Description
Key West, home to Fantasy Fest, is unlike any other town in America. It is one the most laid back towns you will ever find and why not?! The town is an island located in between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. With its beach lifestyle, miles away from anywhere, and nothing but bars and restaurants, this is truly a paradise. The island is over 100 miles away from the mainland of Miami, the Keys are a chain of small islands connected by many bridges, including the 7 Mile Bridge. The drive itself takes around 3 hours to drive to from Miami proper but is such a beautiful and tranquil drive.
Duval Street is where you will find the LGBTQ neighborhood; including the permanent rainbow crosswalk at Duval & Petronia. It has always been an exremely open and inviting town for all walks of life. Maybe its the sun, maybe its the endless supply of cocktails, but for whatever reason, everyone is just happier here and tend to be prejudice free. With most guesthouses and bars having a pool, you are sure to catch a fun pool party while visiting or even catch Sushi, the drag queen, being lowered from a larger than life high heel on New Years Eve at midnight!
While a lot of the beaches are owned by hotels, you can find some wonderful public beaches to enjoy the sun; including the Zachary Talyor State Park. Do not forget to check out the nightly, yes every night, Sunset Festival at Mallory Square, at, yes you guessed it, sunset. It helps that Key West also has open container law, so grab a drink (in plastic cups) and stroll around this amazing, colonial inspired, island city.
Airport
(EYK) Key West International Airport is a small and convenient airport. The best route here would be Silver Airways, most likely with a transfer from another Florida airport.
(MIA) Miami International is the closest major airport. Here you can get a rental car, but it will take around 3 hours to arrive, but its a gorgeous drive!
Public Transportation
Key West offers the Duval Loop! A bus that circles the downtown area of the island. Its wonderfully convenient. Otherwise, the city tends to not like cars, they pride on being as "car-free" as possible, so if you can, do what the locals do and get a scooter, unless you are drinking, then you can stumble anywhere in the downtown area of the island in less than 20 minutes.
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