Key West is a US Island city in Florida Keys. It’s the most southern point in Florida and sits 90 miles north of Cuba.

Key West is actually closer to Cuba than it is to Miami.

I was always intrigued by Key West. When you look at photos or overhead shots of the seven mile bridge, it looks detached from the rest of the US.

I was here for a few days before going to a conference on a cruise that was departing from Miami. A couple of days exploring the Island and having a chilled one was an ideal way to prep for time on the sea.

After arriving at lunch time and having time to decompress. I met with Alex, Erin, their son Enzo and Gary for a catch and watch the sunset over the harbour.

We all met the first time I visited Orlando in 2016 at an Orlando City football match. We’ve met numerous times since whenever we could.

It feels like the majority of Key West’s population comes here for the sunset. When it comes to small places, you tend to get that community feel about the place.

Sunsets in Key West are a beautiful sight. You couldn’t blame anyone being envious of the locals who live here and have this at their doorstep.

I got to finally tick something off my bucket list, jet skiing.

I can’t remember how or when I decided I wanted to do this. I guess if you’re into adrenaline based activities then jet skiing is something you want to try.

I use to envisage doing this in Miami, no idea why, I’d been to Miami twice before but never got around to jet skiing.

Alex floated the idea to me when we were chatting about meeting up. Him and Gary worked for a company that did jet ski tours around Key West, and were the guides themselves.

So who better to jet ski with than your friends?

The jet ski tour lasted between 90 minutes to 2 hours. We basically covered the Island and got to see some great sights, and jump in clear waters and have a swim.

My first Jet skiing experience was everything else and more. It couldn’t have been any better if we tried. The weather was perfect, the water was perfect, and I got to jet ski with my friends.

I’ve done snowmobiling before in Iceland, and aside the obvious difference, there are similarities in terms of how you need to ride a jet ski and snowmobile.

A common mistake people make is gently touching the throttle every few seconds and only steering slightly rather than putting a full steering lock on.

If there’s any advice I can offer it’s this, when you start feeling the fear, grit your teeth for the first few times you go all in on the throttle and steering, and the confidence will come once you get use to it.

Alex and Gary, cheers for sorting this out and for helping tick something off the bucket list. There are few experiences that are going to beat this.

I ended the day with a sunset cruise.

This was another one of Alex’s suggestions.

A day filled with jet skiing and a sunset cruise? Go on then, I won’t say no.

I don’t think I’ve done a sunset cruise before. I didn’t really think about the whole thing of doing it as a solo traveller, even though I was the only person there solo.

I’ve done so many things solo that it comes naturally to me. Numerous people on the cruise would ask about my experiences of solo travelling. I can understand why it would be daunting to some. It does push you out of your comfort zone. You’ll be grateful that you’ve experienced it.

You get to enjoy some amazing sunset views on the water with all the unlimited food and drink you want, and the added bonus of a DJ.

What more could you want to end a day?

After meeting Alex, Erin, Enzo and Gary to see the sunset on the harbour, I went with Gary for drinks where he gave me his recommendations to places to eat.

He showed me his notes for places to try. I kid you not I’m pretty sure there was at least a hundred plus places on there.

The Waterfront Brewery is next to the harbour near where people will go to watch the sunset.

If you’re visiting Key West and you ask a local for their recommendations, don’t be surprised if they suggest the Waterfront Brewery. I would say it’s their way of giving you a safe bet suggestion if you like.

The chicken burger is popular there. The chicken is so big it covers the bun, frankly the bun is more useful as a decoration than it’s normal intended use. It’s a good place to have dinner and a cider before you head off to watch the sunset.

After having a few drinks with Gary we went to Kolache Kitchen for some late night pulled pork tacos.

Late night or day time, this was a great spot Gary recommended.

I basically noted down his and Alex’s suggestions and tried to hit up as many as possible in the time I was here.

Before meeting them for the jet ski tour, I went to Ana’s Cuban Cafe for a breakfast empanada. Usually I eat a lot, but I have this weird thing that the earlier it is, the less I eat. The empanada was the ideal portion before doing an activity like jet skiing.

Another place to visit is Eaton Street Seafood for their lobster rolls. The lobster roll is perfect for a snack and you get it with crisps and dip.

If that isn’t enough enough and you need more to get your seafood fix, head to BO’s for their fried fish snapper tail sandwich.

This was the first time I tried a snapper tail. I love seafood and can’t think of anything I haven’t tried that I disliked. I guess being in a place like Key West which is surrounded by the sea, you’re going to get good seafood.

Before leaving to take a bus to Miami, Alex took me to Goldman’s Bagel Deli for breakfast. I love a good breakfast bagel, and Goldman’s Bagel Deli didn’t disappoint. Goldman’s is probably up there as one of the best bagels I’ve had.

For such a small place Key West has a lot to offer.

Watersports, adventures, beaches, fishing and more. In Key West you’re never too far away from anything and everything.

I know I mentioned about the options for food here, but when I saw how much there was to choose from, you could do multiple food tours. Alex in his own words said to me that you could spend four days alone trying all the Italian restaurants in Key West.

Key West’s night life is on the main Duval Street. The night life is vibrant for the most part. Key West would be more of a place for a stag do or hen do weekend rather than a spring break location (I imagine they get spring breakers). I’m pretty sure I shared a flight with multiple stag and hen parties which was an interesting experience.

The main reason I came apart from ticking off another place in the US was to see my friends and catch up.

Alex, Erin and Gary, thank you so much for the great experiences. It’s always a pleasure catching up.

Until next time.