Biking in Key West?

[scubamommy!]

HI we are 3 adults and 3 kids (tweens) and no plans for our stop in Key West 8:00-4:00. Never been and we really want to see the island at our own pace. Thinking of renting bikes. Here are my questions: Is it nice and flat or will we be dealing with a lot of hills? We love biking in Hilton Head when we vacation there and can go for hours, but here where we live in NC it is just to hilly and we only do it for exercise. We don't want to wear ourselves out, just want a fun way to explore the town. Would it be better to just walk around?

 

If it is flat, is there a better bike rental company to go with? Anyone know the prices or have a link? Do they provide helmets for the kids?

 

If it is hilly we may look into the cart rentals. Is there one that offers a 6 passenger one?

 

For both, do they rent by the hour or a day rate?

 

Thank you for any help!

[keywester33]

Key West is a great biking town. The island is flat, so no problem there. I usually recommend Eaton Street Bikes. You can check their web site for rates. They have been in business a long time and have a great reputation.

 

Be sure to follow traffic laws on your bike and ride single file so you can share the road.

[scubamommy!]

thank you

[bhopal21]

If you decide to bike please be careful as Key West is very congested and a lot of the people driving will be tourists like you and not familiar with the area.

 

Key West is much smaller than HH and personally I think you would be better off walking than trying to stay together as a group of six on bikes.

 

Mike:)

[scubamommy!]

Thank you Mike, safety is a number one when with kids. We'll see how congested it is that day and definitely pass on the bikes if we feel it isn't safe! I guess we could always get a 6 passenger of the little cars, we'll see how it goes. Thank you for your concern!

[bhopal21]

I have witnessed too many times groups trying to ride side by side or turn around to talk to someone behind them and it almost never turns out well.

 

Key West is easily walkable and Duval Street (the main tourist area) is only a flat mile and a quarter mile long.

 

Mike:)

[092306]

We biked around Key West one visit and really enjoyed it. It's very flat and we found it very easy to get around and see everything we wanted to see. I don't remember the name of the rental shop but it wasn't far from Mallory Square and was reasonably priced.