Wife is turning 40 and I'm trying to plan a trip for her. Needs to not have connecting flights so most of Caribbean is out and she watches too much TV so Mexico is out (even though we got married there and have been several times with zero incidents).

I'm thinking about flying to Miami and driving to Key West, if anyone has done this, how is the drive? Other than lots of bridges is it nice or boring? Any recommended stops for food or possibly stay on another Key? She likes spas, I like divey beach bars and we like beaches & beer.

drumboy said:

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I'm thinking about flying to Miami and driving to Key West, if anyone has done this, how is the drive? Other than lots of bridges is it nice or boring?

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My wife and I did that drive in a red Jeep Wrangler with the top down. May of 2011. It's a great memory of ours. We ended up in Key West and took a float plane to the Dry Tortugas. Awesome experience.

I do not know much about the Florida Keys but I did see this new all-inclusive resort that just opened up there:

https://www.bungalowskeylargo.com/

I'll be interested to see how it does and read reviews but it looks really nice.

drumboy said:

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Wife is turning 40 and I'm trying to plan a trip for her. Needs to not have connecting flights so most of Caribbean is out and she watches too much TV so Mexico is out (even though we got married there and have been several times with zero incidents).

I'm thinking about flying to Miami and driving to Key West, if anyone has done this, how is the drive? Other than lots of bridges is it nice or boring? Any recommended stops for food or possibly stay on another Key? She likes spas, I like divey beach bars and we like beaches & beer.

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Key West is the best. Never done the drive because I'd rather take a sub-hour flight from FLL or Ft. Myers vs 4-5 hours on the bridge. If you're planning on stopping to break the trip up, then by all means do the drive.

Plenty of divey bars in Key West and there is a spa at the top of the La Concha hotel. Not much beach on Key West though.

Every damn time someone starts a Keys thread I get an itch to go.

drumboy said:

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Wife is turning 40 and I'm trying to plan a trip for her. Needs to not have connecting flights so most of Caribbean is out and she watches too much TV so Mexico is out (even though we got married there and have been several times with zero incidents).

I'm thinking about flying to Miami and driving to Key West, if anyone has done this, how is the drive? Other than lots of bridges is it nice or boring? Any recommended stops for food or possibly stay on another Key? She likes spas, I like divey beach bars and we like beaches & beer.

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Depending on traffic, Miami to the start of the Keys (Largo) is an hour and a half or so, with the last half of that being fairly remote. Homestead is a decent place to stop and get some last minute supplies before you get to Key Largo...as you could expect things get a little more remote and expensive once you're island hopping. Very generally speaking, the closer you get to Key West the "fancier" things get but even then, there's plenty of beach bum stuff on Key West. Personally, i loved the drive.

Wife and I have done it twice. The first trip we spent the night on Long Key and rented a pontoon boat for four hours to putter around the bay.

I've done it twice. Depending on time of year and crowd levels, the drive can take a really long time. How long is your trip? I suggest stopping and spending a day or two at Islamorada. Some nice places to stay there and some good bars/restaurants on the water.

We did the drive. It was something I always wanted to do. Next time I will fly to Key West.

Why no connecting flight? Will be about the same time as connecting to some islands. We drove from Miami to Islamorada but just stayed there for a week. Made a day trip to Key West.

A month ago the wife and I flew into Ft Lauderdale rented an Audi A5 convertible from Silvercar and drove to Key West for 3 nights. The drive was cool, will probably do it again. Traffic was moderate, speed averages 45, so it took a little time tick over 4 hours from the airport. Traffic really sucked before Homestead.

The Audi was a blast, with the top up it was amazingly quite, it was a perfect choice for this trip. We stayed at the Cabana Inn. It was perfect and close to everything. We were scheduled to do the float plane to Dry Tortugas, but it was cancelled twice because of wind.

We really didn't spend much time on any of the other keys. We went to the turtle hospital on Marathon, it was neat. Also stopped at the Bass Pro, they have the sister ship to Hemingway's in the store. We did all the Key West stuff. Really enjoyed the Hemingway House and Mel Fisher museum. The Truman whitehouse was ok, don't waste your money on the shipwreck museum. The food was amazing. We walked to most places, but did go to the Northside one evening in the car.

Overall a great trip and would do again. We stayed the last night in Ft lauderdale by the airport (early flight). We also stopped at Everglades NP. We saw a ton of alligators, worth the stop if you have the time.

We flew into Key West did a few nights there. Took our time up the keys with an overnight in key largo then a few nights on Miami Beach. Dropped the car at Miami airport when we flew home. Very fun trip. Getting a convertible is critical to the experience. I reserved a budget class and upgraded to convertible for less than $10 a day. Seemed like lots of those deals were available onsite at the airport. We were there in late May early June. Not too crowded but enough going on to be fun. Stayed at the Orchid Key Inn in Key West which was a blast. Very well located and the pool scene was hilarious. Interesting mix of college kids, friendly gay dudes, and middle aged couples all having a good time.

My mother and her family are all from Homestead. My aunt had owned a water front spot in Key Largo since the late 70's. Love that whole area.

Also, if driving down there take Card Sound Road and eat at Alabama Jacks. Best conch fritters in the world and very much the quintessential Keys dive bar.

breezecustomtravel said:

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I do not know much about the Florida Keys but I did see this new all-inclusive resort that just opened up there:

https://www.bungalowskeylargo.com/

I'll be interested to see how it does and read reviews but it looks really nice.

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My wife and I just booked an anniversary trip at this place. If anyone has been or has any recommendations, we would love to hear them. We plan to fly into Ft. Lauderdale, then arrive at Bungalows by seaplane. Staying 4 nights.

Apparently that resort had a big fire last year, but has reopened. Looks pretty nice.