New and Enhanced Accommodations, Adventures and Travel Routes Highlight What's New for Winter 2015 in the Florida Keys & Key West

FLORIDA KEYS — The Florida Keys & Key West offer a variety of new and enhanced accommodations, intriguing museum exhibits and exhilarating new adventures to tempt visitors. Whether they're looking for relaxing getaways or adrenaline-fueled action, the Keys can supply what they seek. Explore the winter highlights here:

Keys Travel

Silver Airways has enhanced its flight schedule to Key West International Airport from five Florida cities. Silver has added a weekday flight from Fort Lauderdale for a total of four daily flights. Other additions include a second flight from Fort Myers, more flights from Tampa for a total of four daily flights and increases from Orlando for a total of three nonstop and two one-stop daily flights. Silver also has introduced a daily one-stop flight from Jacksonville.

Silver is a codeshare partner with United Airlines and has interline agreements with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Bahamasair, Hahn Air and All Nippon Airways.

In addition, according to Monroe County Airports Director Peter Horton, Delta Airlines is adding two daily flights between Key West and Atlanta beginning Dec. 20 for a total of five daily nonstop flights. Finally, on Dec. 27, Delta is to resume a seasonal Saturday-only nonstop route between the Southernmost City and New York City's LaGuardia Airport.

Travelers heading to Key West from Naples on Florida's west coast now can make the trip by seaplane with Salt Island Seaplanes.

Up to four passengers can board the Cessna 206 at the Naples Municipal Airport and take a more scenic route than those most commercial aircraft fly. The planes cruise at speeds of 125 mph and guests touch down in the turquoise waters off Key West in less than an hour.

Flights run from Oct. 1 to April 30 every day except Wednesdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Online reservations must be booked at least two days in advance, while reservations can be made by phone for flights less than two days away. Visit www.saltislandseaplanes.com or call 239-263-7258.

Keys Adventures

Visitors to Crane Point Museum and Nature Center, located at mile marker 50.5 in Marathon, can now experience two new adventures surrounded by beautiful subtropical landscape.

The museum has launched a 2.5-hour kayak tour led by Keys Kayak professional guides. On the tour, guests can explore 1.5 miles of the natural mangrove shoreline of Crane Point and three small islands off the coast including Rachel Key.

Guests can purchase an all-inclusive package that includes admission to the museum and nature trails as well. The cost is $65 for adults and $37 for children under 12. Reservations are required.

Additionally, visitors can explore astronomy in-depth with Crane Point's “Astronomy Tonight” program. The program consists of a series of three modules with four sessions of three-hour classes each, all designed to give participants a basic understanding of astronomy.

Modules are set for Jan. 27, Feb. 3, Feb. 10 and Feb. 14. For more information, visit www.cranepoint.net or call 305-743-3900.

To celebrate its 30-year anniversary, Key West's Sunset Watersports has added a new boat to its fleet: Sandie Cat. The custom-built 65-foot Gold Coast sailing catamaran departs daily for 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. reef snorkel adventures and an evening sunset sail.

The reef snorkel is a three-hour excursion complete with complimentary draft beer, soft drinks and water — plus a light breakfast on the 9 a.m. trip. The two-hour sunset sail includes an open bar, appetizers and live music.

All three trips depart from 201 William St. in Key West's Historic Seaport. For more information, visit www.sunsetwatersportskeywest.com or call 305-296-2554.

Keys Accommodations

Groups of travelers can now stay together affordably and in style at NYAH Key West. NYAH, which stands for Not Your Average Hotel, caters to adults seeking to customize their stay by offering guestrooms that can accommodate up to six people, each with their own separate bed.

NYAH is the brainchild of hospitality innovators and brothers Jesper and Gustaf Arnoldsson. Situated at 420 Margaret St. in the heart of Old Town Key West, NYAH includes several traditional conch-style houses for a total of 36 guestrooms. Each guestroom has an adjustable design that allows staff to customize the space to double or even triple the capacity.

Daily happy hours and shared spaces — including three pools, two hot tubs, lounge areas and terraces — provide a social atmosphere for guests to interact and connect with one another.

Rates start at $40 per person, per night, when six guests share one room. For more information, visit www.nyahotels.com or call 305-296-9259.

Vacationers should be able to spot the most recently opened property in Marathon with ease: its focal point has been a Middle Keys landmark since the 1950s.

Following construction that began earlier this year, the Hyatt Place Marathon/Florida Keys has debuted at the Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club, which incorporates the famed Faro Blanco lighthouse.

The upscale Hyatt Place hotel features 125 spacious rooms and suites and 1,820 square feet of flexible meeting and function space, as well as a swimming pool and fitness center.

Other resort amenities, scheduled to open in early 2015, include a waterfront bar and restaurant called Lighthouse Grill. In addition, boaters shortly will be able to enjoy the complex's 74-slip state-of-the-art marina capable of handling vessels up to 120 feet long. Visit www.faroblancoresort.com/hotel or call 305-743-1234.

Top Spa has opened at the highest point in Key West, the seventh floor of the historic Crowne Plaza Key West La Concha Hotel at 430 Duval St.

The indulgent spa menu includes three- and four-hour packages including everything from body treatments and facials to nail services and massages.

Spa guests can enjoy a suite-style experience that features a sensory rain shower, fully furnished vanity, flat-screen television and refrigerator stocked with fresh fruit juices and healthy snacks. Additionally, Top Spa offers luxurious spa products featuring coconut oils and flower extracts.

Top Spa's opening concludes the final phase of extensive renovations to the 160-unit La Concha. Other enhancements include the addition of a wine bar called Wine-O, a chic restaurant dubbed 430 Duval, a completely redesigned lobby area and a refreshed outdoor pool. For more information, visit www.laconchakeywest.com or call 305-296-2991.

Spa al Mare, the oceanside relaxation headquarters at the Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, located on the Atlantic Ocean at 1500 Reynolds St., has undergone a transformation.

Three treatment rooms have been added in the building housing the resort's fitness center, with a separate entrance for Spa al Mare and almost 1,300 square feet of new spa space.

Each of the trio of large treatment rooms features a private shower, while the space also includes a reception waiting area.

Among the offerings are a daily yoga class overlooking the ocean with sunrise views. The spa operation also includes two cabanas for beach treatments.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Casa Marina features 311 guest rooms and suites and more than 1,100 feet of private beach. For more information visit www.casamarinaresort.com.

Keys Culture

The historic Martin Hellings Home, now the headquarters of the Key West Woman's Club at 319 Duval St., has opened its doors for tours.

The late Queen Anne Victorian–style home, the one-time property of Captain Hellings and his wife Eleanor, was constructed in 1892 out of red brick — one of only a few residential structures within Key West's historic district that is not built of wood.

The tours, among the centennial events of the Key West Woman's club, offer guests a chance to step back in time and learn about the Victorian lifestyle of a prominent Key West family. The 8,200-square-foot structure features examples of antique furniture, wicker and Victorian art glass.

From November to April, tours are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. From April to October, they are scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Admission is free but donations are appreciated.

For more information, visit www.keywestwomansclub.org or call 305-294-2039.

Visitors can discover the history of Henry Flagler's Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad and the first Overseas Highway through 180 black-and-white images in “The Rails and The Road” exhibit, now open at the Keys History & Discovery Center in Islamorada.

On display through Jan. 18, 2015, the exhibit provides intriguing insights into the two conduits that have linked mainland America to its southernmost archipelago of the Florida Keys.

The completion of the railroad in 1912 forever changed the face of the previously isolated islands by connecting them with the mainland and each other. The railroad's track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water.

The opening of the early Overseas Highway in 1928 made it possible for motorists as well as railroad passengers to reach Key West at the tip of the Keys. The exhibit includes stories about the World War I veterans who were sent to the Keys to construct the highway.

Located on the grounds of the Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost, at mile marker 82 oceanside, the center is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission is $12. Admission for seniors is $10, and children age 13 and under are admitted free.

Visit www.keysdiscovery.com or call 305-922-2237.

Keys Food and Drink

The liquor is flowing at Key West Distilling, located at 524 Southard St. in historic Old Town Key West. Brainchild of New York native Jeff Louchhiem, the distillery recently opened its doors and is creating small-batch handmade sprits that showcase Key West's unique culture and offbeat personality.

The products at Key West Distilling include the island's first distilled vodka and whiskey as well as a variety of rums, all produced entirely in-house.

Louchhiem plans to “experiment” with several flavors of vodka and also produce a Key West gin. For more information, visit www.kwdistilling.com or call 305-295-3400.

Florida Keys visitor information: www.fla-keys.com or 1-800-FLA-KEYS