The Best Things To Do In Islamorada

When you think of the Florida Keys, a few things usually come to mind. Gorgeous turquoise waters, a Caribbean climate, margaritas, and dozens of tiny remote islands chained together by a long highway. All of these are enough to convince you to make that Oceanfront hotel booking and pack up.

You might even think of some of the major destinations in the keys, like the bookends of Key West or Key Largo. But what you don’t generally think of are all of the smaller local communities in between. Places like Islamorada – a village that consists of six island keys, scattered across the middle of the chain, if you choose a location that a flight is need it be sure to get your self a seat cover to have a clean travel.

Islamorada represents the quieter side of the Florida Keys vacation hub. The kind of place where Floridians go and look for beach rental properties and get away from northerners on their Florida getaways.

That’s not to say that it’s so quiet that it has nothing to offer. In fact, we think that in some ways Islamorada actually has more to offer than you’ll find elsewhere in the Keys. Let’s find out here our favorite things that we think you should do on your next trip.

Feed the Tarpon at Robbie’s of Islamorada

One of the first restaurants we visited in Islamorada was Robbie’s, a restaurant that also offers a variety of water activities (including jet skis, marlin fishing, and more) you just need to make sure to bring the right kind of equipment for this type of fishing, we’d suggest visiting https://www.raise.com/coupons/bass-pro-shops to get the best deals. One of their most popular offerings, though, is feeding the tarpon. For just under $10.00 per couple ($4.00 for a bucket of fish and $2.25 each for the entrance fee), you can walk onto a large dock with tarpon swimming nearby, waiting for you to toss them a fish from your bucket.

They’re truly spectacular – we always knew they were large fish, but seeing them up close and feeding them gave us a new sense of just how awe-striking they are. The biggest challenge? Keeping the pelicans from snagging the fish from your hand before you can toss them to the tarpon. The pelicans are smart little buggers and have figured out that if they camp out at the dock they are likely to score some fish throughout the day.

Eat at the local restaurants

After you finish feeding the tarpon, you can obviously enjoy a delicious lunch at Robbie’s as well. But, while Robbie’s is a spectacular place to start, it is far from the only local restaurant with a unique experience to offer. Learn Everything you need to know before you buy fish online to avoid mistakes for a special meal.

Not only will you find places to eat in all sorts of special settings, but you’ll find some of the best seafood you will ever eat (Islamorada is known as the Sport-Fishing Capital of the World where you can find the top reels for walleye fishing). Some of our highlight lunch and dinner venues are:

• Hog Heaven – a sports bar and grill that offers waterfront seating in their own cove.

• Wahoo’s Bar and Grill – a seafood grill located above a marina, featuring a wealth of fresh locally caught fish.
• Morada Bay Beach Café – one of the more intimate locations, offering delicious cuisine with seating on a candlelit beach.
• Lorelei Restaurant and Cabana Bar – a fantastic place to grab a drink, watch the sunset, enjoy some live entertainment.
• Islamorada Fish Company – A great spot to watch the sunset right on the water and watch the tarpon swim around in the restaurant’s inner cove.

• Sunset Grille and Raw Bar – if you make the trip down to nearby Marathon, you’ll find great seafood (including sushi), as well as an oceanfront pool and tiki bar.

When at the pool, accidents are unpredictable by nature. It’s impossible to make any activity completely hazard-free, but there are several things parents and caregivers can do to make their pools safer for kids and adults alike. Not only can kids injure themselves by falling on the pavement, according to local slip and fall lawyers, they can also slip and fall into the pool, resulting in a very serious drowning risk, especially in cases where the injured victim suffers a head injury, or in situations where the injury victim is not an experienced swimmer.

Florida Keys Brewing Co.

We also made a stop at the Florida Keys Brewing Co. (one of two breweries in the area) and were pleased with the variety of beers they had available on tap. The brewery seems to be located in an old beach house, and the backyard area is set up to be a relaxing spot to kick back and enjoy a cold one (a literal beer garden). If you are a wine lover then, you can forget your wine opener amazon, offers a substantive mechanical advantage over other types of wine bottle opener screws

And of course, the beers were delicious too – my favorite was the Spearfish Amber, while Katie preferred the Honey Bottom Blonde (sticking pretty much to our normal beer preferences). If you’re a brewery fan, we highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the area.

Dolphin Research Center

One of our favorite attractions that we visited was the Dolphin Research Center (DRC) (another activity that will take you down to nearby Marathon, FL). The dolphins that reside at the Dolphin Research Center are very interactive with the employed trainers as well as the public, and it was amazing to watch them perform tricks and communicate. The mission of the DRC is to promote the relationships between humans and marine animals through research and education, and that was evident from spending time in their facility. While we didn’t swim with the dolphins this time, that is an option as well if you’re looking to interact with them one-on-one. No matter what your preferences are, the Dolphin Research Center has something for you!

The Seven Mile Bridge

One of the most well-known features of the Florida Keys is US Highway 1 (aka the Overseas Highway) – the lone highway that winds its way from the mainland all the way down to Key West. And the crown jewel of US-1 is the world-famous Seven Mile Bridge, which is built over seven miles of open water from Marathon to Little Duck Key. While driving across it is not necessarily the most exhilarating experience you will ever have, it’s definitely a bucket list item that’s worth doing.

Things We Want to Do Next Time: Turtle Hospital and Long Key State Park

While we did get to take advantage of the many activities the Florida Keys have to offer, there are some things that we didn’t get a chance to do, and plan to do the next time we’re there. In Marathon, there’s a sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation center known as the Turtle Hospital that we’d like to visit. We’d also like to visit Long Key State Park to swim, try their kayak rentals, and check out some of the trails.

It’s pretty remarkable that we were able to fill out the week we spent in Islamorada with this much activity, and yet still have more that we’d like to do. Even still, while our week might have been action-packed, our time in Islamorada was nonetheless relaxing and rejuvenating given the slower pace of daily life in the area. There’s no doubt that our next trip to the Keys will be another fun-filled adventure!