Key West on Bike??

[Mark.Jules]

I am thinking about exploring Key West by bike rather than the Conch Train or the Ho-Ho.  I know we will miss out on the narration with history etc.   And missing that may be the deal breaker.  

Do you have any experience biking Key West?  Tips to share? Best place to rent a bike?  Are there bike racks to lock up bikes at or near attractions such as the Hemingway House, Southernmost point, etc.   

This will be our first time to visit Key West, we are excited to see, smell, and feel the local vibe.  Thank you for your thoughts.

Mark

[Grumpy Husband]

Mark...we do a couple of trips a year to KW, and always ride bikes everywhere. There is always a place to lock your bike and the place you rent from provides the locks. Depending on where you dock, it is not far to a bike rental. Pier B has a bike rental as you walk off the pier. Wife and I always rent tricycles (not all rental places have them) as they have a bigger basket to carry your stuff with you and are more stable. We use Eaton Bikes and they deliver and pick-up so ours are at our hotel when we arrive.. Not sure if they work with the cruise ships or not.

I welcome you to look at my videos of Key West as several are taken from my tricycle.

[Mark.Jules]

Grumpy, Thank you for the reply and the wonderful videos.  We are coming in on Celebrity I think into Pier B.  Love idea of biking for exercise and fun.

Mark

[Grumpy Husband]

Mark you are welcome and you can always check the KW ship calendar for what pier.

[CT Sean]

I can echo pretty much everything Grumpy says - other than the tricycle part - we just rent standard beach cruisers when we're there.  it's a great island to ride though - bike racks are everywhere.  We also rent from Eaton Bikes.  I've never noticed if they set something up near the piers for cruise passengers, but their main location is barely a mile from Mallory Square on Eaton Street

 

It is a VERY nice walk if you go all the way East on Front Street to the harbor, then take the harbor walk until you get to Turtle Kraals/Margaret Street - in this parking lot you can stop for "world famous" Cuban Coffee Queen.  Margaret takes you 2 blocks to Eaton and Eaton Bike is right on that corner.

 

Obviously from here - ride anywhere you want.  Depending on how much time you are on island and whether you;re into cycling, a circumnavigation of the island is a nice option. It's about about 10 miles.  I'd recommend clockwise - get past all the busy commercial stuff on N. Roosevelt first.

 

After dropping the bikes off, you can take the same route back and stop at Bo's Fish Wagon or the Waterfront Brewery (or both) Brewery has half price "fresh" brewed beer during happy hour from 4-6:30. 

[keywester33]

When are you coming?  It can be brutally hot here in the summer and biking is not for everyone.  Unless you have experience biking in very hot conditions you might want to rethink this.

 

There is a free, air conditioned bus called the Duval Loop you can use to get around and just walk from various stops.  The link is here:  https://www.carfreekeywest.com/duval-loop-bus

[N41EF]

I've done the ship's excursion Key Lime Bike Tour. The island is flat, and the whole tour is 3 or 4 miles, with a tour guide and stops along the way. If you've never been to Key West you might think about the tour.  End of the tour is a slice of Key Lime pie at a nearby shop. The shop that does the tour also rents bikes, with a basket, helmet, lock and a bottle of water. Can't help you with prices, but I'm sure a google search would pop up.

[Mark.Jules]

Keywester33, we will be cruising in March so hopefully the weather will be pleasant; thank you for the link.

 

N41EF, great suggestion about the Key Lime Bike Tour; I will check it out.

 

We are truly looking forward to this visit, although it is several months away, the Key is calling.

 

Mark 

[RickT]

Every trip we've made to Key West we've rented a bike from Eaton Cycle and done a loop of Key West (see map below).  The loop is approx 15 kms (9 miles) mostly on bike paths/sidewalks with only one major elevation change (bridge).  Biking around Key West gives us the flexibility to stop and grab a drink or look at the sights.   We always stop at the Edward B Knight Pier, The Southern Most Point, The Butterfly Conservatory, etc.  We usually do the loop clockwise and then again counter clockwise.  Bring water.

 

We'll be in Key West in March and this is our plan... again 🙂

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 12/28/2019 at 10:45 AM, RickT said:

Every trip we've made to Key West we've rented a bike from Eaton Cycle and done a loop of Key West (see map below).  The loop is approx 15 kms (9 miles) mostly on bike paths/sidewalks with only one major elevation change (bridge).  Biking around Key West gives us the flexibility to stop and grab a drink or look at the sights.   We always stop at the Edward B Knight Pier, The Southern Most Point, The Butterfly Conservatory, etc.  We usually do the loop clockwise and then again counter clockwise.  Bring water.

 

We'll be in Key West in March and this is our plan... again 🙂

 

 

Great information and thank you for the map.  DH and I cycle in just about every city we visit so this is so helpful.  Do you know if it is necessary to rent bikes in advance or can you walk up?

[RickT]

We used to make an advance reservation but haven't the last two trips.  Pretty confident you won't need one.  Just get names of a couple bike rental companies just in case.

[CT Sean]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Great information and thank you for the map.  DH and I cycle in just about every city we visit so this is so helpful.  Do you know if it is necessary to rent bikes in advance or can you walk up?

 

We've been there several times and never bothered reserving early. We've also only ever rented beach cruisers. Maybe I'd think about a reservation if I really wanted a road bike or a hybrid.