Who doesn’t want to go to Key West and have a good time? The island is heaven for sun lovers and outdoor enthusiasts alike. If you’re considering making the trip, here are several outdoor activities you can look forward to.
Yoga On The Beach
Sites, like toursofkeywest.com, open up a world of opportunities which is nice if you’ve never been here. One of the most amazing things to do at Key West, for example, also happens to be something very simple: Yoga on the beach.
Don Bartone and Nancy Curran run a daily ocean-side yoga class. Most of these classes are done in Fort Zachary Taylor State Park on a beach that’s filled to the brim with locals.
There are three styles of yoga for you to choose from: Yoga For Everybody, Yoga Rhythms, and YinYoga.
Yoga For Everybody is more of a traditional yoga that’s suitable for all ages. Yoga Rhythms is a non-conventional yoga focusing on dancing and movement, and YinYoga is a slow-movement yoga concentrating on holds and poses for five minutes or longer.
When the sounds of the ocean and the soothing music hits your ears, you’ll wonder how you’ve managed to miss out on this your entire life. It’s only $18 to boot.
Grab A Bike and Ride
Renting a bike is a great way to get around the island, and it’s cheap too. The beach where the yoga happens is probably the most beautiful beach on the island, but it’s also a a great place to ride by. Key Lime Bike Tours will rent you a bike by the hour, day, or week, and offers $39 guided tours. The tour focuses a lot on the history of the Conch Republic.
Aside from the usual bike trails, you can ride almost everywhere. Some of the locals love biking through Truman Annex on the way to Ft. Zachary Taylor, but many people just ride around the streets. Watch out – there aren’t always bike paths or lanes. It’s a small island so space is at a premium. You have to share with vehicles and pedestrians on foot.
Visit The State Park
If you like parks, you’ll love Fort Zachary Taylor. Unbelievable – there’s a state park on the island. The fort is built in the mid-nineteenth century as a defense outpost against the Spanish. You can walk through it – it’s well-preserved. Tours are given daily. There’s also fishing, bike paths for you to ride if you’ve rented a bike for the day, and nature trails if you feel like walking. You can even go snorkeling.
Go Snorkeling
Speaking of snorkeling, there are plenty of places to do it. One of the most popular places is the Key West Shipwreck Snorkel and Wild Dolphin Encounter cruise. You get to play in the water with dolphins, swim along the boat, and snorkel over shipwrecks and coral reefs (be careful not to cut yourself).
Catch A Fish
Like fishing? There’s plenty to fish here. Rent equipment and buy bait at the Key West Bait and Tackle Shop in Old Town.
There are fishing tours where you can go all day, and even a night fishing tour. The galley is stocked and the crew will even clean your catch for you. And, if you don’t feel like cooking, there’s an option for that too.
Bring Your Own Fish To A Restaurant
One of the local tricks no one tells you about is bringing your own fish to a restaurant so they can cook it up for you. If you were lucky that day and caught a fish out on a tour, have the fishing crew clean it for you.
Then take it to a restaurant and have it served to you. Yeah, that’s a thing.
Key West is a very laid-back place and you’ll find a lot of stuff happens here that doesn’t happen almost anywhere else in the U.S. Example: The Hogfish Bar and Grill on a neighboring island (Stock Island) is a little difficult to find, but it’s worth the trouble to find it.
They charge $10.95 per lb to cook your fresh catch of the day and will serve it up to you with rice and veggies. It’s a fun alternative to the usual ordering process and you get the freshest fish possible.
The buffalo shrimp there are also amazing. Baja-style tacos and a happy hour every day puts this place over the top. Bonus: because it’s so hard to find, you’re not likely to see many tourists here.
Angela E. Howard is a travel consultant. She loves to write about her favorite destinations. Her posts can be found mainly on travel and tourist blog sites.
