Florida Keys

[Guest]

Hi All

We are planning a visit to Florida in July and want to go to the keys for a day trip if its not too far. We were thinking of Naples?

Can anyone reccommend the most suitable place to go and perhaps, give us a few tips on what activities, boat trips to do etc. We have two boys aged 10 and 8, so they need lots of entertainment!

Thanks

[Guest]

It is a ong way to the Keys and I would strongly recommend at least an overnite stay. Else you may not get time to do anything at all when there.

[Guest]

IMHO The Keys are too far for a day trip. We went a couple of years ago and it's a tiring drive down and if you were coming back the same day you'd be turning round as soon as you got there. I would recommend 2 or 3 nights there. My recommendation would be - drive down to Key Largo one day and stay at the Ocean Pointe Suites (Centrally located and near to Chilli Willies where the food and atmosphere is great). Next day drive to Miami and spend the day there doing things like boat trip of star island, visit South Beach, Bay Marina etc. 2nd day there spend locally near to Key Largo - eg Dolphin Experience, John Pennekamp underwater state park, diving if you like it. 3rd day drive down to Key West (couple of hours drive tops) and park at Mallory Square which is very centrally located. You can take a Conch Tram tour of the area and there's some lovely walks and places to visit plus the sunset entertainment is great. Finally call in at the Everglades, possibly Shark Valley, on your way back up to Orlando,

You do need this sort of time to do it justice in my opinion otherwise you don't get to benefit from the completely different culture and lifestyle that exists down there.

If you want any further info just shout up.

Cheers,

Paul

[Guest]

Originally Posted by blue

IMHO The Keys are too far for a day trip. We went a couple of years ago and it's a tiring drive down and if you were coming back the same day you'd be turning round as soon as you got there. I would recommend 2 or 3 nights there. My recommendation would be - drive down to Key Largo one day and stay at the Ocean Pointe Suites (Centrally located and near to Chilli Willies where the food and atmosphere is great). Next day drive to Miami and spend the day there doing things like boat trip of star island, visit South Beach, Bay Marina etc. 2nd day there spend locally near to Key Largo - eg Dolphin Experience, John Pennekamp underwater state park, diving if you like it. 3rd day drive down to Key West (couple of hours drive tops) and park at Mallory Square which is very centrally located. You can take a Conch Tram tour of the area and there's some lovely walks and places to visit plus the sunset entertainment is great. Finally call in at the Everglades, possibly Shark Valley, on your way back up to Orlando,

You do need this sort of time to do it justice in my opinion otherwise you don't get to benefit from the completely different culture and lifestyle that exists down there.

If you want any further info just shout up.

Cheers,

Paul

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I agree that its way to far to do in a day, It a very long drive just to get to the upper keys. Im not sure I agree with Pauls advice as I dont know why you would drive from Orlando to Key largo, then back up to Miami before going to Key West this doesnt make sense at all to back track (apologies if im misunderstanding you Paul)

Last September we left Orlando fairly early and drove to Fort Lauderdale and a brief stop, We then drove on to Miami but didnt really stop, just had a drive round and then continued heading South to the Keys, even though we only made brief stops it was early evening before we hit Key Largo where we made an overnight stop at the Suncoast Inn. Next day we drove on to Key West, Its only about 115 miles but the journey takes quite a while as its mostly single lane road with low speed limits. We then spent two days in Key West before driving back up all the way to St Petersburg (A bloody long way to drive in a day! )

If you really want to see the Keys you should budget three or four days minimum to get down there. If its your first trip to Orlando you will probably have more than enough to do staying local. It took us seven trips before we managed to venture as far as the Keys but it was well worth it.
I notice you mention Naples which is apparently a very nice place to visit, but isnt in or even near the Keys

[Guest]

Must admit it does sound a bit confusing going down to come back but we decided to have one base between Miami and Key West and use that to explore the Keys. This meant that we were within easy driving distance of both Miami and Key West, with easy access to the Keys themselves, so that with a reasonable start in the morning we could spend a full day at both without having to change hotels.

[Guest]

Thanks Paul that makes sense if you want to see more of the Miami area, for us it was just a passing through thing as I was determined to get all the way to Key West. I would like to explore the Miami coast a lot more in future though.

[Guest]

hi
one of the nicest ways to get to the keys is drive down to fort myers or naples for 1or 2 nights then drive accross the tamiami trail , taking in shark valley or the main everglades park, stay at homestead or florida city for 1 night; drive to key west and stay for chosen number of nights. when you drive back, go straight onto the turn- pike from us1 and back to orlando. it took us about 6hrs from key west to the 192

[Guest]

Jeeze a day trip to the Keys... no way! Naples or Fort Myers but even then I would say at least over night. Somewhere like Cocoa, Clearwater or Daytona Beach if you are looking fior a day trip or maybe Tampa.

[Guest]

Thanks all for your advice. really thought that Naples was in the keys and didnt realise the Keys was so far away! You learn something new every day!

Is Naples worth a visit and are there things to do for families?

[Guest]

Key West is great we will be going again in May. We set off around 6am get their for around 2/3pm and stay 2 nights and head back in the afternoon. The drive is great, going over the bridges is something else with the sky blue sea and great sandy beaches. I recomend having a towel in the car and pulling over when you want a break and going for a paddle in the warm shallow sea at the side of the road. Stop for brunch on the way down in one of the small local towns and get a taste of life outside of the tourest area.