Free on the Key

BEST FREE FUN

Not everything in Key West costs a lot. Here’s what’s fun and free.

Late summer and early fall bring the lowest room rates to Key West. Yes, it’s the peak of hurricane season, but for budget travelers, this is also bargain season.

To make your travel dollars stretch even further, take advantage of the many free things to do in Key West. You don’t have to drop $15 or $20 for admission to have a memorable Key West experience.

Here’s an added bonus: Many of these free activities are off the beaten path and take you through historic streets, one the best things about Key West.

Free self-guided walking tours

There are wonderful group tours of Key West, but the best ones cost $30 and up for adults. If you’re an independent sort, a great alternative is the free self-guided tour from the Old Island Restoration Foundation that is offered in three formats.

There’s an app, Explore Historic Key West, which you can download for free in the app store before leaving home.

There’s a printed guide, “Pelican Path Self-Guided Tour of Key West,” at oirf.org/ images/pelicantour.pdf, which you can print before you leave home.

And there are the historic markers, each with a number on it. You can use your phone to hear more detailed historic narration of each site as you stand in front of it. (The same audio is on the app.) To use your phone: dial 1-305-507-0300 and then the marker number.

All the markers and narration are also listed at the Key West historic-marker website at keywesthistoricmarkertour.org.

Both the app and printed tour provide the stories behind historic buildings. And you can break your explorations into smaller segments to go at your own pace.

It’s not easy to follow any walking tour or trail, so we found an alternative method. We chose a specific point (like the Southernmost House) and walked a few blocks in each direction to visit a few of the marker sites and listen to the audio. Then we moved on to another cluster of historic buildings.

A second free walking tour app comes from the Florida Humanities Council. (Look in the app store for Florida Stories.) This tour has 12 key locations, which makes it easier to complete. Each of its stops includes entertaining stories of Key West’s people and past.

The Oldest House

Key West is full of old homes, but few of them welcome visitors inside for free. The oldest house, a modest building you’ll easily walk right past as you stroll down busy Duval Street, is operated by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, which is responsible for starting the preservation movement in Key West.

You can tour the three ground-floor rooms, and it’s worth going with a docent to hear about the Watlington family and their nine daughters. The whole tour will take perhaps 20 minutes.

The best part, though, may be the quiet, shady backyard, where you are free to linger and escape the hectic Duval scene.

322 Duval St.; 305-294-9501. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Wednesday and Sunday.

PHOTOS COURTESY FLORIDARAMBLER.COM Among the historic residences is the Capt. George Carey Home, at 410 Caroline St., which was built in 1834 and later expanded.

Sunset at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park in Key West.