Kim Stamps interviewed for her first job in Key West as a pedicab driver nearly a decade ago — and instantly landed the gig.
“It was the first interview I ever did in shorts and flip-flops,” she admitted.
Kim Stamps shares her passion for the Keys during a variety of eco-tours.
Now 40, Kim still wears shorts and Kino sandals — the brand of footwear made in Key West — but leads tours at her own company, Up The Keys Eco-Tours. Launched in February 2016, it showcases off-the-beaten-path Lower Keys attractions to visitors and groups.
During the tours, the Key West resident shares her knowledge of Florida Keys history, culture and ecology.
“People drive up the Keys and often don’t know what they’re missing,” Kim said. “Our tours are friendly and interactive. I encourage people to get out, and point out wildlife to the group.”
A roundtrip All-Day Adventure tour leaves from Hogfish Bar & Grill on Stock Island and travels north to Grassy Key. Stops include the Bat Tower on Sugarloaf Key, the National Key Deer Refuge, scenic Bahia Honda State Park and the Marathon area’s Turtle Hospital, Dolphin Research Center or Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters.
Tours can accommodate six to 13 participants in Kim’s comfortable 14-passenger van. Groups up to 26 can travel in two vans with advance reservations. Lunch, snacks and cold drinks are included.
“Our tours are like a fun road trip with friends,” Kim explained.
A four-hour Twilight Tour departs Hogfish in the late afternoon and visits the Bat Tower, Big Pine’s Blue Hole and the offbeat No Name Pub. Other tours are dubbed Turtle Tuesdays, Dolphin Days and Aquarium Encounters.
Passengers explore the island chain in a comfortable Up The Keys van.
Born and raised in California, Kim moved to Florida’s Pensacola area at age 12 when her father retired from the U.S. Navy. Her mother is a Key West High School graduate and her parents met in Key West.
“My first visit to the Keys was as a small child, visiting my grandparents on Big Pine Key,” Kim recollected.
She remembers visiting the Middle Keys’ Flipper’s Sea School, now Dolphin Research Center, and Key West’s Kino Sandals factory where sandals have been handcrafted since 1966.
Kim graduated with honors from Pensacola’s University of West Florida in 2003, earning a bachelor of science in business administration. But the adventurous, athletic young woman quickly realized that the office job she had accepted “wasn’t going to cut it for me.”
Through a series of serendipitous events, Kim quit her office job and embarked on certification training at the San Francisco–based International Tour Management Institute — where she learned how to conduct tours in any global destination.
After the training she drove to Durango, Colorado, to visit a friend. While researching tour companies, she learned about Los Angeles–based Trek America, which guides adventure tours for travelers ages 18 to 38.
On some tours, visitors meet engaging Keys dolphins.
During a subsequent solo trip from Colorado to Southern California, Kim visited seven national parks, hiking in and reflecting on stunning outdoor beauty. The trip became a life-changing adventure.
“I became a different, freer person,” she explained.
After several phone interviews, Trek America hired her. Kim traveled throughout western Canada and the United States in 2005 and 2006, leading adventure tours for six- to seven-month stints.
Pulled by the call of home, where she kept her residence, Kim returned to Pensacola. She ran an art gallery and managed a music studio, but in late 2007 adventure called again. A sailing journey with friends brought Kim to Key West — and to eight years of pedaling visitors through the island town. She also drives a Key Lime Taxi part time.
According to Kim, Up the Keys Eco-Tours educates visitors about conservation and indigenous wildlife. It also recycles and pays entrance fees at national wildlife refuges and state parks. The company’s most recent additions include half-day tours.
“I’ve been learning and living the dream of the Florida Keys and Key West,” Kim said. “This life so far has led me to build Up The Keys and help our visitors create memories like no other memories — in a place like no other place.”
