was closed, and they had modified hours because of Covid. Outside the Big Cypress visitor center, though, is a boardwalk where you can walk and see alligators. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a family with their cat on a leash. I didn’t think too much about this situation; I ran into them later. While walking the boardwalk, I saw more alligators than at the Everglades; there were like ten or so just hanging out on the grass and in the water below the boardwalk…..

This blog post will only talk about Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center.

But I also debated whether I wanted to drive up to Shark Valley. It was about an hour or so from Homestead, Fl. Shark Valley has a 15-mile loop where you can bike or go on a tram ride to the Observation Tower. The tower is the halfway point on this loop, where you can get out and climb up the 45-foot observation deck and experience panoramic views of the Everglades.

This sounded cool, but in the interest of time, I decided to go to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, the park's headquarters. Once I arrived, I went straight to the visitors center to speak to my ranger friends (if you are new here, one thing I love is talking to the rangers!).