Coconut Cay Resort & Marina - Marathon

Has anyone stay at the Coconut Cay Resort & Marina in Marathon recently that could let me know if its worth staying here. The reviews are mixed and would like some first hand knowledge. We are planning a family (wife, 16 yr daughter and 17 yr son) vacation in June to the Keys and would like to stay in the Marathon area so we are some what centrally located for day trips to Key West and Key Largo.

I don't know anything about Coconut Cay but there are many condos for rent in that area. We are staying in one just north of Marathon beginning 6/4. Pretty affordable. I don't know if you're bringing a boat but many of the condos are on the water. The one we're staying had has great dockage and the Vaca Cut (access to the ocean side) is just a minute or two away.

Thank-you jenlaur, Where did you find your rental? I have been all over VBRO.com looking but most the rentals I found have been either booked or way out of our price range. We are only going to be down there for 5 days.

We found it a few years ago on VRBO. We are staying there again because it is more affordable than most. We booked months ago though so I doubt he has any time. I think the Marathon area is more affordable than Islamorada or Key Largo. But there are some affordable places if you look. Have you thought about one of the hotels? Pines and Palms is in Islamorada. It is one of those old Florida places. Very quaint but nice rooms. It is on the ocean side. MM 80 I believe. Another place just down the street is Breezy Palms. It is not as nice as Pines and Palms but is cheaper. They are on the ocean side too. You can find both online. You may find it better to try hotels than houses or condos as they often rent by the week.

It is about 1 1/2 hour to Key West and about 20 minutes or so to Key Largo from Islamorada. I think there is more to do in Islamorada than Marathon. We are not big lovers of Key West. Been there a couple of times and that was enough for us. We prefer the sleepy towns more. Good luck in your search. When are you going? We are going June 4 and just made reservations today to dive with Scuba Shack on June 7.

We are looking to be there from June 19th through the 24th. I though we found a place but the people who had it rented the week before us extended there stay before I could get them the deposit. The guy that runs the coconut cay made us an offer at a really good rate, but I was hoping that someone would have some information after reading the reviews. We'll most like end up at the Holiday Inn in Marathon if we don't find something else that is affordable between now and then. If it were just me and the wife find a place would be a lot easier. Thanks again for your help and enjoy your vacation. Bret.

We will be in Key Largo beginning June 18th for a week...we rented a condo in key largo for a really good price...2 bedroom, 2 bath and it gets great reviews...
here is the link on trip advisor... we are renting 503 but i am sure there are others....
#503 Kawama Towers Clean,Comfortable with Beautiful Views - Review of Kawama Yacht Club, Key Largo, FL - TripAdvisor
Good luck... maybe we will see you there... who are you diving with ? We are diving with Key Largo Scuba Shack...

Lynn, Thank-you I will keep this place in mind. This will be our first trip to the Keys. We really don’t know what to expect. We would like to try and stay in Marathon so we could day trip easier, either to Key West or up to Key Largo. I am not sure who we are going to dive with right now. I think we’re going to do a few shore dives to build up everyone’s confidence then decide if we are ready to head out on a boat. We were just certified in October 2010.

I was faced with that place or Kingsail - same price (give or take $5) when I had OW training in Key West. I loved King Sail, I was "upgraded" to lil' kitchen/dining room combo plus had two beds. No frills (like it had a flat screen TV in the combo room but not in bedroom), had boat slips, and seamed clean. But im also the least picky person as a single mid20's dude who was exhausted from a ton of diving/driving and training. Check reviews. The one thing I thought was odd, is I left 7am to start diving and office wasn't open and no drop box for key.

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brunow:

Lynn, Thank-you I will keep this place in mind. This will be our first trip to the Keys. We really don’t know what to expect. We would like to try and stay in Marathon so we could day trip easier, either to Key West or up to Key Largo. I am not sure who we are going to dive with right now. I think we’re going to do a few shore dives to build up everyone’s confidence then decide if we are ready to head out on a boat. We were just certified in October 2010.

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I am no Keys expert for sure, but I don't know if shore diving is done there. You may be able to gear up and dive from where ever you are staying. It may be pretty shallow. And keep an eye on current especially if it's near a cut to the ocean. The tides can roar through at times.

We are relatively new to diving also. We got in about 20 dives in West Palm in preparation for a trip to the BVI where we were going to by diving by ourselves from a charted sail boat. Before we set sail we did a mini weekend in the Keys and got 4 more dives under our belt. All of the diving was super easy (compared to West Palm) and relatively shallow. You would be fine diving from a boat. Especially one of the smaller ones. Just let them know ahead of time your skill level and your level of confidence in the water. Surely they can accommodate you and your family.

And as a side note, I was concerned about diving on this trip as I just had knee surgery (2 days ago). Unfortunately I had to schedule the surgery when I had time off from work. And it just happened to be vacation time as well. When I talked to the people at Scuba Shack they assured me that they would take good care of me and help me get my gear off and on. I think this is what you will find with some of the smaller dive ops.

The State parks offer shore some diving. After diving in Ft. Lauderdale last week I would like to really like to take everyone to a park to do a weight check for salt water and build up every ones comfortable level in the water a little more before we dive off a boat. I usually dive with 8 lbs in freshwater but was suggested to use 10% of my body weight for salt water, which worked out really well. I didn't seem to be over weighted and did the dive without any air in my BC, we were about 15 feet deep on the first reef. Thanks for the suggestion to look into a small dive op, I will do that.