TampaMomTravels: July 2024

Driving to Key Largo/ Playa Largo Resort/Marlins v Rays game

After lunch in Key West, we headed up to Key Largo using the Guide Along app again as our guide. I had booked a snorkel excursion the next day to see the Christ of the Abyss statue in John Pennekamp park. Unfortunately, the swells were too big so we went to a different spot Grecian Rocks Reef.

We stopped in Islamorada on the way up. Guide Along spoke a lot about Hemingway and how he loved sport fishing and his boat the Pilar. We stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada to see the boat. We decided to have dinner there at Islamorada Fish Company. There were lots of tarpon hanging there. The atmosphere was good with a live music, but the food was pretty average. Afterwards we got ice cream at a cute little spot.

The next morning was our snorkel excursion with Sundiver. They didn’t tell us we weren’t going to Christ of the Abyss which was disappointing. But the snorkeling was pretty good. The reef was in good condition and we saw sea fans. We saw a barracuda, a Florida lobster and several fish. They had noodles for everyone to use which was nice, but no guide. They all stayed on the boat.

Barracuda

Sea Fan

After the snorkel trip we went back to Playa Largo Resort and just relaxed. We loved the resort. Not sure if it was because it was a weekday, but it wasn’t too crowded and they had a nice sunset celebration. There were lots of iguanas.

The next day we drove up to Miami and went to a Rays v Marlins game. It was great! We sat near 1st base and the kids got several balls and a few autographs. And the Rays won! We stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay and it had nice views.

Rosario

Deluca

Arozarena

Ramirez

Drive to Key West/ Dry Tortugas

After the cruise we drove from Miami to Key West and used the Guide Along app (formerly Gypsy) to be our guide on the way down. We stopped in Key Largo and had Tower pizza which was nostalgic for my husband. It was okay.

One of our favorite stops was Robbie’s to feed the tarpon. You buy a bucket of fish. They warn you the pelicans are aggressive. One actually stole a fish out of my daughter’s hand!

We also looked for Key Deer on the way down and were successful! We were so happy to find this cutie!

We checked into our hotel Opal Key Resort. It was a great location right next to Mallory Square. We rested a bit and then went to dinner at our hotel - at Bistro 245. The restaurant was great! My husband got grouper that was delicious. We also had yummy crab cakes. We had a nice view of the water here and an easy walk to Mallory Square.

We walked next door to Mallory Square to watch the sunset celebration. Honestly the shows were kind of meh - and I would probably watch from our hotel in the future. I believe they have a Sunset Deck. Or maybe take the ferry to Sunset Key or even a cruise.

We then took one of those bikes to take us to see the Southernmost Point. There was a short line for photos and we got one before dark.

We then strolled back down to Duval back to our hotel. We stopped to get ice cream of course and shop a little.

Ice cream

The next morning we packed up and headed to take a sea plane to Dry Tortugas National Park! We stopped at Old Town Bakery for some delicious croissants and saw some roosters.

Old Town Bakery

Rooster

The sea plane ride was great! We could see sea turtles swimming and some sunken ships. We snorkeled when we arrived and saw a barracuda and some fish. The fort was cool to explore as well. Highly recommend the sea plane - it made the trip!

When we arrived back to Key West, we had lunch at the Southernmost Beach Cafe.

Icon of Seas - last thoughts

Our last stop was Perfect Day at Coco Cay. We booked the Thrill water park again. This time it was a more reasonable price - I think around $78 a person. Kids loved the slides, wave pool, and water obstacle coarse.

We brought our snorkel gear as well and had our best snorkeling this time. We went all the way out to a farther floating dock. We saw the underwater ship with lots of fish. We saw several rays. We even saw an iguana!