You'll find a wide assortment of dining possibilities. Most serve native seafood cooked in many ways, but there are also small Cuban restaurants serving traditional dishes: picadillo, ground meat and saffron rice, black beans, fried plantains, and crispy Cuban bread.

Brian's in Paradise: With a twelve-page menu, this restaurant has something for everyone, but the best is the Marathon Meal, a sampling of local favorites, including conch chowder, conch fritters, fried shrimp, and Key lime pie. (Mile Marker 52, Marathon, 305-743-3183)

Castaway: Go where the locals go and you're sure to find good food, and this restaurant, serving steamed-in-beer shrimp with seconds on the house, accompanied by homemade honey buns, is no exception. (Mile Marker 48, Marathon, 305-743-6247)

Coral Grill: A great family restaurant, featuring a sumptuous buffet upstairs or a menu of traditionally prepared Keys seafood downstairs. (Mile Marker 83.5, Islamorada, 305-664-4803)

Dip 'N Deli: This restaurant's name says it all. Salads, twenty-two types of sandwiches, soups, and ice cream treats, including old-fashioned ice cream sodas and milkshakes, will please the little ones — and Mom and Pop, too. (Mile Marker 31, Big Pine Key, 305-872-3030)

Monte's Restaurant and Fish Market: This basic family place, with plastic tablecloths, serves up some of the best local specialties, including conch chowder, conch salad, conch fritters, shrimp in beer, and stone crabs. (Mile Marker 23, Summerland Key, 305-745-3731)

Mrs. Mac's Kitchen: A small down-home eatery, serving steaks and the best chili on the Keys accompanied by homemade pita bread. A fun family place. (Mile Marker 99.4, Key Largo, 305-451-3722)

The Green Turtle Inn: A busy place, serving not only traditional seafood, but also conch and turtle chowders, as well as turtle and alligator steak, accompanied by homemade bread. (Mile Marker 81.5, Islamorada, 305-664-9031)

Most visitors to the Upper Keys go diving by day, then like to party at night. You'll find typical watering holes along with clubs like Coconuts (305-451-4107) on Key Largo, with a variety of nightly entertainment and a deck to enjoy the sunset, drink in hand. Supposedly, the Caribbean Club (305-451-9970) was the setting for several parts of the movie Key Largo. It, too, has a deck for watching the sunset.

Most of the nighttime action on Islamorada centers around the Holiday Isles Resort, but if you prefer more laid-back music, try the Harbor Bar (305-664-9888) for live rock music and raw bar or the Cabaña Bar (305-664-4338) on the bay side, where you can listen to reggae while watching the sunset.

Nightlife in Marathon seems to be centered around the lounges of the several resorts. If you want to mingle with the locals, try the Hurricane (305-743-5755) or the Quay (305-289-1810), both of which provide music and dancing on weekends. For good pizza and more than seventy kinds of beer, try the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key (305-872-9115) which sometimes has a band.