BigBendFishing.Net

Some of my friends and I are wanting to vacation down to the keys this winter. I was wondering if any of yall have ever stayed down there and if you could recommend a good place to stay as far as what key or area. We are going to book a house since there will be 8 of us on the trip. We are planning on hauling the boat down there so we can fish some and hopefully scuba dive for some lobster. We are planning on going the last weekend in Dec. and staying a full week so we would be spending new years down there.

You didn't give a whole lot of info. about your interests but there really isn't any bad keys to stay on. If you are wanting to party @ clubs, go to Key West. If you want to mostly fish and lobster go to Islamorada or Marathon area. I've never been in the winter but I go for mini season @ the end of July and we stay in Key Colony Beach. They have lots of rental houses on canals with dockage included. It is however not a party neighborhood. The cops are strict with local regs and will come visit you if you don't follow the rules. We always take the kids with us so partying isn't our thing when we are down there. There is a good local restaurant there (Sparky's) and Marathon has lots of fast food, Publix, K-mart, etc. Access to both the Bay side and Ocean side is easy and a bait & dive shop is right at the bridge @ Vaca Cut. Here's the Realtor I deal with: Barbara Mckee @ Florida Keys Vacation Rentals/Caldwell Banker (BMckee1468@aol.com). You can also check out http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/keys

DEMON wrote:You didn't give a whole lot of info. about your interests but there really isn't any bad keys to stay on. If you are wanting to party @ clubs, go to Key West. If you want to mostly fish and lobster go to Islamorada or Marathon area. I've never been in the winter but I go for mini season @ the end of July and we stay in Key Colony Beach. They have lots of rental houses on canals with dockage included. It is however not a party neighborhood. The cops are strict with local regs and will come visit you if you don't follow the rules. We always take the kids with us so partying isn't our thing when we are down there. There is a good local restaurant there (Sparky's) and Marathon has lots of fast food, Publix, K-mart, etc. Access to both the Bay side and Ocean side is easy and a bait & dive shop is right at the bridge @ Vaca Cut. Here's the Realtor I deal with: Barbara Mckee @ Florida Keys Vacation Rentals/Caldwell Banker (BMckee1468@aol.com). You can also check out http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/florida/keys

Sorry for the lack of details! We are younger so we will be drinking and can occasionally get a little rowdy but nothing that would cause any attention. The girls will want somewhere with sand to lay out im sure but I could care less about laying out so they can drive to a beach. Even though several of the houses I have looked at basically have a private beach with a long dock and deep water access (which ill need if I buy the new boat im looking at). I have been looking on VBRO already which is where I usually go to when needing to rent something for vacation.

For the girls, most of the rentals in Key Colony include a membership to the Cabana Beach Club which is ocean side with a nice beach, pool, chairs, bar etc.

You might want to check out Sugarloaf... Not far from Key Weird , Big Pine and Marathon ...usually plenty of rental homes available there (at least in the off season).
Only down side is the bridge on Sugarloaf is low and only small boats can get under it to go from the ocean to the gulf but you can always trailer to another ramp.

Vacation in the keys a lot. Awesome place with something for everyone. My biggest requirement is a good location for getting to key places with your boat. Definitely get a house on a canal but also look at how quick and how deep your access is to the area you want to get to. Some places can be a pain and way to much boat riding time in shallow water with limestone bottom. Also with the beach issue, our biggest misconception on our first trip down was it was gonna be like the Bahamas with all those beaches. Not so. There are mostly only man made beaches but plenty of good shallow water to play in. Better consider keeping the beach bunnies happy! If you stay in Big Pine or below you will get much more of the island atmosphere. It is kinda fast pace in the busy areas, not so different from places you see up here. One problem however you may encounter Big Pine and below is renting for only a week. They have a month clause that probably can be worked around but no guarantee. Some great locations are around Cudjoe to Looe Key Reef and backcountry. I camped at Bahia Honda State Park for ten years. Best location in the keys for a number of reasons. Deep water both direction, best beaches, awesome fishing and lobstering close, 40 miles to Key West. They have cabins but availability would be questionable this late. Yes, reservations in good locations need to be made asap or you might get something you don't want.I mean right now! If you have no interest in Key West, and we spent a lot of time there when we're not on the water, and you can't find something for only a week in the lower keys I would look around Islamorada. Plenty of good water access, marinas, party places and good eating. IMO the Marathon area doesn't feel as much like the islands as the smaller areas. Feel free to PM me. I'll be glad to give you some fishing and lobster spots or just call me 404-825-3693 (Larry) Good luck, you won't regret this decision!

Well we are trying to book a house we found now. Its in Marathon on a canal on the ocean side but its just east of the 7 mile bridge so it should be easy access to the gulf side. Ive never dove for lobster before so im really excited to get a chance to do it! Thanks for all that responded in this thread