Key west vacation help

Hey guys and gals!
My wife and I are planning a trip to key west florida in February/March of 2019. It will be a big year for us 5 year anniversary and wife turning 30 among other things. If anyone has any info on places to stay (decent place to stay for less $ as we will never be there I'm assuming other than sleep), places we need to eat at, things do and see.
As of right now we will be flying from Minneapolis MN to Atlanta with a 9 hour layover which sucks then a direct flight to key west. Plans are for 5 day trip
Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance!

 

Change that flight plan! That will be an awful way to start a Vacation..........

You could rent a car from Atlanta and almost get there in 9 hours. The drive along the Keys from the mainland is supposed to be great.

 

I would suggest checking out Bahia Honda State Park up the highway by the 7-mile bridge, but not sure if its as nice as it was when I was there a year ago since Irma plowed through with a direct hit.

 

Yeah that flight sucks. Fly to Miami or ft lauderdale and drive. The drive is amazing! My wife and I are dorks so we did some guided tours down there. If your into fishing, key west is a great place to fish. Man there’s a lot of cool things, we also asked a bunch of locals their recommendations on the best key lime pie and 2 or 3 kept coming up so we got a slice at each place (sorry I don’t remember the names)

 

And we stayed at the historic key west inns. Cool place and affordable.

 

Flying to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and driving would make more sense. Drive should be awesome.

 

The drive from South of Miami to key west is really neat. Worth considering. If you do end up driving, stop for a bit in Islamorada. It’s the most beautiful key of them all.

Obviously you’re going to want to hit all the usual spots on duval street. Sloppy joes, hogs breath, etc. Be sure to check out the Hogfish bar and grille. It’s on the northern tip of key west in a place called stock island. It’s hard to find, but that’s half the fun. Delicious hogfish sandwiches and hogfish tacos.

Also, you might want to start building up your alcohol tolerance now.

 

We go most years around that time and fly into Fort Lauderdale or Miami. The drive is easy and usually works well with schedules. We stay in Key Colony beach which is a little more laid back. Key west has a couple great restaurants, we always go to Cafe Sole and Sarabeths Cafe. The fishing is great that time of year.

 

Don't forget the pawn shop that proudly displays their sign, "you're baby daddy do you wrong?? We'll buy his gold all day long" true sign no bull wish i still had the photo

 

If you decide to drive make sure you stop at Robbie's in Islamorada and hand feed the tarpon! Get way to start any Keys trip.

 

Thanks for the input. Looking into driving now from Miami. When you rent a car do you keep it the entire 5 days or return it and rent another one to return to the airport? Question is do you do much driving in key west or just walk everywhere?

 

Drive from Miami. The drive is beautiful and there is plenty to do along the way.

Personally I don’t think you need a car once you’re there. I always have my truck when we go but never use it (the drinking never stops). But that definitely depends on what you’re wanting to do and where you’re staying. If your staying in the area and mainly just doing Duval and such you’ll be fine. If you want to go to big pine or partake in other non alcohol related activities you might use a car.

Taxis are super easy to grab in town. $20 will get 4+ people anywhere in the island. You can also rent scooters and such while you’re there.

Blue Heaven for breakfast. Half Shell Raw Bar. Duval crawl. Sunset at Mallory Square. To name a few places.

 

Hemingway house if you are into old houses, Hemingway, urinal repurposing, or 6-toed cats. The 6 Toed Cat Cafe (a block or two away from the Hemingway House) had the best french toast I've ever had and I consider myself a bit of connoisseur... It's more of a syrup addiction, but whatever.

We were able to stay at a Navy hotel thanks to my MWR benefits, so I'm no good on where to stay. There's an old spanish fort surrounded by water that you can take a boat out to for the day and that's supposed to be amazing. They have some ghost tours at night which was kind of fun. Make sure you take the one that drives you around. We took the walking tour (not so great) and all of the people on the riding tour were pointing and laughing at us... I think you get to meet Robert the Doll on the riding tour.

Loved Key West, so much to do there. Pick up a Cuban sandwich along the way if you drive.

 

Glad to hear of possible flight change.
You will be renting the car for the whole duration, returning from where you picked up. The weekly rate will not be much more than if you tried to do two rentals and there are additional fees when not returning to same pick-up place. Shop all of the major rental companies, they can differ quite a bit. You will probably be able to walk a bit, but having a car is always handy. Look into a convertible

 

From the Tampa Area, been going down there my whole life, I'm 31 now. I've stayed in a lot of cheap places down there, but you get what you pay for.

We stay in the Truman Annex in a vacation town home now because they're so nice and you get a private pool, plus peace and quiet when you want it. it's only 2 blocks away from the strip.

Take a look at Lighthouse Court hotel if you want something in between cheap and nice. it's your anniversary after all. there's a nice pool there too. Stayed there for a Bachelor party and it was a good price for us.

it's kinda scenic, but man that drive sucks. it's 8 hours from Tampa and 4 from Miami, it's just long enough to be too long. it can be waaaay slower though. it's only single lane for most the way from Miami and last i drove it (in Dec.) there was a good bit of construction traffic and the likes from Irma. IMO it's well worth the extra money it takes to fly. got to the point where we were flying from Tampa and I'll never drive it again unless i'm NOT driving and have a beer in my hand. actually the only good time i can remember on that road, we ate a tray of brownies and slept all the way. woke up in the parking lot of the No Name Pub on Big Pine and started the party

- rent bikes. that's the best way around town, they even come with cup holders on the handle bars - there's an open container law in key west so you can bring your beer everywhere with you

- visit the fort Zachary and hang out with the iguanas. there's tons of them down there and the fort is a cool piece of history.

- a must is getting drinks (and up on stage) at Irish Kevin's. we go every night. if you like good jams the Green Parrot also has good music and free popcorn. oh and if you want a show, walk up to the top deck of the Garden of Eden, there's great views (of all sorts) thank me for the laughs later...

- If you want a nice dinner, surprise your lady and make a reservation at Latitudes on Sunset Key a half hour before the sun sets, they view there is bar none the best in key west, the ambiance helps too. Schooner Warf is another awesome, chilled out fish spot by the docks - gotta have the conch fritters if you go here.

- for breakfast, go to Blue Heaven EVERY MORNING and get the lobster bene. it's the best breakfast on the island.

- if you want a cool day trip go snorkeling on at the Dry Tortugas, way worth it

eat some fresh fish and have a mojito for me!

 

this guy gets it

oh and GO NOLES! can't wait for Monday. headed down to Orlando this weekend to spend some time with friends and they're all Gaytors besides one, finally a reason to wear every piece of garnet and gold i own. Praying to see the look of disappointment on their faces.

 

We stay at Courtney's Place in KW. Walking distance from Duvall street. (The Duvall Crawl).

You will love the laid back atmosphere.

You MUST drive from Miami! We go to the keys every other year.
We don't like the chain type hotels. We stayed at Old Wooden Bridge cottages last year. Before Irma, thank God. It's on Big Pine key. We like to Tarpon fish as much as we like to drink, so really don't miss KW, but highly recommend staying on KW at least once in your life.

There are tons if web cams around KW and inside most of the clubs. They are fun to watch.

I never take more clothes than I can put in a gym bag that fits under the seat. You will only need shirts and shorts. T-shirt shops are everywhere. Just buy what you absolutely need. It won't be much. The dress code is flip flops and shirts and t-shirts. You will not need warm clothes. You will sweat at 4 in the morning.

I highly recommend going fishing. You can get your fish cooked for you when you get back in. Fresh caught seafood is anazing!

Parking is a bitch. Park the car and rent bicycles.

Be aware. Us northern peeps can easily get sick from dehydration. The beer taste so good and goes down so easy. We are not used to the extreame heat, so we can over drink.

I like beer...alot. I've trained myself to drink one bottle of water to one bottle of beer when in the keys. It seems to be a decent recipe for me.

Dehydration feels like being severely hungover before you went to sleep. Do whatever you can to avoid it.

These are just some of the things I can think of.

You will enjoy it!

 

I like the Old Custom House as far hotels go, older but nicely kept and right in the middle of everything. Duval Street is fun (Captain Tony's is my favorite) but make sure you hit some of the places off Duval as well. Wander over to BO's Fish Wagon for a grouper sandwich and get over to the Schooner Wharf Bar.

As far as getting there if you can change plans fly in to Lauderdale or MIA and drive down. I have done that drive a few dozen times and it never gets old.

 

Go see Pete and Wayne at sloppy joes if they are in town. It's raunchy, but you will laugh your ass off!

 

We love Schooners Warf for lunch. Santiago’s Bodega for dinner is perfect and Latitudes is a must

 

Agree the drive to the keys is amazing and good stops on the way.

 

It always amazes me.

100 miles at around 45mph.

I always wish the run down keys took longer. That 100 miles is over so fast. There is so much to see. I always feel sorry for which of us is driving.