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March 20, 2013September 21, 2019

Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, Key West

Come for the sunshine, stay for the sunset…

Fort Zachary Taylor Beach, located on the west side of Key West, scores this weeks Beach of the Week endorsement as a great place to hang out, have a picnic, spread a towel or rent a beach chair, snorkel and swim, fish, enjoy the sunshine and then get treated to some of the prettiest sunset views around. Key West is not really known for it’s beaches, but many feel that Fort Zachary Taylor Beach is the best on Key West – and it’s rumored to be the favorite among the locals. We think it’s well worth a visit.

Access: It can be a bit tricky to get to. Drive south on Southard Street and into the Truman Annex. Follow the road to a guard shack (small admission fee). Continue on a paved road to parking which is close to the beach. We saw quite a few people ride their bikes to the beach and there are bike racks available.

Beach: Areas of sand with some rocks in the swimming area, sheltered cove area which is good for children, gently sloping access, some shade, good snorkeling in the rocky areas.

Amenities: Many amenities available, including beach chair rental, snack shop, picnic tables, restrooms and showers, gift shop, and nature trail.

Swimming area

Recommended for: swimming, sunbathing, picnicking, fishing, people watching and watching sunsets.

Tips: Water shoes are recommended. If you have time, take the guided tour of the Fort located close to the beach. Then, move to the rocky west end as the sun begins to set to be treated to spectacular sunsets as the boats sail by….

Waiting for the sunset with some pirates who were in the area for a Pirate Festival!

Watch as the ship disappears into the sunset and then reappears again!

Find out more here: Florida State Parks – Fort Zachary Taylor

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Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC. All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit.

October 5, 2012September 25, 2019

Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 1)

Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be,
Just a dream and the wind to carry me,
And soon I will be free…Christopher Cross

It’s no secret that we love to sail.

Can you beat the feeling of the sun warmed sea air on your face and the sounds of the sea as you adjust the sails to catch the warm breeze? We’ve been lucky enough to sail the British Virgin Islands (BVI) twice and are hooked. Once on a sailboat and once on a catamaran, we can’t wait to go back again. Although we’ve seen quite a bit of these picturesque islands, there is still so much more to explore and we look forward to doing just that.

Through lots of pictures and just a few words, we’d like to share some of what we’ve experienced – so far – in the BVI. Check out this MAP to see the location of each of the islands.

Norman Island
At the southern tip of the British Virgin Islands, this privately owned, uninhabited island has plenty to experience. We spent one night on both of our sails in The Bight – a sheltered harbour which makes a great anchorage. While there, we:

1. Took a hike to the top!
(You can find the path behind Pirates Bight. Great views of The Bight, Peter Island and Tortola.)

2. On our way back down, we stopped for a drink, some sun, beach time and chatter with fellow boaters at Pirates Bight.

3. Dinghy-ed up for a drink at the infamous Willy T’s.
(Go during the day for some tasty food and a (usually) quieter crowd. Go at night for the party! Read more about one of our visits here: Rum Therapy at Willy T’s)

4. Snorkeled the Caves
(Just past Treasure Point is a great area to snorkel with several caves and abundant fish. Keep your eyes open for treasure – apparently some was found years ago in The Caves.)

Peter Island

We took a short sail around Norman to Peter Island, home of the magnificent Peter Island Resort and Spa. We spent an awesome day in Deadman’s Bay doing the following:

1. Walked the beach, kayaked and enjoyed cocktails at the Deadman’s Beach Bar & Grill

2. Snorkeled
(Turtles can sometimes be found in the sea grass beds)

3. Took a short hike up the road to get a beautiful view of Deadman’s Bay and the other side of the island

After a great day basking in the sun at Deadman’s Bay, we moved the boat around the island to Little Harbour for the night. As the sun went down, we enjoyed some rum and wakeboarding behind the dinghy. We’d already had a great couple of days and were looking forward to heading north the next day to the beautiful island reputedly named The Fat Virgin by Christopher Columbus – Virgin Gorda.

Check out Rum Therapy Sailing in the British Virgin Islands (Part 2):
Virgin Gorda

October 5, 2011June 5, 2019

Rum Therapy On St. Croix

Last spring we had the opportunity to go to St. Croix for the first time. We’d spent some time in the two other US Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and St. John, but had not yet gotten to venture a little farther south to the sunny shores of St. Croix.

After just a week, St. Croix quickly became a new favorite destination. It’s the largest of the three islands but has about the same number of residents as smaller St. Thomas. The pace on St. Croix is decidedly relaxed, the people are warm and friendly and you can either find a quiet beach, relax and do nothing or be as busy as you want with activities like diving, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, hiking and enjoying stunning scenery, great bars, music, restaurants and shops.

We’ve determined that one week on St. Croix is not nearly enough to truly experience this Caribbean gem, but until we can go and stay longer, we’ll share with you the things we’ve experienced so far that we think shouldn’t be missed! Click on the links for more pictures and info.

1. Cruzan Rum Factory Tour – if you enjoy rum, this is a must see. Interesting tour and a rum drink at the end!

2. Drive to Point Udall – the eastern most point in the US. – beautiful vistas.

From Point Udall, hike down to Jack’s and Issac’s Beach at sunrise…

3. Sail to, snorkel and explore Buck Island. (See Turtle Beach, Buck Island and Snorkeling at Buck Island) Great snorkeling, an underwater snorkel trail, hiking and an amazing powder soft beach.

4. Enjoy the wonderful Cruzan Rum drinks available everywhere on the island!

5. Explore Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted and other historic buildings in the area to learn some of the the history of the island.

Be sure to spend time walking around Christiansted shopping, exploring and enjoying some of the great restaurants and bars. Join the fun at the Crab Races in Christiansted and the Divi Resort on the SE side.

6. Head to the northwest part of the island and hike one of the trails in St. Croix’s rainforest. Stop by the Mt. Pellier Domino Club for a cool drink, visit with some of the locals and feed a can of beer to one of the famous “beer drinking pigs”. (Read more about out visit to Mt. Pellier Domino Club here: Mt. Pellier Domino Club)

7. Spend some time in Fredriksted and check out the pier where the cruise ships dock. Snorkel, dive, jump off the pier or just enjoy a spectacular sunset. Head over to nearby Coconuts on the Beach and Rhythms at Rainbow Beach to enjoy a cold beverage and live music.

8. Spend a lazy day at Sandy Point. One of the prettiest beaches on the island and the location of the beach scene in “The Shawshank Redemption”.

9. Enjoy “life in the left lane”. Rent a jeep to explore the entire island and drive on the left side of the road – from the left side of the jeep!

10. Take a day trip to St. Thomas or Puerto Rico by seaplane.

Whatever you do or however long your visit, be sure to slow down, relax and take advantage of all that St. Croix has to offer!

See our St. Croix Map for locations of these attractions

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

March 12, 2011June 6, 2019

Snorkeling at Buck Island, St. Croix

I’m scared to scuba dive. There, I said it. I thought about doing a resort course once, but when I learned that you had to be able to take the air tube out of your mouth and share it with someone else and that there is actually a chance that you could run out of air that many feet below the surface… I’m actually in awe of those who do dive, I mean, the pictures I’ve seen of their underwater world are stunning.

Anyway…John, the other half of this team likes to dive, but thankfully he also likes to snorkel – and I LOVE snorkeling.

Here we are, foggy lenses and all!

So we’ve been talking lately a lot about our awesome recent trip to St. Croix. On the list for this trip was a visit to Buck Island, an island just off of St. Croix that has been designated a national monument. Snorkeling there was purported to be amazing, and at the easternmost part of the reef there is an underwater trail – similar to the underwater trail found in Trunk Bay on St. John.

We’d snorkeled Trunk Bay several times – way back before it got so darned popular and crowded and so we were mildly interested in comparing the two trails, although we were more interested in seeing the vibrant coral and fish.

We found a charter recommended by Fodors and Frommers tour guides and booked a tour to sail, snorkel and explore on Teroro II the following day. The Teroro II is a trimaran and we boarded with about 12 other guests.

Teroro II

Carl was our Captain for the day. He was full of information and stories about Buck Island and St. Croix and did his best to make sure everyone was having a good time.

Captain Carl

We had a great sail out to the island and attached to a mooring ball offshore. We donned our gear and quickly jumped in.

The Buck Island Underwater Snorkel Trail consists of a series of underwater plaques indicating some of the flora and fauna found around the reef. After diving in, we soon found one of the plaques in the underwater trail showing the beginning of the trail.

We saw a rather large fish just a few feet away and began swimming after him to get a picture.

Then saw this plaque…

Thankfully he wasn’t interested in us.

We followed the trail for a while and then veered off on our own. The sun was out and the water was warm clear – although a tad choppy. Fish were abundant and the coral was colorful.

An hour flew by and we were signaled to come back to the boat for our short sail to the other side of the island for some beach time!

Find Buck Island on our St. Croix Map

To see more posts on St. Croix and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory