Random Key Largo trip questions

[Scuba_RN]

Taking my fun vacation before deployment to the sandbox, and decided to visit Key Largo and play with the fishies in June. Couple of questions for you:

Staying at Key Largo Grande resort. Seems super nice and the website appeals to my hotel-snob friends that are also going on the trip. Any major con's to staying there? Food or small shops nearby?

What mm suit will we all want? I tend to get cold pretty easy- I wore a 3mm in Hawaii in March last year and was pretty miserable on the 2nd and 3rd dives. Suggestions?

Is it worth it to take a day to drive to Key West? What about beaches...any nice ones to lounge on near Key Largo?

Thanks!!!

 

[HowardE]

The Key Largo Grande (formerly the Sheraton - stayed there many times) is nice. There's a beach at the hotel, on the bay side of Key Largo. There aren't a lot of beaches in Key Largo but you'll find that the one at the hotel is great.

The Hotel is about 3 miles south of the major shopping in Key Largo, but there is a Publix and a Winn-Dixie (supermarket).

Water temps in June should be between 78-82 degrees. A 3mm should be fine.

Key West is fun for drinkin and browsing around. It's a long trip, but certainly worth it at least for a day trip.

 

[HappyFunBoater]

There are a few reasons to go to Key West. The first is that it's a nice drive if you haven't been to the Keys before. Lots of bridges and nice vistas of beautiful blue and green water. But it's also a very long drive, so the drive alone is probably not worth it. Next, Key West has some great restaurants and bars, but they're more appropriate in the evening, so you really need a DD that can stay awake on the long drive back. After the laid back lifestyle in Key Largo, it's nice to hit a few higher end restaurants in Key West, and there are several very good ones. There are plenty of other things to see during the day, like the Little White House and Hemmingway's house, but don't get your hopes up. It's really not that exciting. But they're worth seeing once. One more major reason to go to Key West is to take the Fast Cat (or any other boat or sea plane) to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. This is an EXCELLENT day trip to a beautiful fort with plenty of history, and some nice snorkling. If you do snorkle, make sure you go around the old iron pilings. I forget what it's officially called, but it will be obvious.

With all that said, we've been to Key West 6-7 years in a row, and we always love it. But on our last trip we decided that we would never dive there again. It's really not good, and seems to have gotten a lot worse over the years. We love the diving in Key Largo, so that's now our go-to spot for some quick, great diving. I've heard there's some good diving around Big Pine, but we haven't been yet.

Lastly, we've dove in late June in Key Largo and the temps have been around 82F. So we typically dive with just shorts and t-shirts, but I have to admit it can get a little chilly on some of the deeper dives - closer to 78F.

Have fun. We might see you there.

 

[joh]

Taking my fun vacation before deployment to the sandbox, and decided to visit Key Largo and play with the fishies in June. Couple of questions for you:

Staying at Key Largo Grande resort. Seems super nice and the website appeals to my hotel-snob friends that are also going on the trip. Any major con's to staying there? Food or small shops nearby?

What mm suit will we all want? I tend to get cold pretty easy- I wore a 3mm in Hawaii in March last year and was pretty miserable on the 2nd and 3rd dives. Suggestions?

Is it worth it to take a day to drive to Key West? What about beaches...any nice ones to lounge on near Key Largo?

Thanks!!!

I've stayed at the Grande a couple of times and liked it a lot. Very reasonable prices considering the amenities. As far as food, I would go into Key Largo or Islamorada. Good restaurants include BAllyhoo's, the Fish House, Sharkies, Islamorada Fish Company, Lorelei in Islamorada (also a nightspot with live bands on the water).

The Grande is a good choice because it's on the north end of Key Largo so you'll have a shorter drive if you want to go to Islamorada and further south.

Whether you want to hit Key West will depend on whether you're determined to have a full dive vacation, or want to be a tourist... I love KW, but for diving, I would stick to the upper Keys.