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Events
Underwater Music Festival
Explore part of the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef Saturday, July 7, off the Florida Keys -- while rocking to a unique sub-sea concert dedicated to reef protection. It’s the annual Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, and it’s unlike any other dive or snorkel experience on the planet. The “Only in the Keys” adventure takes place each year at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary about 6 miles south of Big Pine Key. Broadcast underwater by a Keys radio station, the music enhances the underwater experience for divers discovering the Keys’ fantastic realm of tropical fish, coral formations and other marine life. Some participants wear costumes, portraying everything from mermaids to rock stars, and a few even pretend to play underwater instruments sculpted by a Florida Keys artist. It’s all designed to encourage preservation of the Keys’ rich coral reef ecosystem.
Things to do
Must-Do List
"how to do florida" host Chad Crawford takes you on a quick tour of the things to see and do in Islamorada in the Florida Keys.
Things To Do
Fishing
Want to hunt the skittish gray ghost of the flats, the bonefish? Come to the Keys. Feel like battling a reel-emptying blue marlin? Come to the Keys. Want to sit in a beach chair, sipping a cold cocktail while watching your bobber dance in the current? Come to the Keys. The tropical weather, nearby Gulf Stream and 120-mile-long arc of islands that make up the Florida Keys create one of the world’s best fishing environments. Off the Keys’ “outer” curve lies the Atlantic Ocean. Warm and shallow near shore, the ocean reaches depths of more than 600 feet just 11 miles offshore in the Upper Keys. Near Key West, 600-foot depths are just over five miles from shore. Travel another 12 to 15 miles south, and depths begin to approach 2,000 feet. Keys deep-sea fishing — ideally with a first-class local charter captain — means targeting some of the world’s greatest sportfish: sailfish, swordfish and marlin.
Things to do
The Village of Islands
Our Village of Islands is situated between the saltwater wilderness of Everglades National Park in one direction and North America's only coral barrier reef and the deep blue waters of the Florida Straits in the other. Islamorada is comprised of six islands including Plantation Key, Windley Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Lower Matecumbe Key and the offshore islands of Indian Key and Lignumvitae Key. This might be the only place on Earth where it is possible to catch a sailfish in the morning, and then venture into the backcountry in pursuit of bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook and redfish in just inches of water.
Places to stay
Dry Tortugas - Remote Island Camping in the Keys
Few visitors to Key West take the ferry 70 miles to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Even fewer camp under the stars next to historic Fort Jefferson. Those who do are rewarded with world-class snorkeling, kayaking, wildlife watching and an island almost all to themselves.
Places to stay
Key Largo to Key West - Best of the Keys
Host Chad Crawford takes you from Key Largo thru Key West to show you the best of the Florida Keys — and why the Conch Republic has a rhythm all its own. See marine life up close and personal at Captain Slate's Atlantis Dive Center in Key Largo, build your fly fishing skills, go lobstering and dive on a shipwreck — all within the span of a little over a hundred mile
Places to stay
The Ultimate Road Trip
Get away with Chad Crawford as he makes his way through the beauty of the Florida Keys. Each key has something unique to offer and Chad shows you the best when he shows you how to Do the Florida Keys. And Chef Justin Timineri brings you a new recipe for an old Keys favorite when he mixes up a Florida Spiny Lobster Stir-Fry.
Road Trips
Florida Keys
Experience the Florida Keys in 60 Seconds.
Road Trips
Droneflight
Enjoy this beautiful drone flight over The Keys.
Road Trips
Adventures in the Keys
Throughout the Florida Keys, visitors can discover captivating adventures that can’t be enjoyed anywhere except in the subtropical island chain — like “meeting” tiny indigenous Key deer, exploring the world’s first underwater park, or savoring the spectacle at Key West’s nightly Sunset Celebration. They can even attend a musical festival beneath the sea!
Events
Hemingway Days
Ernest Hemingway fans celebrate the late author’s literary accomplishments and colorful Key West lifestyle each July. The annual Hemingway Days festivities salute the legacy of the Nobel Prize winner who lived and wrote on the island for most of the 1930s. Events include the famed Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest, prose and poetry readings, the tongue-in-cheek “Running of the Bulls,” symposium presentations and a film evening, a look-alike “party” on Hemingway’s July 21 birthday, running and paddleboarding challenges, a lively street fair and a high-stakes three-day marlin tournament recalling his passion for Florida Keys angling.
Things To Do
Turtle Hospital
Meet “patients” at a pioneering sea turtle hospital. Encounter rescued sea turtles during a behind-the-scenes tour of the planet’s first licensed veterinary hospital specializing in these fascinating creatures. A dedicated team at Marathon’s Turtle Hospital rescues, rehabilitates and nurtures sick and injured turtles and, whenever possible, releases them back into the ocean. Since it opened over 30 years ago, the hospital has treated and rehabilitated nearly 2,000 injured sea turtles and assisted scores of hatchlings gone astray after leaving their nests. Occasionally it’s possible to witness a turtle release — a truly heartwarming experience.