Explore the islands that make up the Keys and discover a world populated by colourful characters and exotic wildlife

The Florida Keys is a string of islands stretching into the Gulf of Mexico. The long, thin fingers of land are home to an array of bird life while corals, fish, manatees and dolphins fill the sea.

There's also an eclectic mix of people that are attracted by the laid-back atmosphere typical of island life. Expect to meet your fair share of eccentrics and colourful characters and you won't be disappointed.

There's something very attractive about the Keys. The laid-back attitude of the locals is infectious and it's easy to see why the myth of 'Keys Disease' originated.

The symptoms of this 'disease' are a strong desire to abandon your 'normal life' and start over on the islands. Many succumb to this strong infection and the only 'cure' is reported to be plenty of rum and plenty of return visits.

Hit the road

A great way to see the Keys is to drive down the Overseas Highway, stopping at the various islands to sample their varied charms. You can easily drive the length of the Keys in one day (it's under 130 miles from Miami to Key West and you can drive there in about three and a half hours), but it's much nicer to take your time and make stops along the way.

Directions are given by mile markers, green signs along the side of the road starting just south of Miami with MM127 and finishing at MM0 in Key West. Addresses are given to the nearest marker and the side of the road is defined as being Oceanside if it faces the Atlantic Ocean or Bayside if it overlooks the Florida Bay.

It's tempting to drive straight through Key Largo, the closest to the US mainland and largest of the islands. But head to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (at MM 102.5-Oceanside), where you can snorkel, dive or ride in a glass-bottomed boat over the Florida Reef.

Make time to visit the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center at Tavernier, and meet local character Laura Quinn. When she retired from teaching, Laura set up the centre to rescue injured birds, and release them back into the wild once recovered.

Those that can't fend for themselves are kept there. There's a daily bird-feeding where resident and visiting wildfowl gather for a fish dinner. Pelicans are surprising large birds up close, and hand-feeding them is not for the faint-hearted, but is a delight to watch.

Swim with dolphins

Dolphins feature prominently in many Keys activities and many places, such as Dolphins Plus in Key Largo, offer visitors the chance to swim with them. In a structured swim, participants aged seven and over, can enter a pool containing up to seven dolphins and swim with them while they perform learned behaviour (such as belly rubs, dorsal fin tows, and kisses).

Each session is limited to two or three people swimming with two dolphins while a trainer puts the dolphins through their paces in return for fish rewards.

Islamorada, the next of the Keys, is famed for its world-class sport fishing. You can book a trip out and enjoy a day's deep-sea fishing with the chance to catch marlin, sailfish and swordfish. Many captains operate a catch-and-release policy so that you can enjoy the sport without killing the wildlife.

You can also visit The Theater of the Sea here. This wildlife park specialises in American animals and is home to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, sea turtles, alligators and stingrays as well as tropical parrots. There are regular displays with the animals, with dolphins and sea lions performing tricks for fishy rewards, and the opportunity to get up close to the stingrays and hand-feed them.

Save the turtles

Heading further down the Keys to the Middle Keys, you'll find rescued turtles at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. There are daily tours of the centre and you can learn more about the threats to turtle survival and treatments for the injured animals.

The tour also takes you to the rehabilitation area where recovering turtles are kept in what used to be a motel swimming pool until they are well enough to return to the ocean. Those unable to return to the wild become permanent residents.

The jewel of the Keys is Key West. Closer to Cuba than mainland USA, Key West is a magnet for those seeking alternative lifestyles.

Individualism is celebrated here, and there's an 'anything goes' atmosphere (street theatre included a man juggling a working chainsaw, hand grenade and machete, complete with audience participation). Not surprisingly, the liberal attitude of the place has attracted a large homosexual community and there are flamboyant cabarets in the bars with drag artists lip-synching to classic eighties tunes.

You can arrange snorkelling or diving trips out to the reef from many points along the Keys. These are good value but be warned, they will go out even when the weather is bad and visibility in the water is poor. To my mind, a nicer (although admittedly costlier) option is to book a boat trip around the smaller Keys with Captain Victoria Impallomeni.

A Keys native, Captain Victoria is passionate about the area and its wildlife, and generous in her willingness to share her knowledge. She'll take you on a tour of the unspoiled mangrove habitats that are home to herons and osprey, as well as dolphins, turtles and manatees, in a smaller boat, holding just six passengers.

Key West is also different from the other Keys in that there is more of a 'centre' with a main drag lined with bars and restaurants to tempt weary explorers. Duval Street is a great place to saunter, quenching your thirst in Sloppy Joe's (a favourite haunt of Ernest Hemmingway) or Margaritaville (named after Jimmy Buffet's song). For a blow-out meal, head to Nine One Five, brainchild of ex-Brit Stuart Kemp and partner Siobhan Greene.

Located in a beautiful Victorian house with huge porches, you can enjoy really good food in a relaxing setting. The starters are to die for. Try the Dungeness crab mixed with sharp apple and wrapped in Ahi tuna sushi served with avocado sashimi and, for a retro touch, devils on horseback, dates stuffed with sweet garlic and wrapped in bacon, and if you have room for the mains, they won't disappoint.

Where to stay

Many of the islands are well geared-up for tourists and there are plenty of places to stay. You'll find the usual hotels and motels, but if you're travelling as a family you might want to rent a holiday home.

Tranquility Bay in Marathon has 87 purpose-built two and three-bedroom houses, arranged around a central pool and restaurant. All the units have a view of the sea and are comfortably furnished, although the third bedrooms are small and only the master bedroom has an en suite.

Other self-catering options include Dove Creek Lodge at Key Largo where you can rent a one or two-bedroom apartment, either with a full kitchen or with fridge and coffee making facilities. This also has a pool and restaurant attached.

In Key West, you can stay at various guest houses. We stayed at the Old Town Manor which has basic rooms with en suite bathrooms. It's a fairly strange place. Reception is only open between 9am and 6pm and if you should lock yourself out of your room after these times, you?ll be fined $100 to call out a locksmith. They are also strict about breakfast times (from 8.30am until 10am). Requests for a cup of coffee ten minutes earlier than this were met with a 'rules are rules' response, despite obvious activity in the kitchen.

Need to know

From March 2008, foreign visitors to the US will be required to give all ten fingerprints on arrival, which will then be stored on a biometrics database. Since 2004, the Homeland Security Department has been collecting index fingerprints from foreign visitors aged from 14 to 79 and now has 90 million sets of prints on record. It is hoped collecting additional fingerprints will improve security and make it harder for people to travel on forged passports.

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