want to vacation in keys

[mbkite]

How warm is florida keys in feburary. warm enough to swim in ocean
any good places to stay. just me and wife and a nother couple.

[CEE DOG]

It's pushing it in February. If you go all the way to Key West maybe... but you probably want a wet suit.

Water temperatures go from 69 in January to 87 in July and August.

The Keys Temperature Annual high average
• Month Air
• January 7 4
• February 75
• March 78
• April 81
• May 85
• June 87
• July 89
• August 89
• September 88
• October 84
• November 80
• December 76

Florida keys weather; key largo average temperatures (http://www.kiphoover.com/weather.html)

We went in Mid December a couple years ago and normally this would have been ok but it just so happened it was the coldest week in december in some time... I went snorkeling on a reef with a wet suit and it was great.
Next year we went to the smokies (pigeon forge) wouldn't you know it it was overcast the entire week! Very very rare for that time of the year! Oh well, we were blessed to be able to go on vacation regardless! This year we skipped going away since I bought Skybaby.

[mchess1]

Depends on what you are trying to do in the keys. Everyone outside of Florida thinks of Key West, which is really the party town of the keys.

Lots of other keys along the way, with different keys offering different options for your vacation.

My family and I spend lots of time (not that far from my locale) and really enjoy La Jolla in Islamorada. But we are there to relax, fish, sunbathe and enjoy a few alcoholic beverages. It is a nice older fish camp, with access to the water.

You can get as basic or fancy as you want along the way.

[ScottB]

If you head to Key West specifically, consider the Casa Marina or its sister hotel the Reach Resort. They are a bit pricey but first class. You have a private beach, far enough from Duval to get some rest after partying and shopping all day, and the brunch on the viranda is amazing. It was renovated by the Waldorf a couple years back. We had a multi-room suite for a week and was the best true vacation for the entire family.

February is still a little cooler to us Floridians, but not to anyone north. As memory serves the pool is heated and salt water too meaning you have more than one choice.

[CEE DOG]

Depends on what you are trying to do in the keys. Everyone outside of Florida thinks of Key West, which is really the party town of the keys.

Lots of other keys along the way, with different keys offering different options for your vacation.

My family and I spend lots of time (not that far from my locale) and really enjoy La Jolla in Islamorada. But we are there to relax, fish, sunbathe and enjoy a few alcoholic beverages. It is a nice older fish camp, with access to the water.

You can get as basic or fancy as you want along the way.

We rented a house about 15-20 minutes North of key west (Sugarloaf key area)

If you do go toward the southern end there is a boat out to the Dry Tortugas. (a few hours out) Beautiful...
Dry Tortugas National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm)
When we went there were about 20-40 people (can't remember) in weird outifits. Couldn't figure it out at first. Thought maybe some kind of prisoner workforce... Didn't make sense either... Outfits were weird.... Why would you place prisoners out on this tiny island. What work would their be for them to do. Come to find out they were cuban refugees that had landed on that little island over night in these 2 tiny (4) person row boats! If they had missed this few hundred feet of land they would have been dead for sure. Because of certain laws we have for cuba they become american citizens if they make it to us land so these guys and a couple woman and kids had been given these odd looking paper clothes to where until taken back to key west mainland. They had all of us that had come out on the boat scrunch together to make room for all the new passengers to take back with us late that day. When we got back (a few hours one way) their was a homeland security bus waiting... spook-y! Never saw one of those before. I guess to interview etc. and set them on their way to becoming citizens. One of the crew told us a story about how a few months earlier some cubans had made it to one of the bridges we had driven over that connects the keys. They were in a rubber raft and made it to the pilons. They climbed a bridge maintenance ladder and made it onto the bridge. Apparently their were officials waiting for them when they made it to the top. Because they were over water and had not technically made it to land they were not allowed to stay. If they had landed just a thousand feet to the north or south that would have been the difference.

[Gary Sword]

The water in February is too cold for me without a wet suit. I prefer to stay away from Key West. When I go to the keys I like to go boating, scuba dive, fish and jet ski. If you can't get out on the water there's not that much to do. The beaches aren't very good but the water is beautiful. If all you want to party I prefer to go to somewhere like South Beach. At least it has topless women on a nice beach and lots of exotic cars.

[Newport Viper]

Been twice. Once drove from Orlando the other on a cruise.... Fun place!

[mbkite]

Thanks all..