Marathon

The water is the draw rather than the sand. The Florida Keys sit on shallow, reef-sheltered flats, so there are no long surf beaches. Shores tend to be narrow, calm and sometimes edged with seagrass. In Marathon itself, Sombrero Beach is the best: a palm-lined public beach with clear, gentle water that suits a lazy afternoon. Sunset Park and the beach at Curry Hammock State Park are smaller and quieter.

The finest beach is Bahia Honda State Park, about twenty minutes south across the Seven Mile Bridge, with pale sand and properly clear water. The sea is around 24°C in the winter high season and close to 30°C in summer. Many visitors find their best swimming off a boat over the reef.

Eating here means seafood straight off the boats, served in casual waterfront places with picnic tables, ceiling fans and a view of the marina. Grilled or blackened local fish like mahi and grouper, conch fritters, Keys pink shrimp and spiny lobster in season are the staples. Stone crab claws come in the cooler months, and there is key lime pie to finish. Some fish markets will cook what you or the charter boats caught.

It is honest, fresh and enjoyable, but narrow. Fine dining, international cooking and any coffee or wine culture are thin on the ground. Most visitors eat well without eating memorably.

Marathon's heritage is the Overseas Railroad, the line Henry Flagler pushed across the Keys in the early twentieth century. Pigeon Key, a small island under the old Seven Mile Bridge, keeps the wooden cottages of the workers' camp and a modest museum telling the story. The old bridge alongside the modern highway is a landmark in its own right. Crane Point, a nature and history site, covers the natural history of the Keys and early settlement, including a restored pioneer house.

That is close to the full list. There is no historic town centre to wander, and visitors who want architecture and museums head for Key West.

Evenings revolve around sunset. People gather at open-air waterfront bars with a beer or a rum drink to watch the sun drop over the Gulf side. A few tiki bars and marina hangouts stay sociable later, but the crowd is mostly anglers and boaters who are up before dawn. Clubs and late-night streets do not exist here. For a real night out, Duval Street in Key West is about an hour's drive away.

This is an outdoor destination on the water rather than on land. The islands are flat limestone and mangrove, and the landscape is mostly sea: shades of turquoise over shallow flats with the reef line beyond. Sombrero Reef, a few miles offshore in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is a fine snorkelling and diving site with corals, parrotfish and sometimes turtles. Fishing is the great pursuit. Anglers from far away come for bonefish and tarpon on the flats and for mahi and sailfish offshore.

Curry Hammock State Park and the backcountry are good for kayaking and paddleboarding through mangroves. Cycling on the long Overseas Heritage Trail is another option, as is looking for the small Key deer on Big Pine Key. Inland hiking is minimal, and summer brings heat and the hurricane season.

The Overseas Highway is the only road, so day trips run along it in two directions. To the south-west, about an hour away, Key West is the obvious outing. It has its old town of wooden conch houses, Hemingway's home, Mallory Square at sunset and the end of US 1. On the way you pass Bahia Honda and the quiet Lower Keys around Big Pine.

Islamorada is about forty-five minutes to the north-east. It is a fishing village spread along the road, with galleries, the History of Diving Museum and a relaxed waterfront. Past that the list stops. Miami and the mainland are two and a half hours or more away. The ferry to Dry Tortugas leaves from Key West and needs a very long day.

Marathon is a gentle place with children, especially ones who love animals and water. The Turtle Hospital runs guided visits to see injured sea turtles being treated and released. On Grassy Key, the Dolphin Research Center lets families watch and sometimes meet its dolphins and sea lions. Crane Point has nature trails and a small children's museum. Sombrero Beach has calm, shallow water and shade.

Snorkel trips, glass-bottom boats and fishing for younger anglers fill the rest. It is safe and unhurried, but there are no big attractions made for children. You will drive everywhere, and summer heat and storms make winter and spring the easier months.

Everything sits along one road, the Overseas Highway. You cannot get lost, but you will almost certainly need a car. Marathon stretches for about ten miles across several islands, with a bike path along much of it. The town is not walkable from one end to the other, though, and the local bus is too infrequent for a visitor to rely on.

Most people fly into Miami and drive about two and a half hours down the Keys. The drive is beautiful, but it is slow on busy weekends, and a single accident can block it. Once here, the reef, flats and backcountry are reached by boat, usually with a charter or rental from the many marinas.

Shopping here is practical: fishing tackle, dive gear, beachwear and the odd gallery of local art or a T-shirt shop along the highway. There are no shopping streets, design boutiques or markets of note. Key West's old town has more, but nobody plans a trip to the Keys around shopping.

The Florida Keys are an expensive place to stay, and Marathon only softens that a little. The high season runs from about December to April, when waterfront hotels, resorts and vacation rentals are costly and book up early. Restaurants charge resort prices for seafood. The activities people come for, such as fishing charters, dive trips and boat rentals, add up quickly. Summer and early autumn are cheaper but hot and inside the hurricane season. Self-catering in a rental and spending time on free beaches and parks are the ways to keep costs in check.

Live performance is limited to a small community theatre and singers with guitars playing to the sunset crowds at waterfront bars. There is no concert hall or regular programme to plan a trip around. Key West, about an hour away, has a little more in the way of theatre and live music.

Marathon's restorative quality comes from its pace more than its facilities. Days are measured by tides and sunsets. Nothing is far away, and the mood is unhurried and informal. Spa treatments mostly mean massages at the larger waterfront resorts or a few small day spas. There is no bathing tradition, thermal water or wellness retreat scene. It suits people who unwind by doing very little near the water, rather than those looking for a proper spa vacation.