hey there fellow travelers mark here
with walters world and today we're on
key west in the keys of florida and
today we have you
are the don'ts of coming to key west and
it is a super relaxed place so
your domes aren't too worrisome when you
are here but
there is the one donut i need to start
off with and that is don't
mess with the chickens look you're going
to get off your plane
you're going to walk out of the airport
and there might be a chicken just
walking around there
or maybe you're getting a food and a
chicken hops up on your table
and tries to get your food from you it
happens and the thing is those chickens
they're protected you can't hurt them so
try to shoo them away
because they can be quite aggressive
with your food okay so just
just just don't mess with the chickens
though they will mess with you all right
now
my next stone for you is when you come
here don't forget to bring
biodegradable reef safe sunblock when
you come
and apply it often look we're at the
southernmost point of the u.s
here well at least continental u.s right
we're we're here
and you have to realize is that that sun
is beating down on you
all year long it doesn't matter if you
come in december or july
you are going to get a lot of sun so you
need to make sure you're putting on that
sunblock
putting it on often even if you're not
going out on the water to enjoy
you know paddle boarding or swimming or
diving or snorkeling
or fishing or kayaking or any of the
wonderful things you do on the water
here
you need to lather up because if you're
walking in town there's not always a lot
of shade when you're walking around
and you will get fried when you are here
i've already layered up a few times
today
and i can feel it so make sure you have
that and since there is there are
protective wreaths out
from here if you're going to go diving
and stuff use the biodegradable use the
reef safe kind
just to make it a little bit better for
the environment when you are here
because it does make a difference
now my next stone for you is you know
when people come to key west they get
their picture
with the southernmost point this big
buoy in the background and the thing is
my don't for that is
don't expect to get a lot of alone time
with the southernmost point
because everybody wants to get their
picture there you know right in front of
the buoy
but the thing is there can be a long
line especially when there's a lot of
tourists here
there can be a long line to wait to get
your picture it's like getting a picture
in vegas in front of the sign you're
just there but
my advice to you is you know what it's
okay to get people in your picture just
stand back
take the picture with the people in it
or or be there and wave with the people
in the background
you can do that and get your picture but
you're not going to get a lot of alone
time
okay so just just have a heads up with
that now my next don't for you has to do
with the people
and one of the tastiest foods you have
here and that is
don't call it coch it's
conch shells conch fritters a crack
conch chowder
the locals are called conks yeah it's
conk not conch i know it looks like it's
conch
but it's not it's conch and if you get a
chance to eat the conk when you're here
eat it it is so good conch fritters it's
it oh if you're not sure what conk is
you know the conch shell
there's a little thing that lives inside
they take out and then you put in some
batter and some dough and some stuff and
you fry it up it's so good
or you'll have it in ceviche it's so so
tasty i'm sure the locals might be tasty
too they're pretty fun
but just don't don't eat the locals eat
the conk from the shell okay
but honestly like it's comp not conch
okay because i've heard that a few times
i just want people to know
and speaking of those conchs meaning the
locals don't forget that key west
actually declared its independence
just for a little bit and that's why
you'll see conch republic on the flags
here
because they did have independence but
just for a few minutes they declared it
but it is kind of a funny thing here but
honestly the people here really love
being from key west they love being a
conch
and i think that goes into another dome
don't really say the people here are
floridians
though they are in florida it's part of
florida people in key west kind of feel
like they're a bit different than the
rest of florida so
don't really say they're flirting just
say hey they're konks now another thing
is when you're thinking of key west
probably the biggest
food thing you think of here isn't the
conch it's actually
key lime pie and yes don't skip out on
key lime pie when you're here
obviously but for us even if you're not
eating key lime pie
here in key west you're someplace else
don't think key lime pie
is green if you see key lime pie here in
key west
that is green you should run out of that
restaurant right away and just start
screaming
faker faker faker because key lime pie
isn't green
okay key lime pie is not green okay
you'll see people debate
whether oh is it whipped cream or is it
meringue or is it just go topless
you know you don't go tablets on the
beach here but you can go topless on
your key lime pie in some places
moe's oh my god went to moe's restaurant
they had a topless key lime pie it was
fantastic
but honestly the debate is irrelevant
when it comes to the color
of key lime pie just know don't look for
green key lime pie
it'll come out you're like this looks
like a pumpkin pie or this looks like a
lemon pie this looks like
uh orangey brownie pie no no just no
it's not great okay so know that now my
next stone for you is
don't drive in key west i mean it's not
that bad of a drive though that the
seven mile bridge coming in if you're
driving in from the mainland can be a
bit
nerve-wracking if you're not used to
those kind of drives but honestly
parking downtown is horrible in the old
part of town even not in the old part of
town parking just sucks and the keys in
general
so just have a heads up and it's just
easier not to drive there's lift there's
ubers there's taxis from the airport no
problem
i would recommend doing that because
parking is horrible and and another
bonus stone is don't park in a local's
parking spot
because they have their designated spots
and they will get you ticketed or towed
like that okay so don't park in the
right places so just
avoid driving if you can when you're
here now another don't i have for you is
when you come here most of the time
people will just go up and down duval
street because there's tons of
restaurants and bars and you can eat
well there you can drink while there
it is a really good time then you got
you know mallory you know square you can
go there and you can have a nice time
there
but you have to realize is don't think
those the only places that have
restaurants and bars
in key west okay you can explore just a
couple blocks off of duval street
there's plenty of restaurants there and
the prices go down a bit
but there's places all throughout the
town you could enjoy i know we went to
moe's restaurant they've got caribbean
food there and it was just fantastic oh
my god i had the
caribbean chicken it was fantastic my
buddy had their it was a
snapper like pasta
cat it was so good but you can eat so
well here and you can eat well
not just on the main drag okay so just
know that and i think that
you know i talked about the lower prices
off duvall i think another donut i have
for you is
don't let the prices for plane tickets
and accommodation
make you think it's expensive to visit
key west i know when i bought my plane
tickets to key west i'm like huh
maybe i should go to europe instead for
those prices and when i was looking for
accommodation i'm like
dang maybe i do the two-hour drive in
from miami instead i mean
prices for accommodation here are
extremely high and flights to get here
are high as well but when you get here
i'm surprised with how
i'm not going to say it's cheap but how
many affordable eating and drinking
options
you actually have here in key west okay
so
so just know that yes you're going to
blow most your budget on the
accommodation in flight
but you can have a really good time here
without busting your budget
okay i'm not saying it's cheap but it's
not as bad as i thought it was going to
be
and speaking of not busting your budget
but a great tourist thing to do
is honestly seeing the sunset pretty
much
anywhere in the keys is gorgeous you
know you can go to mallory
square and you can watch it there the
locals there's tons of people there'll
be
you know all kinds of stuff going on but
just the sunset here is gorgeous
and even like behind me the sun sets
behind me here there's a little bar
right there that i was at last night i
just walked down here i'm like oh my god
this is gorgeous
like so gorgeous i forgot to get the
video when it's actually happening i got
it at the end and it's just
honestly the sun sets here i mean i'm
gonna guess probably the sun rises too
but
let's be honest if you're coming to key
west to relax you're not getting up for
the sunrise all right but
don't miss the sunsets here now my next
stone for you has to do with when you're
packing
things you might want to not forget so i
would say is don't forget to bring your
own snorkel gear when you're coming here
you may say why mark i can rent it there
yes you can rent your snorkel gear here
but it's expensive you know and two do
you really want to use the snorkel that
someone else
already had in their mouth i know they
clean them out but just something to
have a heads up for
you know so don't forget your snorker
gear i would also bring like
water shoes if you're going to go
walking around the water here
um because there's it's rockier here
than sandy in some places just fyi
um also like i said uh bring that your
you know your sunblock
and stuff but also i would bring a light
rain jacket because
you never know when out of nowhere boom
rain comes in now you don't need a heavy
rain jacket just a light poncho thing
you'll be fine but just something to
think about to not forget to bring when
you're coming here
now my next stone for you is don't think
that the only
culture on key west is the ernest
hemingway house and museum look
ernest hemingway is a famous famous
other world famous author
who lived here for a number of years and
really made key west pretty famous
and also the six-toed kittens yeah the
cats that are here you'll see those
that's from him and those things but you
can actually go to his house and
that's kind of the most like famous
house to visit here but there's more to
see there's more tourist spots to go to
aside from that there's a shipwreck
museum you can go to i mean
key west made a lot of money getting
shipwrecks and going to the shipwrecks
and getting stuff out of there
actually made the city or the island the
key actually very wealthy for a time
period and there's a
there's a museum that talks about that
harry truman former president his winter
white house was here
you can go visit that and there's other
historic homes you can see
so it's not just the hemingway house and
yes you should go to the hemingway house
and yes
see the cats and stuff but just know
there's more than that another donut i
have for you and you'll see this when
you're downtown is
don't feel bad if you take the trolley
tour or the train tour
i know it looks super touristy i know it
looks super silly but honestly it
actually can give you a lot of
information about key west and the thing
that's going on and where to eat and the
people and all kinds of stuff
so definitely take it and just learn a
bit and it's a nice relaxing thing to do
for a little bit during the day
now with a beautiful place like this i
know i talked about the sun block before
but also
don't forget to stay hydrated when
you're going around the island because
whether you're running a bike and riding
around or kayaking or fishing or
or paddle boarding or just enjoying the
really cute houses around town or going
to the
southernmost point you're going to get
high you're going to get dehydrated make
sure you're staying hydrated
bring a refillable water bottle and
refill that thing
when you go to the bar and you finish up
it can refill my water bottle they'll
fill it up for you
you can take it with you when you go but
you want to stay hydrated make sure you
got your
you know your hat as well to protect you
from the sun because it can be dangerous
now my next stone for you are for those
of you that stay on the
east side of key west now the
restaurants and bars and most of the
stuff is actually on the
west side of key west you know towards
the sunset there's a lot of things there
but
honestly don't expect any food or drink
options on the east side of key west you
have to go to the next key over to find
things
i mean you got the boat house you can
come to and grab some beers but
there's not a lot on the east side
you're going to be needing to take an
uber or a lift
to get to the other the historic part of
the island uh to go eat and drink there
oh my tastiest donut i have for you is
don't forget to eat like a seafood king
when you're here in key west because
whether it's snapper
grouper mahi mahi the local shrimp the
local crab
the conch oh my god the seafood here is
fantastic and honestly
whatever is fresh you can get it on a
sandwich you can have just cook it for
you on a grill
it'll be phenomenal okay so don't skip
out on the seafood
just get it every time if you're not
sure and you're looking hmm what do i
get they have steaks here they have
this seafood seafood and then after that
have more seafood okay because
it's awesome here though i will say
don't expect to get the spawny lobster
or the rock lobster
all year round you can get the main
lobster rolls all year round but the
local lobster
you can only get it in season so sadly
when i'm here now i can't have it but i
know how good it is
i got a friend of mine who comes down
and catches them when you can actually
come down and catch them in july
it's so good it's so good anyway but
sadly
don't expect to get the rock lobster the
spiny lobster all year round
sadly with that fantastic fantastic
seafood now another donut i have for you
is when people think of florida they
think
oh it's sandy beaches everywhere look in
key west don't think you're going to get
those florida sandy beaches
yes they do have a few sandy beaches
here but you have a lot of mangroves
that you can see behind me and you've
got a lot of the sea wall and stuff
so it's not all sandy beach things all
right so just be prepared for that
hence why you want to have the water
shoes and stuff when you're going to go
out
just to be a little more comfortable
when you do go in the water now another
critter don't i have for you i know i
talked about the chickens the beginning
now we're getting near the end of the
video i need to talk about some of the
other animals here and that is
one don't feed the iguanas when you're
here the iguanas here in key west
are like pigeons in new york or or
london they're just
they're just like you know they're
they're local rats basically
and they will come scurry up and try to
take your food like the chickens do
but the iguanas are all over so don't
mess with them also if you see manatees
don't give the manatees fresh water i
know they like it but don't do it
because then they come in
and the boats they get hit by the boats
and the propellers it's bad so so don't
don't do that when you're here and i
think my final donut i'm going to give
you from here in key west is
don't expect a lot at the airport look
when you fly into key west i mean it's
literally some dudes
roll the ramp out to the plane and you
get out that way it's not the oh the
gate is extending up no no this is old
school airport style okay
they roll it up you walk between the
green lines going in to the
the uh the airport the arrivals and it's
like one or two belts
and that's it i mean it's got a bathroom
the belts and some rental car places i
mean there's not a lot of space so
don't be like expecting to wait at the
airport a long time for your ride
luckily there's a taxi stand right
outside the arrival so so you'll be fine
but just
don't expect too much at the key west
airport but honestly you're not gonna
you're only going to the airport because
you're sadly leaving or you're just
kidding
have some fun so get here to key west
don't worry you have a great time
yes the accommodation and flights are
pricey but once you're here
you can have a great time at a great
price and and have just a wonderful time
lots of great people
lots of people here that want to have
fun too so have a great time and i'll
say bye from here in key west