Welcome 2012 in the Florida Keys

Sushi at the Bourbon Street Pub
Photo courtesy of Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

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Forget Times Square! With balmy temps and a bevy of wacky festivities, the Florida Keys offer the perfect way to kick off the new year.

Break out the bubbly in Key Largo, where the surface of Blackwater Sound mirrors the sparkling fireworks display hosted by bayside restaurants. For the best parties, head to Sundowners, Señor Frijoles, Cactus Jack's, Gus' Grille at the Marriott Key Largo Beach Resort and the Caribbean Club, all located around mile markers 103-104. 

For a real toes-in-the-sand experience, three different properties in Islamorada will host dinner and dancing with fireworks over their beaches.

Enjoy bare-foot elegance at Pierre's Restaurant and Morada Bay Beach Café (mile marker 81.6) and partake in their potent Pierre's Punch, live music and midnight fireworks on the expansive beach, or make reservations for the gala dinner inside the candlelit Pierre’s. For reservations, call 305-664-3225.

At Cheeca Lodge & Spa (mile marker 82) you can choose from its three world-class restaurants under the swaying palms or lounge at the thatched tiki bar for a midnight fireworks display over the Atlantic. For reservations, call 305-664-4651, ext. 4580.

The Postcard Inn Beach Resort & Marina at Holiday Isle (mile marker 84) will be celebrating not only the new year but the completion of recent renovations. Choose between two New Year's Eve packages for visitors, including a dinner in the Horizon Room with cocktails, champagne and dancing or lighter fare at its famed Tiki bar with hors d'oeuvres, champagne and midnight fireworks on the beach. For reservations, call 305-433-9935.  

In Key West, you can join the revelry spilling out onto Duval Street in front of Sloppy Joe’s Bar and Bourbon Street Pub.

Sloppy Joe’s offers live music inside, while an emcee outside leads the crowd in a final countdown, as a giant manmade conch shell descends from the roof.   

In front of the Bourbon Street Pub, a disco party goes non-stop with female impersonators entertaining on the outdoor stage. At midnight, Sushi, a drag queen diva dressed in a glittering ball gown, descends from the top balcony in an eight-foot long red high heel. 

Not to be outdone, Schooner Warf Bar at the Historic Seaport, lowers a pirate wench, complete with her sword, from the top of a tall ship’s mast in front of the popular watering hole. At the end of the countdown, cannons boom, and the crowd on land joins the ship’s pirate crew in a raucous celebration.

Tags: Florida Keys | Holidays | Islamorada | Key Largo | Key West