Key West by car?

We just booked a last minute cruise a couple of days ago. We will be sailing in about two weeks and after the cruise we plan to stay in Florida for 4 nts.

Our plan is to rent a car and drive down to Key West. We will be traveling with a baby and this makes us not willing to drive too long on each day. The plan is to drive to Key Largo, spend one night there and then drive down to Key West. Spend one night in Key West and then one night in Key Largo before we spend the last night in Miami.

We are not big city people and would pick a beach day instead of a day in a big city.

How does the plan sound? Would you do anything different and if so, why?

The drive from Miami to Key West is only 3.5-4hrs and a straight shot. I would just drive the entire thing. It's a nice drive I think. If you do Miami to Key Largo, you're barely outside of Miami when you get to Key Largo.

I live in Ohio and would never, ever drive all the way to Key West. From Miami, it's not so bad. Your plan sounds like it will be lots of fun. I would do it!

We also drive straight thru to KW - if you've never done it before, it'll probably take you a little longer than the normal 4 hours.

Keep in mind that KW also isn't a great "beach town". If a beach is what you're looking for, I'd stay in the Miami area.

The drive from Miami to Key West is only 3.5-4hrs and a straight shot.

I know but our baby is just 7 months old and sometimes a drive with a baby takes a lot longer if you need to change dipers, stop for breast feeding and so on.

I would just drive the entire thing. It's a nice drive I think. If you do Miami to Key Largo, you're barely outside of Miami when you get to Key Largo.

Is there any other town that would be a nice stop for the night between Miami and Key West? We have never been south of Miami and since we just booked this cruise we haven't had much time to plan.

I think it's a lovely idea, I did it many years ago. Give yourself plenty of time, as you might want to pull over and just enjoy the view in some places. Just google Florida Keys for information. Here is one site:

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/florida-keys.html

Re-post your questions about driving to Key West on the "Florida Departures" section of Cruise Critic and you will get more information from people who live down there.

We routinely drive from Miami to Key West and often do it before or after cruises. I cannot imagine doing it over two days although it makes sense if one has a reason to stay elsewhere in the Keys. With a baby we would still want to do it in one day (with a nice long lunch break) which then would give us 2 or more days to "chill out" in Key West. On the drive we used to plan our timing so we could do our lunch break at the Hungry Tarpon which is near Islamorada just over the bridge.

As to driving with a 7 month old, it is often easier then with a 2 year old :).

Hank

I know but our baby is just 7 months old and sometimes a drive with a baby takes a lot longer if you need to change dipers, stop for breast feeding and so on.

Is there any other town that would be a nice stop for the night between Miami and Key West? We have never been south of Miami and since we just booked this cruise we haven't had much time to plan.

Islamorada, just a bit further along the Keys than Key Largo would be more interesting. Marathon, about halfway down is also a possible - just past a large state park with lots of options.

I think it's a lovely idea, I did it many years ago. Give yourself plenty of time, as you might want to pull over and just enjoy the view in some places. Just google Florida Keys for information. Here is one site:

 

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/florida-keys.html

Wow, great website. I will be in Key West next week and this will come in very handy

I am from the Keys. The drive is about 3.5 hours to Key West.

No, I do not recommend any stops between Miami and Key Largo. However, if you want to go just a little out of the way, you can take Card Sound Road instead of US1 and check out Alabama Jacks. It's a funky little locals joint with a great fish sandwich. Otherwise, you'll make Key Largo in about an hour. However, I do recommend changing that first night to Islamorada instead of Key Largo. There's a lot more to do in Islamorada and frankly, I think the water is much prettier there.

Take your time driving down the Keys. Take some side roads and explore. Hit the Islamorada Fish Company for lunch and make quick stops at places like Anne's Beach, Veteran's Park, and Bahia Honda.

I'm a Miami local and I do this drive regularly. There is nothing wrong with doing it either way. If you are going to stop, I would pick Islamorada right now. Some of the lower keys are still recovering from the hurricane last year although key west is fine. Was down in March and Anne's Beach was still closed and didn't look like it was going to come back anytime soon.

I'm a Miami local and I do this drive regularly. There is nothing wrong with doing it either way. If you are going to stop, I would pick Islamorada right now. Some of the lower keys are still recovering from the hurricane last year although key west is fine. Was down in March and Anne's Beach was still closed and didn't look like it was going to come back anytime soon.

On a sidenote (sorry to hijack OP), is Robbies still there or did they get wiped out in the storms?

We just did this, minus the baby, in April. My husband and I rented a convertible and had so much fun. We were in Fort Lauderdale and hit the road early. Leaving early in the morning (we are early risers, so you can take it or leave it) and on the road by 6:00 we were in Key West by 10:00 or so. Spent several hours in Key West and hit the road back to Fort Lauderdale by 3:00. We were turning our car back in by 7:00 that night (back early because we were meeting people at the airport). We love to drive, so the windshield time with the scenery wasn't an issue.

On our flight down a nice local told us about the Monroe County Sheriff app (http://floridakeyssheriff.blogspot.com/2014/03/sheriff-has-new-mobile-app.html) we downloaded it. The thought was if there was a car accident (which can screw things up a bit) we would know about it. No issues on the road, but on Big Pine Key we saw a kite surfer's kite up in the transmission lines (lucky the surfer was not attached to the kite) and the line & pole guys already there. Husband in the utility business, so we chatted a bit about how lucky no one was attached to the kite and how long would it take to get it down. Got to Key West, the lights were on....10 minutes later, all the lights were off. Our app told us that all the power from Big Pine Key to Key West was off due to the incident in the transmission lines and that it would be back on in 30 minutes. We knew more than the locals, and the power was back on in 30 minutes.

Agree with others, some keys were in worse shape than others. Islamorada is very nice, was the first place I stayed to get a taste of the keys a long time ago. Check this out- http://www.islamorada.fl.us/

On a sidenote (sorry to hijack OP), is Robbies still there or did they get wiped out in the storms?

Robbie’s is fine, we were there in April.

To the OP, take the advice on Islamorada, much nicer than Key Largo,

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The thought was if there was a car accident (which can screw things up a bit) we would know about it.

A 'bit' is a complete understatement!

A great portion of the Overseas Highway (the only road from the top of the Keys to Key West) is 2 lanes with lots of bridges including the beautiful 7 mile bridge south of Marathon. When car accidents occur - often due to heavy traffic and tourists sightseeing instead of paying attention to the road - the backups can last hours. I'm not trying to dissuade anyone about the drive (we love it) but I would never plan a one day trip to Key West if I had to be somewhere that evening (like catching a late evening flight which is a question asked on the Florida Departures Board occasionally).

I've made the drive from Miami to Key West several times and always went directly through. The only place I've stopped is Islamorada for lunch which is about half-way. From what I saw it looked like there were reasonable places to stay.

We just booked a last minute cruise a couple of days ago. We will be sailing in about two weeks and after the cruise we plan to stay in Florida for 4 nts.

 

Our plan is to rent a car and drive down to Key West. We will be traveling with a baby and this makes us not willing to drive too long on each day. The plan is to drive to Key Largo, spend one night there and then drive down to Key West. Spend one night in Key West and then one night in Key Largo before we spend the last night in Miami.

 

We are not big city people and would pick a beach day instead of a day in a big city.

How does the plan sound? Would you do anything different and if so, why?

Marathon is a nice area. I've spent several weeks there. It is about a 2 hour drive from Miami. Lots of great places for seafood and a couple of beaches as well (Sombrero Beach and Bahia Honda).

Key West is a just 80-90 minutes from Marathon.

A lot of informative posts, thank you!

If we would skip one of the nights on the way down/up and instead spend two nights at one place and one night at the other. Would you spend two nights in Key West and one in Islamorada or two nights in Islamorada and one in Key West?

Since you would be spending some of the first day on the road to Key West from wherever you spend the first night, I would spend two nights there so you have a full day to sightsee, And incidentally, you will be able to add the Conch Republic to your country tally...EM

A 'bit' is a complete understatement!

 

A great portion of the Overseas Highway (the only road from the top of the Keys to Key West) is 2 lanes with lots of bridges including the beautiful 7 mile bridge south of Marathon. When car accidents occur - often due to heavy traffic and tourists sightseeing instead of paying attention to the road - the backups can last hours. I'm not trying to dissuade anyone about the drive (we love it) but I would never plan a one day trip to Key West if I had to be somewhere that evening (like catching a late evening flight which is a question asked on the Florida Departures Board occasionally).

Agreed, I understated how a traffic incident can affect things. I do however live in an area where we still travel on two lane highways in tourist areas (Northern Wisconsin) and (although if you are adventuresome and don't mind trying out logging roads that are unpaved and unmapped you might find a way around) you come across a bad accident you can sit for hours. Has happened more than once to us. I tend to be a bit of a travel planner/researcher and have done the overseas highway once before when there was an accident. Pack your patience and agreed don't do it if you have a set time you MUST be back. I hit the keys and think "island" time. No hurries, no worries :D

A lot of informative posts, thank you!

 

If we would skip one of the nights on the way down/up and instead spend two nights at one place and one night at the other. Would you spend two nights in Key West and one in Islamorada or two nights in Islamorada and one in Key West?

Definitely 2 nights in Key West. There is so much to see and do in town, and many excellent restaurants.

I think it's a lovely idea, I did it many years ago. Give yourself plenty of time, as you might want to pull over and just enjoy the view in some places. Just google Florida Keys for information. Here is one site:

 

https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/florida-keys.html

I agree. We did it once long time ago and will be doing it again this August before our cruise.

When we did our KW trip from Miami airport we had two nights in Key West and one in Islamorada. On the way down you're motivated to get there if you're like us.

You'll see ads for the conch train and trolley-style buses to take you around Key West for a fee. There is also a free city bus that does a similar loop on a 20-minute schedule. The days of operation vary, it's every day in season.

I didn't read every comment, but I would comment that, if you want a nice beach, stay in Miami.

Key West does not have nice beaches..

Key West has few locations that could even be called a beach.