After enjoying a day in Key West, my family and I headed for Turtle Kraals for dinner. One of our initial draws was to see their evening turtle races, but we ended up not staying late enough to see it. Our kids were tired from our adventures of the day, so we opted to head back to our resort earlier than planned.

Outside Seating

However we did enjoy the outside dining and views of the Key West Bight Marina from their spacious and relatively cool patio. We arrived in time for happy hour, which runs daily from 4:30 – 6:30, and enjoyed half off their decent draft list. A variety of food specials are also offered, most of the appetizer variety.

Harbor View

I knew going into our visit what I wanted to try for dinner, and that was their arepas ($13.99). Here the Venezuelan corn cakes are topped with a pistachio and raisin chicken salad, mango, tomato, and avocado. This is served with a field green salad on the side. The arepas themselves were good, but the real standout here was the chicken salad. I really enjoyed their unique take and found the addition of pistachios to be amazing! The toppings were fresh and complimented the rest of the dish quite well.

Chicken Salad Arepas

My wife chose the fish tacos on flour tortillas served with yellow rice, black beans (market price, $16.95 during our visit). The serving was large with three tortillas stuffed full. The fish of the day was mahi mahi and my wife really enjoyed that.

Fish Tacos

We also shared some of the happy hour appetizers with our kids. The pretzel bites ($6) were fried to perfection and served with a tasty mustard based sauce on the side.

Pretzel Bites

The cheese sticks were also good ($6.99) and was more than enough for a meal for our four-year-old. Kid’s meals are a bit pricey ($8.50), so if your kids are on the younger side the appetizers can make a more affordable option.

Cheese Sticks

One of our favorite things about Turtle Kraals were the bocce courts near the outdoor dining area. This allowed my wife and I time to enjoy a second happy hour beer while playing some games with our kiddos.

Bocce

We had a great time at Turtle Kraals and would not hesitate to visit again. The food was really good, the service was attentive, and the environment was perfect.

During our summer trip to the Florida Keys we spent an afternoon in Key West. I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of things for our family to do on the often party filled island. When I found the glass bottom boat tour from Fury I quickly made a reservation for the 2 hour tour.

Mermaid

Upon checking in I was told that due to water being too rough near the planned stop at the coral reef, we would instead be heading to a coral garden on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island. They let me know this ahead of time so that we could reschedule if we wanted, but we were not staying in Key West and would only have a chance to visit on this one afternoon. So we stuck with our planned time.

Cruising Out

The “Pride of Key West” is a large catamaran that features a seated sun deck on top, and an air-conditioned viewing area below. The indoor area is complete with plenty of seating, a snack bar, restrooms, and two glass bottom hulls. You are welcome to bring your own snacks and drinks, including alcohol, for enjoyment on the cruise.

Glass Bottom

The ride out to the coral gardens was smooth and before too long the engines slowed and we grabbed seats around the glass bottom sections of the boat. One of the crew grabbed a microphone and guided us through the garden telling us about everything we were seeing and some area history as well.

Corals

It was not the most interesting glass bottom trip I’ve been on, but our kids really enjoyed seeing all the fish and various corals. I enjoyed the boat ride with scenic views out of and back into Key West.

Cruising Back

We didn’t leave the resort much during our stay at Hawks Cay Resort, so when we did I wanted to find the best places around. For our first lunch away from the resort I chose Herbie’s Bar & Chowder House. I first found this place due to their excellent craft beer menu. But I was happy to find that they are wonderfully kid friendly as well.

Outside

Their screened in porch is the room for families wishing to dine in. There are fans throughout so the heat wasn’t overbearing. There are child seats that clip on to the table ends, as well as small chalkboards for each kid with a bucket of chalk to help pass the time for food to arrive.

Screened In Porch

There are two other rooms that are inside, but these feature high top tables and bar seating. Either way there is plenty of room that you wouldn’t expect there to be from viewing the restaurant from the outside.

Front Room

I ordered from the smoker side of the menu, the pulled pork sandwich with in-house smoked pork butt on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion ($13.95). The pork had a wonderful smoke flavor and was lightly topped with a tangy sauce. I also enjoyed a side of black beans and rice ($3) though wish the beans had a bit more kick to them. With that said my daughter really enjoyed not having them overly spiced.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

My son really enjoyed the cheese burger sliders with fries. The burger was thick cut and cooked perfectly. I stole a couple of fries and these were fresh-cut and fried to perfection.

Kid’s Sliders

My wife’s only request was crab cakes. They appear as a starter on the menu ($12.95 for 2). However our server recommended adding a salad to this as she thought the crab cakes alone are not enough food for a solid lunch. My wife agreed but actually ended up with more food that she could eat. The salad ($8.95) portion was quite large with a blend of mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. This might be a good dinner option but too much for lunch. With that said, my wife really enjoyed the crab cakes and the salad was of highest quality.

Crab Cake Salad

Finally my daughter is big macaroni and cheese fan. She was given a massive bowl of the stuff and it was just as expected. No complaints from her on this dining adventure.

Mac & Cheese

We had a great visit to Herbie’s and would not hesitate to stop in again on future travels to the area.

Summer is not quite officially over but the kids are back to school. In the meantime I’m still trying to catch up with all of our summer travels.  The first trip we took right after the kids were finished with school was down to the Florida Keys. There aren’t a lot of hotels with a swimmable beach in the keys, but fortunately we found Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key.

Lagoon

Hawks Cay has their own ocean fed saltwater lagoon. It is large enough for kayaks and snorkeling and is full of aquatic life. We spent a lot of time here catching little fish and crabs. There are a couple of outdoor grills nearby and food or drinks can be ordered from the wait staff who make the rounds through the lounge chairs.

Iguana

We didn’t stay in the resort building itself, instead we rented a two bedroom villa that was equipped with a kitchen, dining table, and a small area with a couch and television. While my wife and I enjoyed making our own breakfasts in the mornings and having extra space, I think the kids favorite thing were the iguanas that were living in the trees near our back porch.

Pirate Ship Pool

In addition to the lagoon, there are five pools scattered on the resort grounds. We didn’t use the adult only tranquility pool but spent considerable time at the kid’s pirate ship pool, the resort pool near the lagoon, and the sunset pool that was closest to our villa.

Mini Golf

And if that wasn’t enough there are so many family activities planned throughout the day. We competed in a scavenger hunt and also spent a lot of time on the turf soccer field. There is also a miniature golf course, plenty of tennis courts, and a full service marina.

Soccer

There is so much to do that you may not even leave the resort area. If you do it is at least 15 minutes drive to any other restaurants or attractions. We had such an incredible stay at Hawks Cay and I definitely think we will visit again in the future.