Key West Leisure

Surrounded by water, Key West is home to an abundance of water sports and related outdoor activities. Land lovers, however, are also catered for with golf gaining in popularity and some good cycle routes around the island.

Beaches

Unlike the rest of the Keys, Key West is home to some small beaches, although they dont match up to the states wide, natural sand stretches up the coast. A typical Key West beach is narrow and rocky. Fort Zachary Taylor, an 87 acre state park with a pre-Civil War Fort offers fantastic sunset views and is one of the best beaches in Key West, though a bit rocky. South Beach is a favourite with the locals. Its a lovely, sandy beach with shallow waters and a concrete pier. Higgs Beach is a wide, sandy beach with a long wooden pier and good facilities, including a playground and water sport rentals.

Diving

Tropical fish are plentiful on the reefs and snorkelling is available on sailing catamarans or schooners for day trips out to the reef. The newest dive park along the islands Atlantic coast, Key West Marine Park features swim-only lanes marked by buoys, giving swimmers and snorkellers a safe area to explore the waters around Key West. The parks margins extend from the foot of Duval Street to Higgs Beach. Wreck dives and night dives can also be arranged.

Fishing

Keys fishing, as any angler will tell you, is second to none. The profusion of bonefish, tarpon, dolphin, tuna, grouper, cobia and sharks make for bountiful catches. Stepping aboard a small, uncovered skiff is an adventure in itself. In the morning, offshore hunting grounds are good for sailfish or dolphin (the fish, not the mammal), while afternoons are better for tarpon, permit, grouper or snapper nearer to shore. Cobia, one of the best fighting and eating fish around, is more prevalent here than anywhere else in the world. For a real tussle, ask your captain to look for the tarpon, the best fighting fish there is, well-known for its impressive tail walk on the water once its hooked. Shark fishing is also popular.