06/08/2026

Family Vacations in Key West

Your Guide to Staying Near Smathers Beach

The major reason families visit Key West is the soft, white sands of Smathers Beach. It’s Margaritaville Beach House Key West’s front yard neighbor, and it makes an ideal family stay on the island. 

Many adults see Key West as a “Duval Street adventure,” a party city of back-to-back bars and late nights out. They’re not wrong, but that’s only a slice of life on this vibrant island.

The family friendly Key West starts at the water’s edge. Where the mornings are warm before the day gets busy, where the Gulf-facing Atlantic rolls in calm and clear, and where a half-mile of white sand gives everyone in the family room to exhale.

The hotel sits directly across from Key West’s largest public beach. Not “a short drive,” not “convenient to.” A walk across the street in a clearly marked crosswalk with a push-button walk signal. That distinction matters when you’re hauling a beach bag, a boogie board, and the most precious cargo, your kids!

Here’s how to make the most of a family trip built around Smathers Beach, and why the right home base changes everything.

Start Here: What Makes Smathers Beach the Right Beach for Families

The largest beach in Key West is Smathers Beach, stretching about half a mile along South Roosevelt Boulevard. It’s consistently the most family-friendly. Shallow, calm water lets younger kids to splash around without drama. The wide, sandy shoreline provides plenty of breathing room, even on a busy afternoon.

Beach volleyball nets, jet ski rentals, kayaks, paddleboards, and water sports vendors now line the shore on Smathers Beach. On any given day, you’ll find families spread out under umbrellas, teenagers learning to paddleboard, and kids building something ambitious in the sand. It’s the kind of beach where an afternoon becomes a full day before anyone notices.

The ice cream stands and coffee trucks set up along the beach don’t hurt, either.

Staying at Margaritaville Beach House Key West means you won’t need to worry about parking. Walk out the front door, cross the street, and you’re there. No loading and unloading the car. No circling for a spot. No paying to park when you’ve already packed three bags. That zero-friction beach access is genuinely different from what most Key West hotels can offer.

The beach also has a history worth knowing. The City of Key West built Smathers Beach with white sand from the Bahamas in 1961. Jimmy Buffett lived here, loved this beach, and wrote the songs that defined island life on these sands. And the Smathers Beach shoreline is the finish line of one of the most remarkable athletic feats in history: In September 2013, 64-year-old Diana Nyad walked out of the Atlantic Ocean onto this beach after swimming 111 miles from Havana, Cuba, in just under 53 hours. Her words on the beach that day, “Never give up,” still inspire us all.

The Hotel: What Families Actually Need and What’s Already Here

Margaritaville Beach House Key West was built for people who want to actually enjoy their vacations, not manage logistics throughout them. For families, that shows up in the details.

Room options include one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites with living areas and kitchenettes. That’s a practical difference when you have kids who want snacks at unexpected hours or a comfy place to decompress before dinner. Suite layouts and connecting rooms give everyone a little more space to spread out at the end of a long beach day. Balconies and open-air walkways are a boon as well. Ocean and garden views mean waking up already feels like vacation.

Your beach day starts at check in.

Bring the family home to Smathers Beach. Reserve your suite at Margaritaville Beach House Key West today!

On the property, a lagoon-style pool with a cascading waterfall is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. That’s long enough to make a late-afternoon swim after a beach morning completely realistic. Beach and pool towels are included, which means you don’t need to pack your own. Daily poolside smoothies and afternoon popsicles are on the amenities list, which makes the pool area a natural landing spot for kids between adventures.

Tin Cup Chalice Bar & Chill serves American-Caribbean dishes with a Southern twist: fresh seafood, casual bites, tropical smoothies at breakfast. Room service from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. supports you on days when everyone gets too relaxed to leave the property. Lawn games, hammocks in the tropical garden, and family-friendly activities round out what’s available when you’re ready to slow down. 

What to Do Beyond the Beach, Without Overcomplicating the Day

Smathers Beach is the center of gravity for a family trip, but Key West has enough going on that you’ll likely want to venture out at least a day or two. The hotel’s shuttle service to Old Town and back on the hour makes this easy, with no driving, no parking, no GPS-squinting on a one-way street while kids are asking “are we there yet”? And open-air golf carts, a convenient way to explore the island with kids, can be booked through our concierge for real savings.

A few genuinely good options for families: 

Key West Aquarium: One of the oldest attractions on the island (open since 1935), with touch tanks for sea stars, conchs, and baby stingrays, plus shark feedings. Genuinely engaging for kids of most ages.
Conch Tour Train or Old Town Trolley: A low-effort way to see the whole island and figure out what you want to go back and explore on foot. The Trolley has hop-on, hop-off stops, so it’s flexible if someone spots something they want to investigate.
Mallory Square Sunset Celebration: Free, festive, and genuinely fun for everyone. Street performers, artisans, and the whole island gathering to watch the sun go down over the Gulf. Come early to get a good spot.
Dry Tortugas Day Trip: A longer outing for families with older kids who long for a fresh adventure. The ferry departs from Key West and takes you to a Civil War-era fort surrounded by pristine water. Snorkeling, history, and a full day out at sea.

For water activities booked directly from the beach or through the hotel concierge, the popular options are jet skis, snorkel trips, sunset cruises, and fishing charters. Families tend to gravitate toward the catamaran excursions that bundle snorkeling, water park access, and a full day on the water. It’s a great value when you factor in what’s included.

Use the Concierge, Especially if You’re Budgeting

One of the most overlooked family travel assets is a good hotel concierge. Margaritaville Beach House Key West’s concierges have spent years helping guests maximize their stay on the island.

Families tend to face two primary challenges: a finite budget and a diverse group with different interests and energy levels. Both are exactly the kind of thing the concierge desk is built to support.

The key is being upfront about what you’re working with on budget, time, and energy. For families especially, booking water sports and activities through the hotel often comes with better rates than walking up to vendors on the street. Same with fishing charters, jet skis, and snorkel trips. The concierge also knows which experiences are actually right for specific kids’ ages and interests.

How Long Should You Stay?

Key West rewards patience. Three nights gives you enough time to do the beach, see Old Town, catch a sunset, and fit in one excursion, but you’ll leave with a list of things to do next time. Four or five nights is the sweet spot for families, and here’s why: it changes the pace entirely.

When you have more time, you stop trying to optimize every day. You let a morning at Smathers Beach stretch until noon because no one wants to leave. You take the shuttle into Old Town for lunch and end up staying longer than planned because you found a good bookstore. The Dry Tortugas trip can take a whole day, and it’s easier to build in when you’re not already trying to cram in four other things.

From a purely practical standpoint, the beach access matters more the longer you stay. An extra day at Smathers Beach doesn’t require transportation, planning, or coordination. You can walk out the door and be in the water in minutes. For families who tend to plan trips by the activity, Key West near Smathers Beach has a counterintuitive way of being the absolute most rewarding when the schedule loosens up.

When to Go: Summer Is Better Than You Think

Summer in Key West has a reputation it doesn’t quite deserve. Yes, it’s warm. It’s also the time when the water is at its calmest and clearest, the island isn’t as crowded as peak winter season, and the activity calendar is packed.

These events all fall within 8 weeks of each other:

Key Lime Festival (July 1–5, 2026)
4th of July Pool Party in Key West (July 4, 2026)
Hemingway Days (July 22–26, 2026)
Lobsterfest (August 5–9, 2026)
Key West Rum Fest (August 12–16, 2026)

For families specifically, summer works well because the weather is consistent and warm water activities are at their best. Snorkeling, paddleboarding, and swimming in the Atlantic are what Key West does, and summer is when those experiences are most reliable. Pack sun protection, start your beach days early, and let the afternoon pool time do the rest.

June in particular has the advantage of falling before the deeper heat of July and August while still offering all the beach conditions that make Smathers worth building a trip around.

Your Beach Headquarters Awaits

A good family vacation doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs a home base that makes the days easy. Look for somewhere the beach is close, the rooms are comfortable, and someone at the front desk can answer the question, “What should we do tomorrow?” with real knowledge and no hesitation.

Margaritaville Beach House Key West is that place. Smathers Beach is right there. The rest of Key West is a short shuttle ride away. And your vacation starts the moment you arrive.

Ready for a family-friendly beach day?

Book your restorative stay today at Margaritaville Beach House Key West.