Keys to Luxury
Florida’s offbeat islands are turning upscale with new private dive guides, fishing trips, exclusive sunset cruises and a private island resort. But don’t worry – these upgraded Keys haven’t lost their oddball charm.

The come-as-you-are Florida Keys are synonymous with fishing, diving and dusk-to-dawn parties. But luxury vacations? Conventional wisdom says skip this wacky island chain and try Coconut Grove or Palm Beach instead.

Hold on. Although the Keys’ reputation as a place that’s a little rough around the edges is well-deserved, several new attractions have emerged that offer true extravagance – whether it’s a VIP dive trip, a white-glove fishing excursion, a sunset cruise on a luxury catamaran or a five-star lodging experience on your own private island.

Extravagance and eco-tourism are an irresistible combination these days. About one-half of all U.S. adults – an estimated 98 million people – have taken an adventure trip in the past five years, according to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). Of that, about a third engaged in so-called “hard” adventure, like whitewater rafting, mountain-biking or scuba diving.

But getting roughed up doesn’t necessarily mean you have to rough it, at least not the entire time. A recent report by the luxury travel agency consortium Virtuoso found that travelers with a taste for adventure crave the good life, too. So it’s no surprise that a destination like the Keys is giving itself an upgrade.

In Key Largo, going upscale means downsizing. Justin Minichino, who just began offering custom dive excursions through Amy Slate’s Amoray Dive Resort in Key Largo, prefers to think of it as “taking diving to the next level.” That’s not only true figuratively – but literally, too. His exclusive dive adventures on the Just-In-Time, a six passenger, 26-foot-long catamaran, are a world away from the party-boat dive trips you normally find in the Upper Keys.

And they take divers to a different world.

Each morning, the Just-In-Time slices through a flat turquoise sea on its way to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The seamless blue sky stretches toward the horizon, where it’s met by a translucent Atlantic. None of the divers lift a finger to prepare their equipment – it has all been done for them before they boarded. After a briefing by the guide, the divers descend into the ocean. Moments later, at a depth of about 30 feet, they’re in a real-life aquarium: midnight parrotfish, French angelfish, nurse sharks and spotted eagle ray curiously gaze at the interlopers.

At the end of the tour, the divers remove their equipment in the water, where it is lifted on to the boat by the crew. Cold drinks are served and the boat makes its way to another location.

A few miles south along Highway One, you can experience a different kind of luxury. Islamorada, which is billed as the sport-fishing capital of the world, is a great place to hitch a ride on a party boat to go deep-sea fishing. But if you want to fish in style, skip the big boat and hire a private guide like Richard Stanczyk to see the saltwater flats in the backcountry.

The Gulf of Florida is a vast, open space of contrasts and extremes. Water and sky merge in a watercolor of blue and green along the horizon; hundreds of uninhabited islands stretch out into the sea in front of you. Out here you can catch anything from the shy bonefish to the menacing bull shark. A pro like Stanczyk knows every part of the backcountry like the back of his hand, and he takes you to the choicest fishing spots. “For most people, it isn’t about catching a fish as much as it is being out here on the water,” says the soft-spoken guide. “For them catching a fish is a bonus.”

But it’s a bonus Stanczyk invariably gets. Even on a day when the winds are kicking up tiny waves in the shallow water, he knows where to find good fish – the redfish, trout or fierce tarpon. Best of all, he takes care of everything, even baiting your hook if you don’t care to get your fingers covered in fish guts. Now that’s service.

Prefer not to interact with the wildlife in that way? On Duck Key, the wildlife (such as it is) stays on the boat. In the case of the sailing cruises offered on the Horizon, a 40-foot catamaran, it’s all about enjoying one of nature’s most impressive displays of light and color – the incomparable Florida Keys sunset. “We don’t have a destination in mind,” says Cindy Shattuck, the Horizon’s co-owner. “We just go where the wind takes us.” But they travel in style: free beer, wine and soda are served on the trip, and there’s a special champagne toast when the sun goes down.

For private parties, the Horizon pulls out all the stops. It serves gulf shrimp and vegetable appetizers and takes passengers on an extended tour of the Atlantic. Along the way, you can see dolphin, stingrays and green turtles in their natural habitat, without having to get wet or baiting a hook.

The Keys even offer unusual upscale accommodations.

Little Palm Island, a short drive and a ferry ride away from Key West (it’s only accessible by water) is something close to your own private island: 28 thatched-roof bungalows where no creature comfort has been spared. Envision Gilligan’s Island – as Mrs. Howell would have wanted it. Understated furniture, oversized bathrooms, king-sized beds with mosquito netting that the hotel insists is “for effect only.”

Think that’s decadent? Then stretch out on the sandy beach. When you get thirsty, just plant your flag in the ground and someone will be by to take your drink order. You won’t find any crashing waves on this shore – there’s a barrier reef a few miles out – but you do get the companionship of the endangered Key Deer, the dog-sized creatures that drop by to mooch a bite to eat from the sun-worshippers. The deer are extremely friendly and they obviously have highly developed tastes.

How the Keys can offer all this style without giving up their quirkiness is a mystery. Whether you’re getting the exclusive diving tour, fishing guide, sunset cruise or hotel experience, the place still manages to exude irreverence. It seems you can always hear a Jimmy Buffett tune playing in the distance somewhere, even while you’re savoring a five-course dinner.

Margaritaville was never so chic.

Christopher Elliott and Kari Haugeto are writers based in Key Largo, Fla. This article was written in August 2003. Last update August 2003.

Top photo: The Just-In-Time, a 26-foot catamaran specially outfitted for diving, leaves for the shipwreck of the City of Washington.

Publication-quality high-resolution digital images are available upon request.

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