Everglades & Biscayne National Park and Key West, FL

November 16th – 20th, 2019

Everglades and Biscayne are two of the more unique national parks in the U.S. Everglades is home to one of the largest wetlands in the world. To the average visitor, it looks like nothing but a lot of water and grass, honestly not as awe-inspiring as other parks. But the beauty of wetlands lies in the rich biodiversity it supports. My favorite activity here was watching and learning about birds here with the rangers. Biscayne National Park is unique in that it’s 95% water. You can only really appreciate it by jumping in and learning about all the cool fishies and coral reefs that inhabit these waters.

We combined our trip to these two national parks with a visit to the Florida Keys, a string of islands at the southernmost point of Florida. Most of our time there was spent in Key West, the most popular island city of the Keys. It had the vibe of being a laid back, vacation town for more mature folks looking to relax, instead of that spring break party crowd.

Check out below for our 5 day itinerary of these two national parks combined with Key West!

Day 1 – Saturday

12:15-12:45pm – J28 Sandwich Bar for lunch 

Peruvian sandwiches. I was blown away by how good a sandwich could be, especially given how unassuming the place is. The star of the show is the bread they make in house.

http://www.j28sandwichbar.com/

1:45pm arrive (2:20-3:00p actual tour) – Coopertown Original Airboat Tour

The airboat tour is a boat that seats maybe 20 people and rides over 9 miles of the Everglades. Our tour lasted 40mins and cost $20/adult (+$3 park entrance fee if you don’t have a pass already. This $3 can be applied to buying a pass later). Buying online costs the same as buying in person, and neither lets you reserve time slots. You just show up. When I called in, they said they leave every hour on the hour, as long as you’ve watched a video first. But neither did we watch a video nor did the boat leave on the hour, so they’ve a real lax operation going on here.

The experience was nothing spectacular. There’s not much extra you see by being in the water that you can’t see on land. Our guide stopped to point out a few alligators in the water. The engine is too loud to hear anything when the boat is moving. So whenever the boat stopped, our guide took the opportunity to throw in a few random facts. Otherwise, it was just riding through the tall sawgrass, which admittedly can be enjoyable in itself. 

While it wasn’t anything special, you probably can’t come to the everglades without doing an airboat tour. That’s just a thing you’re supposed to do, so go and check it off your list. Other than the tour, they let you take a picture holding a baby alligator and there’s an animal show that we caught the end of, got to touch a snake but didn’t care to stay for the next showing. 

http://coopertownairboats.com/package/airboat

3:20pm – Shark Valley Visitor Center

This visitor center has educational displays, a video about the park, and a gift shop. Hours are 9am-5pm.

https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/svdirections.htm

4:00-5:45pm – Shark Valley Tram Tour + Shark Valley Observation Tower

The Shark Valley tram tour picks you up from the visitor center and takes you through the Shark Valley Loop Road. A tour guide introduces the park and wildlife living there. The tour lasts almost two hours, and is free, but they accept tips.

Along the way, we saw many different birds. Our guide was knowledgeable but you can tell he’s been doing this for too long lol. At the end of one way, you get 20 minutes to check out the Shark Valley Observation Tower and see a nice view of the surrounding area. It’s just a short walk up a winding ramp to the top, but since the land is flat, you can see very far. I liked the tour, very low effort, educational, cost-efficient, and you see a lot of birds!

My tip would be to sit in the front, because the tram is 3 cars long, and I noticed once the driver spotted something, she immediately stopped, which I don’t think gives the people in the back car a good view. Alternatively, you can also bike the Shark Valley Loop Road.

https://www.sharkvalleytramtours.com/calendar/

6:45-7:45pm – Mario’s for dinner

Cuban food. I think it was decent, nothing special.

7:45-8:00pm – Walmart

Buy some water.

8:00-9:00pm – Sit in our car to deal with airbnb cancelling on us on the night of

Just a quick rant. Don’t mind me. We tried contacting our airbnb host throughout the day to receive check-in instructions, no response. Our airbnb host then cancelled on us during dinner, for this very night we were supposed to stay. In the middle of dinner, airbnb customer support contacted Victor to say don’t worry, they’ll reprimand the host. To which he has to say, we don’t care what you do with the host, we just need a place to stay for the night. We spend the next hour in our car on various phone calls to explain why we feel we deserve a refund, and why the new airbnb they found isn’t good enough if we have to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room with two other parties in two other rooms already, and why we shouldn’t have to pay the difference in cost compared to the original airbnb when this isn’t our fault. After an hour, the best we can get them to agree to is cover 50% of the extra we’d have to pay for a $200+ last minute booking at a motel, where I had to kill a spider that night. Airbnb, what the hell?

Day 2 – Sunday

7:45-11:15am – Snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

We snorkeled with the company Island Ventures. They do two half day tours a day for $50/person. It takes 45min to get to/from the reefs so the rest of the 3.5-4hrs is for snorkeling. Equipment is included. Note the morning tour is actually 8:30-noon but we arrived early and set out at 8:15.

We got a bit unlucky with weather that day. It was chilly that morning and the calmest spots to snorkel still had waves of 1 ft, occasionally 2 ft high. Most of us on the boat, myself included didn’t enjoy the waves so our boat headed back a little early. I learned that waters are calm in the summer and a lot choppier in the winter, good thing to know when it comes to snorkeling. He did say winter came earlier this year, and those conditions would be considered a calm day for the winter, but a rough day for the summer. Weather aside, the water visibility was great and we saw a few types of fish. The ones we were able to identify were the barracuda, a long skinny fish, and parrotfish, a colorful one. 

https://www.islandventure.com/snorkel-trips-john-pennekamp-coral-reef/

11:45am-12:15pm – The Fish House for lunch

Lots of decent seafood here. Loved the festive, marine-themed atmosphere, felt so fitting of Florida. First time we heard about Stone Crab claws but we didn’t get any because it was super expensive. We later learned they really are just that expensive plus they mainly come from Florida, oh well.

1:15-1:45pm – Robbie’s for tarpon feeding

Tarpon are huge fish that can grow up to 8ft in length. Here at Robbie’s, you can buy a bucket of fish for $4 to feed the tarpon by the docks behind the restaurant. Just watch out for the pelicans. They are aggressive, will creep up on you and will go for your buckets if you aren’t watching. When you dangle the small fish above the water, these tarpons actually leap out to eat them out of your hand. It’s a lot of fun but also startling. So startling. So much so that you should make sure not to fling your fish everywhere when the tarpon jump out, the way Victor threw his onto the overhead cover shading the restaurant diners. He just looked up and didn’t know where his fish went. I think some girl got it on camera. He’s probably going to end up on some video on the internet.

https://www.robbies.com/tarpon.htm

4:00pm – check in to Casa Marina Key West hotel

It is said that it’s very hard to find parking in Key West. Maybe because it was a Sunday evening, but we found convenient street-side parking! Otherwise it would’ve been $35 to valet park.

http://www.casamarinaresort.com/

4:25-4:45pm- Southernmost Point of the Continental U.S.

A tapered cylinder structure sits at this location to mark the southernmost point in the continental U.S. Although it is not exactly the southernmost point, the structure is placed here so us tourists could easily access it, I’m assuming.

There was a small line to take pictures with it. We waited approximately 20min.

5:05pm – Mike Marker 0 Sign

This sign marks the end of US Route 1, which starts all the way up at the Canadian border in Maine and runs down to the bottom of the U.S. here in Key West, to this Mile Marker 0 sign 2,369 miles later. This and the southernmost point structure are the two things you must take a picture with, as a tourist in Key West.

5:15-6:00pm – Sunset at Mallory Square

There was a beautiful sunset here that day.. it sets right over the water. Lots of people in the square. Multiple street performers, they seemed like professionals, including one man who said he turned seventy-something recently. And a dude who sat holding two tree branches, peek-a-boo scaring people who walked by. He got me too lol. And it’s not like he was taking tips or anything. I think he was just there for the fun of it, what a life. Some souvenir shops in the area, of course.

https://www.mallorysquare.com/

6:00-7:15pm – Duval St.

Key West is a party town for generally more mature folks. The goal is to come vacation in good weather, maybe have a few drinks outside, but no one’s here to get trashed. With that picture in mind, Duval St. is where you do this at. It’s got restaurants, bars, and some shopping.

7:15pm – B.O.’s Fish Wagon for some dinner

Kind of a big outdoor shack, tried the cracked conch sandwich, nice hot and crispy.

7:45pm – Conch Republic Seafood Company for more dinner

Big restaurant, thought the food was more of a miss here.

8:15pm – Key Lime Pie Bakery

Said to be one of the best key lime pies. Soo sour. It was alright, I’m just not much of a key lime pie person.

9-9:45pm – Better Than Sex for dessert

A dessert restaurant with an explicit theme, should get reservations if you intend to go. They serve desserts and drinks and every item on the menu drips with double entendres. They double downed on the theme so hard it felt almost cheesy, but it’s a unique concept and amusing experience.

https://www.betterthansexdesserts.com/

Day 3 – Monday

11:00am-12:40pm – Fort Zachary Taylor

This fort has the most original civil war relics of all forts. We took the 11am ranger led tour. The ranger was a fun character, taught us a lot about cannons, cannons that could fire a range of 17mi, that could skip cannonballs on water to sink ships, and he sometimes went on tangents but we never minded because his stories were always funny, like how a grandpa would act. Learned a lot of neat history stuff. Taking tours makes a big difference. Without the information, the fort is just an old fort, and it would’ve been considerably less interesting.

Since they’re a state park, the entrance fee is not covered by the national park pass. It’s $2.50 per pedestrian. Or if you drive in, $6 per vehicle, plus $.50/person. The parking lot has plenty of space.

https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-zachary-taylor-historic-state-park

12:45-1:45pm Blue Heaven

They are most popular for their brunch, and a place you go for the nice atmosphere. Kind of feels like Hawaii. Most people sit outside, and there’s live singer/guitarists playing on stage.

https://blueheavenkw.com/

2:00-2:30pm – Key West Lighthouse

It’s a lighthouse with a small museum, but it’s very much inland. Entrance fee is $12 for adults. The sign by the ticket entrance said it all. Fact #6 is my favorite.

https://www.kwahs.org/museums/lighthouse-keepers-quarters/visit

3:45-6:00pm – Bahia Honda State Park for the beach

This beach was axed from the original itinerary but with extra time, we stopped for a visit. A walk along the beach is so pleasant here. The sand was silky smooth and water a nice temperature. We ended up staying for sunset. Entrance here was $9 for two people.

https://bahiahondapark.com

7:45-8:30pm – Yardie Spice for dinner

A Jamaican/Haitian mom and pop restaurant. Food-wise, this was one of my favorites during the trip. It’s actually #10 on Yelp’s 2019 best restaurants in the U.S. list. Driving all the way from Key West, we estimated we’d only get in 10min before closing at 8pm, so we called in asking if that’d be okay. The friendly owner said no problem, and we made it in!

Day 4 – Tuesday

8:40-9:45am – Knaus Berry Farm

They’re a farm, but they’re also popular for their baked goods and shakes. This is a seasonal operation that is open from November to April. Why’d we spend so much time here? The line is huge for baked goods. Milkshakes are much faster. The coconut milkshake was yummy.

http://www.knausberryfarm.com/

10:25am – Royal Palm Visitor Center

We made a stop here first but found out the Anhinga Trail starts another 4mi away, so drove directly there.

10:30am-12:20pm Anhinga Trail (0.4mi)

Take the 1hr ranger-led tour of the Anhinga Trail, named after the Anhinga birds who nest in this area. Monogamous birds, every year they migrate back here to look for their mate- aww! They’re a weird bird- great divers who spear fish out of the water, can’t float but in exchange, they can hold their breath underwater for 3 min. To dive better, they have no oil on their feathers, so they have to stand with their wings spread open to dry in the sun. They’re not good at anything else though- walking, landing, or even eating the fish, all-around ungraceful birds otherwise.

It was a great day for spotting animals on this trail; for a while we saw something every 10ft but the ranger said it’s usually not this packed. These animals included Anhingas, green herons, alligators, fish, and a turtle. It’s a short easy trail, special because of the wildlife, but I highly recommend doing it with a ranger guide so you can learn all these fun facts about the animals like the ones I learned above. Our tour took an extra 15min probably because of all the extra wildlife we saw that day. We then unintentionally spent another 45min bird-watching because this bird kept looking like it was about to do a bad-ass dive but every time it looked ready and we gave it another 5min it just kept standing there. Then there was another bird who did keep going underwater but every time it popped back up it never had anything in its beak. What a rough life.

https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/anhinga-trail.htm1:30-1:45p Pa-hay-okee Trail (0.2mi)

2:00-2:30pm – Mahogany Hammock Trail (0.4mi)

All trails in the Everglades are super short, and that includes the Pa-hay-okee and Hammock trails. They are both less than a half mile loops past some typical Everglades landscape, the Pa-hay-okee with more open areas and the Hammock Trail with more trees. Neither were too memorable nor had any wildlife when we went.

3:00pm Flamingo Visitor Center

When we visited, this visitor center was in a temporary portable-like structure, as they’re rebuilding the permanent visitor center after some hurricane destruction. There wasn’t much to see in here but there are rangers to answer questions.

https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/flamdirections.htm

3:40-4:40pm Flamingo Marina to see manatees and kayak

There is a boat docking area 5 minutes away from the visitor center by walking. It is common to see manatees here who poke their heads up occasionally for air and there were several when we stopped by. Kayaks can also be rented from this location. The boyfriend wanted to kayak among the manatees, even though they were totally close enough to us already, so we rented a kayak to literally stay in that boating area, never reaching more than like 30ft away from the boating ramp. A manatee did swim up right next to our kayak. But he admits it’s one of the more these-people-have-too-much-money things he’s done. FYI, if you’re a normal person, you could’ve done what you’re supposed to do with the kayak, i.e. take it down the river. It cost us something like $25 (or $29?) for a tandem kayak for 2hrs.

5:00-5:40pm – Paurotis Pond for sunset

We asked a ranger for a good sunset point but she said they’re aren’t any go to spots. Her favorite one would be Paurotis Pond, not because you can see a spectacular sunset but because there are lots of birds flying over this pond to find their spot for the night. We went and she was right; we saw birds every few minutes. As well as the occasional fish jumping out of the water, no idea why, as a surprise bonus. There’s only one break in the trees to see this pond but the area was almost empty, only one other car shared the space with us.

7:00-8:00pm – Chefs on the Run Assorted Cuisine for dinner

Puerto Rican food, but also known for their burgers. So assorted cuisine is an accurate description.

https://www.chefsontheruninhomestead.com/

Day 5 – Wednesday

8:00am – Robert Is Here Fruit Stand

A lady the other day saw us with strawberries from Knaus, and she was like oh is that from Robert’s Fruit Stand? We were like no. “Oh is it from [this] or [that] place then?” Were were still like no. It made Victor feel like we were missing out, so the next day, we made a stop at Robert’s. The mango milkshake- great. Papayas and dragonfruit are grown on the farm, so we got those. Papaya was great. The $18(!) red dragonfruit was good in its core, but otherwise tasteless.

https://www.robertishere.com/

8:45am – Snorkeling in Biscayne National Park

95% of Biscayne National Park is underwater, so is must be explored via snorkeling or diving. Our snorkeling trip started at Dante Fascell Visitor Center. A ranger began with a 10min introduction about the park and some of the fish we might see. Fun fact? The Bluehead wrasse fish can change genders as needed. The alpha male (there’s only 1) looks different from the other males. If it dies, another male changes its appearance to become the new alpha male. If all the males are dead, a female turns male in order to become the alpha male. What.

We then took a boat ride to Anniversary Reef, where we snorkeled for an hour. There was more to see here compared to our first snorkel trip. The waves were about the same, slightly calmer, but I grabbed a noodle this time so I felt safer heh.

https://www.biscaynenationalparkinstitute.org/snorkeling/

1:30pm – Pollo de Oro for lunch

It’s a low-key Peruvian place. We got a half Rotisserie chicken which comes with two sides, a good amount of food for two.

After lunch, it was off to the airport to go home!