Florida keys road trip
Discussion
It's a 4-5 hour drive each way from Miami to Key West.
The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
Mandat said:
It's a 4-5 hour drive each way from Miami to Key West.
The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
Agree with this, prices for hotels etc increase the closer you get to Key West!The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
^^ That's sound guidance. Prices in the Keys are "high" as soon as you get to the starting line. As you head south they progress through very high and eye-watering towards extortionate. Even hotel parking at Key West can be enough to scare your credit card.
Miami Beach is also pretty aggressive, price-wise. Don't go thinking cheap motel, Waffle House and Cracker Barrel.
Miami Beach is also pretty aggressive, price-wise. Don't go thinking cheap motel, Waffle House and Cracker Barrel.
Love Key West, we should have been there back in November but had to cancel due to a family emergency, trying to book for next month but our usual accommodation, Key West Harbor Inn is fully booked. We wouldn’t stay anywhere else in KW, an oasis in a great location, most guests are repeat, breakfast, 5pm happy hour every day and free on street parking.
Our default itinerary is a night in SoBe at the Local house, then 3-4 nights in Naples at The Capri then head for the Keys, staying at either the Hampton Inn Marathon or Amara Cay then onto KW for 3-4 nights.
Plenty of great bars up and down the Keys, No Name Pub, Hog Fish Raw Bar, Island Fish Co, plenty of choice for a cold beer and a Fish Taco.
KW can be a tad tourist trappy but get past that and there’s loads to explore,we always go to Sunset Key for a long lazy lunch at Latitudes, stunning setting right on the beach and the free shuttle leaves from just off of Mallory Square, lunch finishes around 3:30 ish then the cocktail bar opens at 4, a few apéritif’s and catch the boat back just after 5 which doubles as a sunset cruise, love it.
Don’t miss an attempt to get a coin into the fishes mouth at Capt Tony’s.
Our default itinerary is a night in SoBe at the Local house, then 3-4 nights in Naples at The Capri then head for the Keys, staying at either the Hampton Inn Marathon or Amara Cay then onto KW for 3-4 nights.
Plenty of great bars up and down the Keys, No Name Pub, Hog Fish Raw Bar, Island Fish Co, plenty of choice for a cold beer and a Fish Taco.
KW can be a tad tourist trappy but get past that and there’s loads to explore,we always go to Sunset Key for a long lazy lunch at Latitudes, stunning setting right on the beach and the free shuttle leaves from just off of Mallory Square, lunch finishes around 3:30 ish then the cocktail bar opens at 4, a few apéritif’s and catch the boat back just after 5 which doubles as a sunset cruise, love it.
Don’t miss an attempt to get a coin into the fishes mouth at Capt Tony’s.
Mandat said:
It's a 4-5 hour drive each way from Miami to Key West.
The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
Exactly this. It’s something that you should do while you’re there but you won’t rush back. I loved it because I have a thing for bridges and architecture and the like. The wife was bored after the first hour.The route is interesting for the first hour or two, but then gets a bit boring & tedious.
It's worth doing if you want to tick the Keys of your bucket list, but having done it once already, I won't be rushing back as there are plenty of other interesting places to see & do in FL.
It can be eye wateringly expensive in places. Book well in advance and stock up for your trip.
Im in the underwhelmed camp and wouldn't plan a sole trip.
Did about five days just seeing what it was like and doing KW for the day, quite surprised how commercialised it was down in Key West, more of a Vegas feel In the downtown areas. Up and down was boring, but you could just stop and enjoy the chillout sometimes anywhere along.
It's a touch better for wildlife compared to the heavier populated areas along the Florida coast so one reason was I fish so it was also to maybe see a few decent spots, we did sit on a small beach around a place called Bonefish bay, did a walk out to my ankles and a bunch of (I think) bonefish swarmed towards me, I thought there was a magnifying glass on the water they looked that out of place...Oh and saw some manatees pass.
Did about five days just seeing what it was like and doing KW for the day, quite surprised how commercialised it was down in Key West, more of a Vegas feel In the downtown areas. Up and down was boring, but you could just stop and enjoy the chillout sometimes anywhere along.
It's a touch better for wildlife compared to the heavier populated areas along the Florida coast so one reason was I fish so it was also to maybe see a few decent spots, we did sit on a small beach around a place called Bonefish bay, did a walk out to my ankles and a bunch of (I think) bonefish swarmed towards me, I thought there was a magnifying glass on the water they looked that out of place...Oh and saw some manatees pass.
Jumping into this thread (sorry OP!) as I ve been thinking of a week or so in Miami at the start of June - start off in South Beach for 2 or 3 days, then make my way up to to Clearwater/St. Pete’s for a few days before flying home out of Tampa. Good idea or not?
Edited by Pincher on Friday 16th January 07:05
Pincher said:
Jumping into this thread (sorry OP!) as I ve been thinking of a week or so in Miami at the start of June - start off in South Beach for 2 or 3 days, then make my way up to to Clearwater/St. Pete s for a few days before flying home out of Tampa. Good idea or not?
Definitely, it’s a great drive but Florida can get crazy busy, heading north past Daytona Beach & St Augustine is pretty good and if you’re a Alan Jackson / Jimmy Buffet fan you can call into the Square Grouper Tiki Bar in Jupiter as that’s where they filmed the video for 5 o’clock somewhere. Edited by Pincher on Friday 16th January 07:05
Link just because:
https://youtu.be/BPCjC543llU?si=NOdN6n0KsUKtoHJ6
Pincher said:
Jumping into this thread (sorry OP!) as I ve been thinking of a week or so in Miami at the start of June - start off in South Beach for 2 or 3 days, then make my way up to to Clearwater/St. Pete s for a few days before flying home out of Tampa. Good idea or not?
I stayed bradenton last year, with trips to Anna Maria island, siesta key etc. Anna Maria was actually quite unspoilt for a US Florida location, no high-rise, one road in/out etc probably down to hurricane rebuild. Edited by Pincher on Friday 16th January 07:05
We had a lunch stop in St Pete and felt like quite a nice town for a mooze/shop, also, done clearwater before and the beaches are nice.
I've been twice to the Keys and last year we did Miami-Vero Beach-St Augustine-Orlando-Fort Lauderdale-Isla Morada over 20 days.
We did 3 nights in South Beach which was the right amount to see all the sights of Miami for us. 3 night in the Keys (Isla Morada is mid-way) was also enough. They are all very similar and most have great views and are fairly empty, other than Key West (and Marathon).
Key West we did for a day visit, as we've stayed there for 2 nights before and the centre is fun but a giant tourist trap filled with thousands of people off cruise ships. I'd recommend 2-3 nights in Key West at maximum, unless you love tourist party pubs.
If you drive from Miami to Key West in one go, it is long and slow and whilst certain sections are iconic, much is fairly repetitive, boring and a large amount is inland with no sea view.
I also recommend booking restaurants in advance, we did for every night, as otherwise you may be very limited on availability and/or waiting in queues.
We did 3 nights in South Beach which was the right amount to see all the sights of Miami for us. 3 night in the Keys (Isla Morada is mid-way) was also enough. They are all very similar and most have great views and are fairly empty, other than Key West (and Marathon).
Key West we did for a day visit, as we've stayed there for 2 nights before and the centre is fun but a giant tourist trap filled with thousands of people off cruise ships. I'd recommend 2-3 nights in Key West at maximum, unless you love tourist party pubs.
If you drive from Miami to Key West in one go, it is long and slow and whilst certain sections are iconic, much is fairly repetitive, boring and a large amount is inland with no sea view.
I also recommend booking restaurants in advance, we did for every night, as otherwise you may be very limited on availability and/or waiting in queues.
We did a road trip a good few years back, driving from Orlando to Miami Beach and then to Key West. 3 nights in enough in Miami and it's an expensive place to visit, particularly along Ocean Drive, hotels, drinks etc but you go there for the atmosphere. I loved the Art Deco buildings.
I also loved Key West, but again, 3 nights or so is probably enough there. It's busy with tourists but I also found it very laid back and lost all sense of time there. Hemmingway's house is a good visit, and there's hoards of people eating key lime pie, watching the sunset. We stopped in Key Largo I think on the way down for food and then carried out to Key West. A place that I would go back to.
I also loved Key West, but again, 3 nights or so is probably enough there. It's busy with tourists but I also found it very laid back and lost all sense of time there. Hemmingway's house is a good visit, and there's hoards of people eating key lime pie, watching the sunset. We stopped in Key Largo I think on the way down for food and then carried out to Key West. A place that I would go back to.
One thing you can do on the long drive down past Key Largo, if you have time and it's your sort of thing, is snorkelling at John Pennekamp National Park. You can rent snorkelling gear and go out on a half day boat trip. The park has a spectacular coral reef, better preserved than many in the Caribbean
We’ve done the Key’s twice but some time ago now.
First time, we stopped for lunch in Key Largo and we both were thinking “I hope it’s going to be better than this”.
Anyway it did get better and Key West was worth the drive and we stayed in La Concha hotel and watched the sunset from the rooftop bar - fantastic. I remember it was August and we just rocked up with one of those voucher books you used to pick up at the roadside and got a good deal - how times have changed!
Second time we stayed on the South side of the island (can’t remember the name of hotel) and again we enjoyed it.
The drive is worth doing especially if the weather is decent but like us, I think 3 nights is enough.
First time, we stopped for lunch in Key Largo and we both were thinking “I hope it’s going to be better than this”.
Anyway it did get better and Key West was worth the drive and we stayed in La Concha hotel and watched the sunset from the rooftop bar - fantastic. I remember it was August and we just rocked up with one of those voucher books you used to pick up at the roadside and got a good deal - how times have changed!
Second time we stayed on the South side of the island (can’t remember the name of hotel) and again we enjoyed it.
The drive is worth doing especially if the weather is decent but like us, I think 3 nights is enough.
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