Bike Rental in Key West: Worthwhile?

[violetsmile]

I've been debating walking around Key West or using the trolley, but then I got to considering bike rental. From a quick Google, it looks like there are a number of places that rent, with a wide range of prices (mostly I've seen $10-$35 for a full day, per bike).

I feel like we're pretty comfortable walking it, since from everything I've read the island is about 4 miles by 2 miles, but I'm thinking the bike might let us do and see more.

We're not opposed to the trolley, but feel like we might want to be a little more active in this port since we don't have any excursions booked. Are the streets very busy? I'm not a huge fan of riding in car traffic, but I've heard the roads in Key West are not at all busy--that's it's mostly people and bikes. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on this?

[bhopal21]

If you are comfortable walking do it. There was another bike accident involving a tourist this week and they almost never have a good outcome.

Key West is so congested it is quite risky.

Mike

[sunkey1]

We were just in Key West in early April and rented bikes for the day and had a blast. Went where we felt like, stopped at a beach for an hour, stopped at shops, just rode around. It was really a great time. I will say to avoid using Bike Rentals Key West. We had set up a rental with them. The bikes were supposed to be delivered to the pier but were not - we had to walk two blocks into town to get them, which was worse as my daughter had sprained her ankle two days prior and while she was okay with biking, she was not okay to walk on it which meant that my husband had to piggyback her into town. Then when we got there the lock combination would not work and we had to wait till someone could come and cut the locks off. All told, we lost an hour out of our day with all this mess. Then I tried to get a refund of the extra we had paid to get the bikes delivered, since they weren't, and called the shop 4 times, they finally gave me the owner's number and I called him twice. He never returned my calls. So go biking, just not with them!

[DougHeffernan]

DW and I think it would be fun to get a tandem seat bike and ssshhh I can sit in back and have her do all the peddling.. Lol just joking
Anyone know who has them and how much per day?

[bhopal21]

Eaton Bikes has them. Here is their rentals page.

http://www.eatonbikes.com/rentals/

Mike

[DougHeffernan]

Originally Posted by bhopal21

Eaton Bikes has them. Here is their rentals page.

http://www.eatonbikes.com/rentals/

Mike

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for. That's a good rate too.

[rnvattes]

Originally Posted by DougHeffernan

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for. That's a good rate too.

We just rented from them at the end of last month. Fabulous experience. Definitely got to see more of KW than we would have on foot, and had more control over where we went and how long we stayed than with the trolley. Plus it was a nice way to be active for the day while touring around. Highly recommend renting a bike, and totally recommend Eaton. We rented cruisers, FWIW.

From my cruise review:

"With very little trouble, we located Eaton Bikes. It was a bit further walk than we anticipated and we arrived just before 9:00, having taken only one wrong turn. Now, Eatons will deliver the bikes to you at the pier at no cost, but delivery does not begin until 9:30 a.m. When I spoke with them the week prior they told us that if we were so inclined we could come and pick our bikes up any time after 8:00. As we wanted to maximize our time we decided we would not want to wait; had our wake-up call not failed or had my internal alarm awakened me as normal, we’d have been closer to 8:00 than 9:00.
It was quite easy to pick the bikes up. They pulled our reservation, we paid with cash, and they took a copy of our credit card in case we failed to return the bikes Chris provided us with another (larger than mine) map, and asked what our plans might include. He very helpfully circled each location on the map for us and pointed out a few other “on your way by you might want to check out XXXX” sites. He gave us some directions as well, and then showed us out to the back where another attendant brought us to our bikes. We were given some quick instructions on the bikes themselves, local laws (you can ride on sidewalks except on Duval), and returning the bikes. I was surprised that no helmets were suggested or provided. "


and then returning them:


"We passed by Eaton Bikes on our way and debated returning the bikes and walking the rest of the way. But they have a satellite return station at the Westin Hotel in Mallory Square, so we opted to return them there. We rode around a bit more on Duval and through Mallory for a short bit before returning our bikes. There are plenty of bike racks at the Westin for this purpose, but people tend to lock up on the ends making it very difficult to utilize the middle of the racks. We felt this could be alleviated by setting aside a couple of racks that were JUST for returns and noting for returnees to start in the middle section and work your way out, and leaving the rest of the racks for people just locking up temporarily. Shane had to lift our bikes over a bunch of others so we had a place to lock up. Aside from that, returning the bikes was even easier than getting them (which was awfully easy); Shane turned in the keys to the locks, and I called Eaton to notify them that the bikes had been returned."

[DougHeffernan]

Thank you for the review.. I'm looking forward to our visit. I'm hoping the rain holds off.

[we're sailing away....]

Trolley is the best way to see all ..

[Gingee]

Last week we were in Key West. We walked most of it. It was hotter than he..
I saw some people biking and wished I could. The trolley would have been okay also.

[fjb3cpa]

We rented bikes back in October of 2010. We walked from Mallory Square down to almost the end of Duval Street where we rented bikes for the afternoon from A & M Scooter Rental. It was a perfect way to get around in Key West. The town is perfectly flat and although there is a bit of traffic, it moves awfully slow on most streets. We had the ability to see most of the town in short order with a minimum of effort, and upon returning the bikes they shuttled us back down to the square.

[bklynangel]

Is there public transportation in key west. Do you have to book a trolley with the ship. How much is it to ride without booking it from the ship? Thanks

[bhopal21]

Originally Posted by bklynangel

Is there public transportation in key west. Do you have to book a trolley with the ship. How much is it to ride without booking it from the ship? Thanks

You can pick up the Cityview Trolley after arrival for $19 all day.

Mike

[092306]

We've been to Key West 3 times and rented bikes once and loved it. Highly recommend it. The other times we walked and travelled with others, but biking was our favorite. We didn't find it to be too congested or dangerous to ride at all. you get to see all the side streets and houses that way and it was just a great experience. Would love to do it again. We used a bike rental a couple of blocks up from mallory square. I don't remember the name though.

[Keith1010]

I agree. It's fun to rent bikes in Key West.

Keith

[TurtleKraal]

IMO, bikes are the ONLY way to get around KW!!!