Can you walk to KW from port?

We're scheduled for an 8am - 1pm stop in Key West on an upcoming cruise.

Is it possible to easily walk from the port and get to shopping area, restaurants, etc.? Since we're only here for such a short amount of time, I thought this may be a good idea. Sight-see, take pictures, grab a quick lunch and a piece of Key Lime pie and head back to the ship.

We've been debating on doing this, or boarding a trolley or Taste of Key West tour offered through NCL.

What would you recommend? We're in our 20's and good shape to walk, but not 10 or 20 miles! :eek: ;)

The Sun docks at the outer mole pier which is behind US Navy property so you will be transported by train or trolley to Front St which is only a few hundred yards.

The main tourist area is known as Duval Street and is only a mile and a quarter long so you will have no trouble at all walking.

Mike:)

I wouldn't waste the money on the trolley tour.You have plenty of time to see Key West by walking.

I love Key West because you CAN walk from the port and easily explore the city. There are tons of shops, restaurants and BARS. It's fun to check it all out.

ENJOY!

Thank you all so much for your replies! Awesome to know we can just walk around and explore KW without being tied down to an excursion (or the expense of an excursion!) and that there is a lot within walking distance.

Looking forward to that slice of Key Lime pie! ;)

I wouldn't waste the money on the trolley tour.You have plenty of time to see Key West by walking.

Many people really enjoy the trolley tour, not just to "see" KW but to hear the information that is shared on it. That said, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if someone only has 5 hours to visit.

I wouldn't waste the money on the trolley tour.You have plenty of time to see Key West by walking.

and yet we've been to Key West twice and enjoy the trolley very much...and don't consider it a waste of money...but to each their own

First time I went to KW we did the trolley & thought it was a nice way to take a relatively quick trip around, see some of the highlights, and get our bearings. After that we walked around on our own, hit a few bars, and made our way back to the ship.

Haven't done the trolley since, but it is a decent way to get settled in & isn't horribly costly.

we did the trolley tour last month..only had a few hrs we were on the SUN and still managed to have a bit of time to walk to B.O.s and grab a piece of key lime on the way and also go to Kinos...KEY WEST was a GREAT little place...wish we had MORE time!!

i am GLAD we did the trolley!!

We haven't done the trolley tour so I can't comment on it but KW is a very walkable town. We love just walking around and taking in the sights. There's really no other place like it in the US.

Have fun!! :D

You can easily walk to front street and Duval Street. There's lots ot see along the way.

There are so good seafood restaurants on Front Street.

There is a little sandwich shop along the water - looks like a hole in the wall--BUT it has THE BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM. I wish I knew the name.

KW is a charming and very easy to manage little island. Hope you have fun.

If you are adventurous, we just got back from Key West & did the Parasail trip. We did not book through the ship, it was $89 pp. We booked with http://parawestparasailing.com/ - $30 pp & it was sooooo awesome. $40 extra & we got a CD with a ton of pictures & two videos of our flight. I would highly recomend if you are daring. It only takes about an hour. Great view of the ship & the island. Well worth it! :)

We were in Key West on January 10, and my wife and I walked down Whitehead Street to the Southernmost point, Visited the Butterfly Conservatory, then leisurely walked back up Duval Street stopping to have lunch and a margarita at Margaritaville, and stopped at several shops to browse along the way. This trip takes you past the lighthouse, Hemingway house, and several other points of interest. Our entire walk, including spending over an hour at the butterfly museum and about an hour at Margaritaville lasted about 5 hours or so.

We hopped on the Trolley for part of the tour then got off when we had enough - it provided some great stories and information - was fun, open sided, slowish - let you take great pics - then go explore on your own. It's a neat place - great art galleries as well - enjoy.

We are looking forward to it again in May.

I have been in Key West 6 times and you can walk around very easily. Don't bother with the $ for the trolley unless you want to take a tour. Front Street is just a block over from where you get off the ship and if you go one more block you are on DuVall Street which is the main area of Key West. This street is loaded with shops, bars, restaurants, etc and you can walk quite a ways. At the end of DuVall Street and roughly one block to your right is the Southern Most Point in the USA, a concrete buoy marking that is a good place for a picture as it backs up to the ocean. You are just 90 miles from Cuba at this point and its marked on the colorful buoy.

If you want something simpler, walk over to DuVall Street and just in & out of several shops. End your stop at Sloppy Joes as they have decent food and live entertainment. Irish Kevin's is right next door and also has live music. Food wise, across the street and up a block is the Hog's Breath, an open air restaurant with good food. Personally with the time you are there I would eat breakfast on board ship, go walk the shops then end up at Sloppy Joe's. You are about 3 blocks from where the ship is anchored so it would give you most use of your time. I have been in Key West 6 times and I think these will be your best bets.

We're scheduled for an 8am - 1pm stop in Key West on an upcoming cruise.

 

Is it possible to easily walk from the port and get to shopping area, restaurants, etc.? Since we're only here for such a short amount of time, I thought this may be a good idea. Sight-see, take pictures, grab a quick lunch and a piece of Key Lime pie and head back to the ship.

 

We've been debating on doing this, or boarding a trolley or Taste of Key West tour offered through NCL.

 

What would you recommend? We're in our 20's and good shape to walk, but not 10 or 20 miles! :eek: ;)

I hate the fact that most cruises only stay in port for 6 hrs and sometimes less as I LOVE Key West. The last time were there we rented one lf the electric carts. NOT the electric cars, but the glorified golf carts. You can get them in 2,4 or even 6 seats. They are fast enough to keep up with traffic and easy to drive and park. They get you to your favorite spots quick and easy. For example, we rented a 4 passenger for 99 bux for the day. We dropped our friends off at Smathers Beach becuase they were doing parasailing and we left there and went to the Southern Most Point for some pictures, then we went to see more of the Island. Then we picked them up and did more sight seeing. We stopped at the Kenos Factory for some sandals and did more driving around. Key West is cool to just cruise around and sightsee, people watch and stop here and there. I agree walking is less money, but the carts allowed us to see MUCH more of the Island in a short amount of time. When we go back, we will rent one again. They pick you up at the pier and drive you to their store ( about 4 blocks from the pier ) The company we used was right at the Pier and they had a lil hut there. We were not pre booked and just went up and said..we want a cart, gimme a good deal and we were driving 30 minutes later.

If you are adventurous, we just got back from Key West & did the Parasail trip. We did not book through the ship, it was $89 pp. We booked with http://parawestparasailing.com/ - $30 pp & it was sooooo awesome. $40 extra & we got a CD with a ton of pictures & two videos of our flight. I would highly recomend if you are daring. It only takes about an hour. Great view of the ship & the island. Well worth it! :)

I'm taking the RCCL Majesty he week before Easter Where is his locaterd? Do you know weight limit for tandem?

Thanks,

Someone with only a few hours could take in the Truman Whitehouse, Mel Fisher Treasure Museum or Hemingway House and still have time to walk, shop and have lunch. We stay in Key West for a week most every year but rarely get down to Duval that early, however I think few (if any) places are going to have live entertainment before 1:00 PM. Personally I'd eat anywhere else but Sloppy Joes, but that's just me.:)

Personally I'd eat anywhere else but Sloppy Joes, but that's just me.:)

Same here. We did on our first visit to Key West, only because we didn't know any better. Now, many trips to Key West later, we tend to spend less time on Duval and more time around the Seaport area.

the island of Key West is 2 miles by 4 miles. Key West is a nice place to walk around. There are a lot of shops were the ships make port, duval street is great place to walk around you will find bars, food, and shops. The beach is on the other side of the island which is not a bad walk.

If you do the trolley, I recommend the City View Trolley. Its cheaper than the others and it has 5 scheduled stops. You can get off and on at any of them. I think they said they come every 20 minutes, but I don't think we waited any longer than 5 minutes. We took the entire loop once, went around the 2nd time, got off at the southern most point, walked back to the stop, got on, rode to the Hemingway house, got off there. Walked from their to Black Fin Bistro for lunch, and then ended up leisurely walking back of Duval St to the port area with time to spare.