Travel to the Florida Keys

Explore all the Florida Keys has to offer

I wrestle the big bull shark until my muscles are quivering with exhaustion. Just when I think I can't fight it another second, the line goes slack and I reel it to the side of the 16-foot boat.

Where nature is Key

I wrestle the big bull shark until my muscles are quivering with exhaustion. Just when I think I can't fight it another second, the line goes slack and I reel the shark to the side of the 16-foot boat.

Discovering Key West's quaint charms and tropical trends

Key West never sought to be different. But by birthright, it simply was: a remote village with a defiant attitude and free spirit that attracted privateers, pirates, entrepreneurs, smugglers, craftsmen, pioneers, poets and writers.

How to avoid tourist traps in Key West

I am relaxing on a tropical beach surrounded by palm tress, pinky white sand and surf the color of deep blue hydrangeas, all sparkled into pastel diamonds by the sun. But while arriving in Key West is like stepping into a picture postcard of old Florida, it's quickly apparent that the prices here are decidedly new millennium.

Diving right into Florida's Keys

The Florida Keys might not have the Great Barrier Reef, but the area does have a Pretty Great Reef - specifically, the world's third-longest barrier reef and North America's only living coral barrier reef. The 2,800-nautical-square-mile Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary encompasses all of the waters surrounding the archipelago, from south of Key Biscayne to 90 miles north of Cuba.

Key to Florida's underwater ecosystem

Florida Keys visitors now have a way to experience the area's underwater ecosystem without getting wet: the new Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center.

Florida Keys: Seven stops on 'The Animal Tour'

For some, the Keys are all about the wild nightlife of Key West. For my family, the highlight of a visit to the Keys has always been the wildlife. In fact, we christened our last visit to the Keys "The Animal Tour " because we organized our trip around a variety of encounters with creatures.

A linksman's tropical paradise at Key West Golf Club

"Changes in latitude; changes in attitude."

Found art in the Florida Keys

The road to the Upper Keys is paved with the blaze of poincianas. So far we have passed their painted red tops, pressed against the Turnpike's seam, along with nurseries and palm farms, houses shaped like barracks, canals and lakes, and the right-veering loop into Florida City. My sweetheart and I are on our way to Key Largo, Tavernier and Islamorada, three cayos, the Spanish word for "little islands," dividing the bay from the straights. We will not be doing what I've dubbed "fishy" things — snorkeling, diving, casting lines for snapper and grouper. We are looking for art.

Pirate museum in Key West a treasure trove of artifacts

Pat Croce's passion for pirates is written all over him, and now it is on display in Key West, too.

Count on striking scenery and savory seafood in Islamorada

It's Thursday evening around 8. My husband, Ronnie, and I are driving south from Fort Lauderdale for a five-day trip to Islamorada, our favorite spot in the Keys. As we pass Homestead and hit the Overseas Highway, Ronnie sticks his head out the window to check the reddish sky. "Oooh!" he says. "It's going to be a great day on the boat tomorrow!"

KEY WEST ACCOMMODATIONS

10 places to sleep for all budgets

Key West has 3,881 hotel rooms and 908 bed-and-breakfast guest rooms, according to the Florida Keys and Key West Tourism Council. Accommodations range from garden guest houses to Old South manses to same-sex quarters.