112 mi over the Seven Miles Bridge and 41 more

Water, lots of water – turquoise, warm and clear – surrounds the seemingly paradisiacal Florida Keys. The 180-kilometre-long chain of islands has many surprises in store and a trip there should not only be undertaken with Key West as the destination – even if this is the most famous and freakiest of the 45 islands. The inhabitants are a little unworldly, a little adventurous and generally very lazy, with a wide variety of origins, but they all have one thing in common: they are a little different from everyone else.

Some feel particularly at home in the gay and lesbian scene in Key West. There are numerous dropouts who have left their stressful lives behind. The art scene is particularly strong. Native water rats earn their living with everything the sea has to offer. Retirees want nothing more to do with their former lives.

And one species are the tourists who usually just come to have a look and then leave again. Very few of them spend their entire vacation on the Keys, but rather are just passing through on a round trip. The trip over the 42 bridges culminates in the crossing of the Seven Mile Bridge, a marvel of engineering. All you can see is water as far as the eye can see and you feel like you’re on a car ferry because you can let go of the steering wheel – cruise control on and just drive straight ahead.

The islands at a glance

Key Largo is the largest island, the name was already the program when Humphrey Bogart was a gangster here in 1948. Snorkeling and diving in the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park are the main activities here. Islamorada calls itself the “Sport Fishing Capital of the World”. Anyone who has fished here once will want to do so again and again, but should also be well equipped for the heavyweights from the Atlantic.

Bahia Honda attracts nature and swimming enthusiasts with its beautiful sandy beach in Bahia Honda State Park and Looe Key with its living coral reefs with pointed peaks and deep gorges attracts diving enthusiasts. A wonderful tropical forest and settler life in the early 20th century can be discovered in Marathon. Halfway between Key Largo and Key West, this is a great place to make a stopover. On Long Key, birdwatchers, canoeists and campers will get their money’s worth in the Long Key State Recreation Area, provided the latter have not forgotten to make a reservation.

And what would the Florida Keys be without Key West? Caribbean feeling and pure lust for life can be found in the colorful and crazy Conch Republic. At the end of the USA you can already sense Cuba, in the Sloopy Joe Bar you are very close to Hemingway and in Mallory Square you want to reach for the setting sun.

Water and more water

Of course, you can indulge in water sports everywhere on the Keys. There are boats or boat tours for hire. Fishing trips are offered in any form from an hour to a few days with the aim of catching anything from small to very large fish in the hinterland or deep-sea fishing. Parasailing, water skiing, snorkeling, diving and even banana boating are all available here.

What else can you do, there’s not much land. Culinary-wise , you just have to decide which fish or crustacean you want to eat – it’s always fresh. And a cocktail with Cuban salsa music in the evening in Key West will be a longing for when you get back home.