Stay On Key West

[JJJSM]

ANYONE OUT THERE BEEN TO KEY WEST & STAYED ON THE ISLAND? I HAVE BEEN BY CRUISE SHIP TWICE BUT NOW PLANNING A VACATION JUST TO KEY WEST FOR A FEW DAYS.. LOOKING FOR SOME ADVICE..
THANKS,
SHERRY
:confused:

[peter_krynicki]

ANYONE OUT THERE BEEN TO KEY WEST & STAYED ON THE ISLAND? I HAVE BEEN BY CRUISE SHIP TWICE BUT NOW PLANNING A VACATION JUST TO KEY WEST FOR A FEW DAYS.. LOOKING FOR SOME ADVICE..
THANKS,
SHERRY
:confused:

I'd suggest...

snorkeing http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34345-c3631/Key-West:Florida:Snorkeling.Trips.html

And breakfast http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34345-c3693/Key-West:Florida:Breakfast.In.Key.West.html

And most importantly, Happy Hour! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34345-c3709/Key-West:Florida:Happy.Hours.html

Pjk

[mark k]

wife and i did 2 stops from a ship . now we go down 2 times a year to stay.. it is the most relaxing place we have ever been. 24 days till paradise... see ya soon Peter

[Gangway Style]

Hubby and I used to go to Key West every couple of months and stay for two or three nights. The prices have grown steadily higher, however, to the point that summer low season costs as much as winter high season used to cost. I just read that they are going to raise the bed tax even higher. That is supposed to be used to build afforadable housing for hopspitality industry workers in the Keys, because those good people are being priced out of their own homes. But, for Hubby and me, it has meant that we visit Key West only a couple times a year now.

I'm not sure what the OP wants, advice on where to stay or what to do.

I think if you are going to stay in Key West a number of days, take one of those days and go out to Fort Jefferson either by boat or plane. It takes most of a day to go, hang out, swim, snorkle, dive, picnic and then come back.

As for where to stay, consider whetherr you want a bed and breakfast place, a resort hotel, a cheaper hotel or whether you want a hotel right down town or are willing to stay farther out from the town where prices are cheaper.

I hope you enjoy Key West as much as we do.

[JJJSM]

We Were Considering One Of The Bungalows.. Wha'cha Think? Are They Normally Located Near Down Town?

Do You All Normally Fly Down Or Drive?

We Are In South Carolina..!

[Gangway Style]

We drive down but for us it is only a four hour drive including stops for lunch.

I'm not sure what you mean by bungalows. Do you mean renting private condos or motels with separate little cottages or what? Please excuse me for being kind of dense about it. :o

If you drive down to Key West, you will have a car to use in town. If you fly into Key West's busy airport, you will need transportation of some sort. What you will need may depend on where you stay. If you are in a place near the airport, some hotels out there offer regular transportation into town and back. The Sheraton Suites is one that offers transport. Doubletree Inn does too. If you are right down town, you may be able to just walk everywhere. or rent a little electric car.

[peter_krynicki]

I always fly in. I can leave Newark, NJ, at about 8:00 a.m. and hit Florida by 11:00. Then the Conti Connection into Key West if there are no hang-ups, by 1:30, and I'm on the beach at the Pier Huse by 2:00. Cab fare from the airport is 7.50 per person for two or more or on the meter for one. This will run approx $20.00 so I try to hook up with a couple to share the ride.

Almost everyone says the drive is scenic, but I'd rather by in Key West for the extra four hours down.

Pjk

[JJJSM]

Hey Heavysurf.. I'm Sorry. The Bungalows Are Like A Little Cottage.. Very Cute!!

Since You Mention The Electric Cars-- Are They Lots Of Fun..?? Can 4 People Ride In One Car? We Talked About The Scotters However-- These Little Cars Look Fun.. Do You Know The Price To Rent These??

[cruise4]

We've several times at the Island City House Hotel. It is in the old town section of Key West. 'Google' it and you will get the web site. In our opinion, it is a hidden gem, and we wouldn't dream of staying anywhere else.

[Gangway Style]

Hey Heavysurf.. I'm Sorry. The Bungalows Are Like A Little Cottage.. Very Cute!!

Since You Mention The Electric Cars-- Are They Lots Of Fun..?? Can 4 People Ride In One Car? We Talked About The Scotters However-- These Little Cars Look Fun.. Do You Know The Price To Rent These??

Some of the electric cars--they are similar to golf carts--do seat four. I have seen families in them. They are open air--not air conditioned. I honestly think they are better and safer than scooters. I see people whipping around on scooters in Key West, but they fly through stop signs and traffic lights. We have nearly hit scooters that turned left right in front of us. I read Keys News everyday and accidents on scooters in the town are very common.

Check:

www.reefmobile.com (http://www.reefmobile.com)

There may be other electric car rental places as well.

[scubaran]

Hi,

My wife and I go down to KW all the time so I have a couple of suggestions for you...

B&B - We absolutely love the Andrews Inn (www.andrewsinn.com (http://www.andrewsinn.com)). It's a small inn with five rooms around a pool in the middle of the block behind Hemmingway's mansion. This puts it 1/2 a block off Duval St. but far enough back that the noise of the street doesn't travel back. They provide free continental breakfast and a self-serve happy hour by the pool every day with drinks. Because of it's small size you get personal service and they know everybody in town so they can get you into restaurants, excursions and special events that no one else can.

Fly vs. Drive - We always fly down. While the drive from Miami is nice, Hwy 1 can be crowded and while it's a novelty to drive across all those bridges, we like to get into KW and start the fun.

Renting a car/scooter/electric car - we bypass all these. With the Andrews Inn at the corner of HWY1/Duvall St. by taxiing to the inn, you're in the middle of everything so a good pair of shoes will get you everywhere you want to go. Plus, parking in old down is tight, expensive and usually you end up several blocks aways from the attractions due to costs or short term parking only. We looked into the electric cars but last time we were there they were over $75/day and you can honestly rent a car for 1/2 that so unless you like just to give it a try, we thought it was too expensive. BTW, at the Andrews Inn they know a place that rent's bicycles. They will deliver them to the inn and provide a lock to keep them secure while you're running around. This might be a nice alternative.

Things to do - Ft. Jefferson is not to be missed, unless you get sea sick. The trip on the fast cat is always rocky. We prefer to do sunset cruises on the Floridays. This sailboat only takes 10 people and all the beer, wine, champane an soft drinks you can drink. Because of the size, reservations are necessary. You also must do breakfast at Blue Heaven. A local landmark outside restaurant with chickens running around (seemed funny eating eggs for breakfast with the mother hen nearby giving us the eye :D ). Also Metor b-b-q is the best. For a relaxing time, my wife and I like to go to the butterfly house (on days when there aren't a lot of cruise ships in). The classical music with all the butterflies flying around is a great way to relax. For beach, most go to Smather's beach but we like to walk down to Ft. Taylor's small beach and sun there (have to ask directions to find it, but the beach is great and the Ft. is cool to run around). For snorkeling we go with Southpoint Divers (their boat is at the Hyatt off front st. by the Pirate Museum). They take snorkelers along on their afternoon dives and the crew are great (I'm a diver and have gotten two certifications from them while on vacation). Finally, we never miss sunset at Mallory Square. Plan a dinner arrangement 1/2 hour after sunset and then go down to Mallory for the craziness, get a drink at the Hilton, and go to dinner. Anyway, if you have other questions let me know and hope this helped,

Randall

[JJJSM]

Randall.. Thanks Sooo Much For All The Info!! We Will Not Be Going Until Next Year But Wanted To See What We Could Find Out Now.. Thanks!! I May Be Asking You More Questions Later! Can I Get Your Email Address? If You Do Not Mind All The Quesions?

[scubaran]

Randall.. Thanks Sooo Much For All The Info!! We Will Not Be Going Until Next Year But Wanted To See What We Could Find Out Now.. Thanks!! I May Be Asking You More Questions Later! Can I Get Your Email Address? If You Do Not Mind All The Quesions?

Hi,

I don't put my e-mail on these boards but if you go to my underwater pictures website (my favorite hobby) it's there in a graphic (web crawlers can't suck it up in that format). My address is: www.randallgamby.com (http://www.randallgamby.com)

r

[lusyrsgirl]

We booked through www.keywesthideaways.com (http://www.keywesthideaways.com) and found their accomodations very nice. We stayed at a house on Amelia Street and also at one of the rooms at Pelicans Landing. We rented scooters for our stay. Love Key West - wouldn't hesitate on doing it again.

[BeadBabe]

Very nice clean hotel. Lots of rooms with sitting areas and refrigerators. The downtown bus stops right outside!

[SanNic44]

Stayed at the Mermaid and the Alligator. Absolutely everything I could have asked for in a small inn. Walked to everything from this spot. Perfect.

[rebeljohn]

After visiting on a cruise ship a couple of times, we have driven and flown to Key West twice in the last year. The drive is very scenic, and we are glad we did it, but we will fly from now on. We stay at Marrero's guest Manison, just 1/2 block off of Duval. We take the bus from the airport($2), and it drops us off within 1 block of Marrero's. We find that we don't need a car for most of what we do in Kew West. There's so much to see there, and so many bars it is hard to visit them all in several trips..........

[Janan]

My wife and I stayed there a while back (for our honeymoon...or part of it anyway:D ) We stayed at a bed and Breakfast called the Curry Mansion....it was great and I highly recommend it. As I remember it was a bit pricy but a great place to stay,grat location and of course grat people!:D Below I have attatched some pics!

Andy

[royalcruz]

If you decide to stay in a hotel, the Reach Resort is on the beach and walking distance to town. They are offering the Summer Escape promotion through the end of September 08. Rooms are $149/night plus 20.00 resort fee. You also get resort credits to spend, $50 for 2-3 nights. I booked a room in August.