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SPACE WALK: Dive into Belize’s Blue Hole for the Thrill of a Lifetime

Published in Caribbean Travel & Life October 1996

A vacation in the tropics needn’t mean spending a fortune on airfare and accommodations; in fact, you can skip the airfare altogether if you stay in the States and opt for funky Key West, Florida, an outpost of island life that’s attached to the mainland by the Overseas Highway’s 76 bridges. A room for two in Key West averages $147 a night – reflecting luxury price tags, but also indication there’s a lower-end alternative for those with thinner wallets. Many rooms, and even suites, can be booked for well under this average price for two people, without sacrificing convenience.

Of course, on a two-by-four-mile island, nothing’s far and space is precious: You pay for what you get. But the accommodations listed here are not only economical, most are charming and they are near restaurants with reasonably priced menus. What’s more, there are plenty of cheap to downright free activities to keep you occupied for weeks. Room rates quoted here are for winter (roughly mid-December to mid-April). Summer rates (from mid-April through mid-December) are lower.

The Washington Street Inn (305/296-0550) at 807 Washington is located in a quiet area close to the Atlantic Ocean. Remodeled last summer with white wicker furniture, the inn’s double rooms start at $85 during winter season. A room for four people that opens onto the pool deck gets an economical nod of approval. It has Cuban tile floors, two double beds and goes for $115.

The wonderful, and inexpensive Cuban restaurant, El Siboney, is three blocks away where a fugal diner can load up on black beans and rice for under $5; and where even the most pricey meal tops out at $9.99.

Also nearby are several public beaches -- Smather’s Beach, Higgs Beach, Dog Beach. Fishing from the newly reconstructed White Street Pier between Smather’s and Higgs beaches is popular, day and night, and bocce ball courts across the street are lit every night, although during the week, visitors must wait for court time until leagues wrap up at 10 p.m. Courts are free, but be sure to bring your own bocce balls.

Upper Duval Street is just blocks away from Washington Street Inn with art galleries and trendy boutiques. More importantly, the Southernmost Point of the United States, complete with a buoy monument ideal for souvenir photos, is nearby, as is the Cuban Club Suites (305/296-0465). In the 1100 block of Duval, these second floor accommodations are a dandy way to enjoy parades.

Because Key West is, arguably, the biggest partying-parading town in the country, a balcony view of the longest street in the world (Duval runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico) is prized for people and parade watching. Especially when that balcony is attached to a two bedroom, two bath split-level condo. Equipped with living room, a full kitchen and a membership to the Marriott Reach Resort’s private beach, pool and health club, a Cuban Club Suite sleeps four for $250. These four spacious, well-appointed rooms are an unbeatable vacation bargain. The cook-in savings, if only for breakfast and lunch, sweetens the value even more.

Blue Heaven, a garden restaurant with strutting roosters that show off the island’s Caribbean heritage, is a short walk away. In addition to great food at a reasonable price (lunch and dinner entrees range from $6.95 to $18.95), Blue Heaven hosts poetry readings on the third Friday of each month. And it’s just one Key West location that offers this upbeat form of entertainment free: Appelrouth Grill has open-mic readings every week; the locally notorious Green Parrot bar sporadically features poetry slams.

The Tilton Hilton (305/294-8697) at 511 Angela Street is more centrally located. Think clean, but well worn and Key West funky. This guest inn is by far the rock bottom rack rate in Key West. A room with two double beds for four people includes AC, TV and a shared bath. Rates are $100 plus tax.

Mango’s outdoor restaurant is right around the corner with vegetarian lunches, among other selections, starting at $6.95. Plus, Mango’s will pack a lunch to go to Nancy’s Secret Garden. Visitor’s take their lunches, pay $6 to enter and spend the whole day lost in an elegant rainforest in the heart of Old Town.

Roughly eight blocks off Duval at 1015 Fleming Street, The Eden House (305/296-6868) offers respite from the frenzy downtown. It’s Euro-style doubles range between $80 and $125, depending on bathroom preferences: private, shared, or shared down the hall. Here, guests may rent bikes -- the preferred travel mode of locals -- but the $4 daily rate at The Bicycle Center is the lowest on the island.
Get your wheels then take Lloyd Mager’s Nature Bike Tour. It leaves from the Moped Hospital every day, costs $12 and serves up a host of off-beat Key West characters and tropical fruits picked en route.

From Eden House, even from Washington Street Inn, sunset celebrations at Mallory Square are within easy biking distance. Dominique the Cat-man still entertains for tips, and Mark the Basketmaker still sells palm woven hats for $7. But sunsets are no longer the hallmark of affordable, Key West zaniness. Yes, watching the sun set is a no-cost island ritual, but business mindsets dominate the mass merchandising to tourists, and the former, laid-back ambiance has given way to mainland business-as-usual.

Amidst the T-shirt mania in shops lining the Gulf side of Key West, the best buy is found at Kino Sandals. Since the late 1960’s, these all-leather flip-flops have sold for $6. Still do, but these days, an expanded product line includes sandals for up to $10. All are just a hop-skip-and-jump from the Cuban Club. And Next door to the Green Parrot, Native Material is another attractive spot to find a good buy. It offers local and South American art at reduced prices found nowhere else on the island, possibly in the country.

Key West Bed and Breakfast (305/296-7274) at 415 William Street is a century old Conch house turned inn. From its front garden, the Key West Bight is visible in the ever-blue Gulf of Mexico. Water sports are centered at this natural harbor, which is the last vestige of the charming, but sinful seaport city of yesteryear: Sunset sails, snorkel and scuba charters, coral reef trips and backcountry island picnics are available from many vendors at an average cost of $35.

If that’s too high, get your reef thrills at the Key West Aquarium for $6.50. Everything from endangered sawfish and sea turtles to horseshoe crabs in the “touch tank” are temporarily housed before they’re tagged and released into the wild. More than two dozen saltwater aquariums offer close-ups of colorful fish that eyeball you with equal interest.

Key West Bed & Breakfast is listed on the National Historic Register. Double rooms start at $99, and in season, three night minimum reservations are requested.

Jabour’s Trailer Court (305/294-5723) at 223 Elizabeth is even closer to the Bight. When the last resorts are booked, two people can park their RV or pitch a tent next to their car for $40 a night. Of course, Jabour’s is a particularly popular nesting site during springbreak, so reservations are essential this time of year: Happy campers can almost roll out of their tent into the thatched-roof Schooner Wharf Bar where island time and the Real World are as seamless as Key West’s soft blue sky and the Gulf of Mexico.

By Barbara Bowers, © 1995