Customer Reviews

June Keith's Key West & the Florida Keys: A Guide to the Coral Islands (June Keith's Key West and the Florida Keys)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I like using guide books, and have used others when visiting Key West, but this one is the ultimate. I felt like the author was sitting in the back seat of our rental car, providing a narration as we wandered around looking for sights and scenes that we had never seen before. The restaurant reviews were right on, and funny even. My husband and I liked the discussion of Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and, believe it or not, we'd never heard of a wonderful movie, 'The Rose Tattoo,' filmed in Key West - which we never, ever miss when they show it late at night. We read about it in this book. Also, she recommends lots of books about Key West which we will read in preparation for our next trip. There are free sights to see on the road between Key West and Miami, and we'd never have known about them, either. Along the Overseas Highway there are some terrific beaches, libraries, a Pioneers Cemetery - on a beach! - a Hurricane Monument - that you don't know about unless you read about them in this book. Anytime someone we know is headed for the Keys, we give them this book. It's a winner.

This author really knows the area and gave great tips and tidbits of history and information to make our trip more interesting. Her restaurant reviews were right on target. We ate incredibly well the entire trip! If you go to Key West, take her suggestions - ours too, and try the following restaurants: Louie's Backyard, Camilles, Blue Heaven (a must for breakfast or a fabulous lunch). As for tours and excursions, we tried the following based on information in her book and had a great time: Tall ship dinner cruise; The Butterfly conservatory (Wings of Imagination); Truman's Little White House; Hemmingway House; Audubon House. These restaurants and tours were not all we tried but they topped the list.

Go enjoy the Keys - and don't leave without this book.

I purchased this book before embarking on a vacation with my family to the Keys. We visited several of the places described in the book, and found the information to be right on target. She tells you about so many places you otherwise might not even see or know about. One of our favorite places was Robbie's Marina where they give you so much food you can't finish it, and you can feed the Tarpon and the Jacks from the pier What fun! Thanks to Joan Keith we felt as though we captured the true flavor of the Keys and visited all of the favorite hangouts of the locals. Thanks a million!

I like using guide books and have used others when visiting Key West. But this one is the ultimate. I felt like the author was sitting in the back seat of our rental car, providing a narration as we wandered around looking for sights and scenes that we had never seen before. The restaurant reviews were right on, and funny even. My husband and I liked the discussion of Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, and, believe it or not, we'd never heard of a wonderful movie, "The Rose Tattoo," filmed in Key West - which we never, ever miss when they show it late at night. We read about it in this book. Also, she recommends lots of books about Key West which we will read in preparation for our next trip. There are free sights to see on the road between Key West and Miami, the Overseas Highway, and we'd never known about them, either. There are some terrific beaches, libraries, a Pioneers Cemetery - on a beach! - a Hurricane Monument. Also, some interesting restaurants off the main highway that you don't know about unless you read about them in this book. Anytime someone we know is headed for the Keys, we give them this book. It's a winner.

I bought this book and still refer to it whenever we're heading back to Key West. It's the most informative book on Key West and the Florida Keys I could have ever hoped to find. There are reviews of restaurants (big and small, expensive to modest), hotels, guesthouses, walking tour guides, even prices of the various accomodations and attractions. There are even juicy behind-the-scenes stories about the colorful lives of past and present Key Westers. Ms. Keith is a wealth of information and makes an extraordinary effort to share that information with the rest of the world. This is the consummate guide to Key West, and I've recommended it to everybody I know.

This book includes lots of interesting history and background on the Florida Keys. But you won't be able to use this as your only guide book for the Keys. No useful maps or directions are included. Also, she doesn't include prices for lodging or dining. This book was fun to read and had good suggestions, but we definitely needed more information that was not included in the book.

This spring, planning to head down to the Florida Keys for the very first time, I picked up a copy of June Keith's Key West and the Florida Keys at a bookstore in Toronto. I found it a great fun read, and on your recommendation, we rented a house in Big Pine Key for a week. My husband, sister and our two little kids spent glorious days roasting on the beach at Bahia Honda, feasted on burgers and ice cream at the Dip 'n Deli, and cooked fresh fish in the evenings that we picked up at the E Fish Company. We also tried out the Charles Kuralt cottage at Travelers Palm in Key West for a couple of nights on a splurge and particularly loved the funky old aquarium and lunching at Dennis' Pharmacy. As a fellow travel writer I wanted to let you know that traveling with your book gives your reader's access to the kind of soulful insider tips visitors really need.

We bought this book in the early stages of planning a Labor Day weekend trip to Key West. It was sheer luck that we chose this book, and now we can't imagine our first visit without it.

I am impressed with the book's balance of suggestions for traditional tourist destinations and quirky attractions. (I would have never thought to visit the Key West cemetery without her guidance.) Best of all were the dining suggestions. Louie's Backyard, Banana Cafe, Camille's and Mangoes were wonderful. At the top of the list was Blue Heaven! My memory of Blue Heaven's gumbo soup and yellowtail snapper will linger with me always.

June Keith's book made our Key West vacation nearly perfect. I will recommend it to anyone planning to go to the Keys.

The diving sections in this Keys guidebook are brief and generalized. As with the other guidebooks for sale here, the diving descriptions give the non-resident a small taste of what a visit will be like, and perhaps some ideas on what to ask for when calling a diveshop. The non-diving info is interesting, filled with fun anecdotes and history, and will surely contribute to anyone's understanding of this unique locale. Highly recommended (as guidebook).

I cannot stress enough how great this book is! I bought it the 1st time my husband and I planned our Key West trip and had to cancel due to a hurricane. I read it from cover to cover then, highlighting all of the things that we wanted to see or do. Now, we are planning our escape to paradise once again and I cannot put this book down. She makes it so interesting, it is not like reading your everyday guide book, she knows things about all of the Keys and has something interesting to say about every one of them. You will love this book if you are a history buff like me. I would enjoy this book even if we were not going to the Keys! I find myself reading something and then going back and re-reading the same thing because it is such neat information! Order it- you will not be sorry!