The Beautiful Coastal City of Stuart, FL (with a visit to McKee Gardens)

Casey Harris
Nov 28, 2020
2 min read

In September of 2020 we were looking for a place to get away for a couple nights. We chose Hutchinson Island which is about a 2 hour drive from Orlando. On the way down we took the A1A road along the coast of Florida. It is a beautiful drive and is not that much longer than taking the main highway down. We stayed at the Marriott Hutchinson Island resort which is very spread out. Our room was in the main building and had easy access to the pool and shuttles to the beach. The hotel does charge a resort fee but I felt it was worth it as it includes the high speed internet, bike rentals, beach shuttle and more. I do recommend staying here if you come to Hutchinson Island. Our first evening we took a bike ride to the beach and back before we met up with some friends at the Magic Oyster . We had the Oysters, the stuff wild caught shrimp, and the crab bombs. Everything was great but definitely get the crab bombs. The next day we found a fantastic coffee shop called the Bunkhouse Coffee Bar. When we left I told my wife we have to come back tomorrow. Check out my bunkhouse video HERE. We then went down to Stuart. Stuart has a lot of good shops and restaurants downtown but we just took it easy and relaxed by the bridge for a little.

We then headed to the House of Refuge which is very close to the Hutchinson Island Marriott. We did not make it in time to go the museum however the land over there can give you some amazing photo opportunities. House of Refuge is a must visit if coming to Hutchinson Island/Stuart. We then went back to the hotel where my wife would beat me in ping pong by the pool. The next day after another stop and the Bunkhouse coffee bar, we headed to the McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach. I highly recommend taking a few hours to visit (note: they are closed on Mondays). Tickets are $15 to get in and well worth the expense. Below are some of our pictures: