Key West - Conch train or Trolley?

[servicejoe]

I have never been to Key West and was wondering about the best way to see it for the first time. Conch Train or ON-OFF trolley

 

Would love your input.

 

Thank You!

[FSUNole]

I have never been to Key West and was wondering about the best way to see it for the first time. Conch Train or ON-OFF trolley

 

Would love your input.

 

Thank You!

 

I assume you're going there via cruise ship? If so, I would recommend the Conch Train, especially if you have kids. Then, pick one or two things you'd like to see (Truman White House, Aquarium, climb up the light house, relax under the pines at Ft Taylor beach near cruise dock, treasure museum, etc). Also recommended is a stroll on a street perpendicular to Duval such as Fleming or Southard for 4 or 5 blocks to see what the real Key West is like. Another good walk is along the boardwalk/path round the Historic Seaport district. Start at A&B Lobster House and work way around toward right. You will pass Jimmy Buffet's recording studio along the way... try to guess what building it is.

[Colorado Kat]

I liked the on-off trolley. For the first time, I rode it completely all around, and the second, I got off where I wanted. It was nice.

 

To start, I had it to myself with the driver, so I could ask questions. Later in the day, it got much more crowded,

[Donna1127]

I would go with the on-off trolley..we did it last May. There's about 10 stops along the way to hop back on. I dont remember the price, i think it was something along the lines of $30-$40 pp. Well worth it!!

[NHNEV2003]

We used City View Trolleys and loved it-- we actually met the owner of the company-- they also operate in Boston.

 

It was convenient for wherever you wanted to get off and get back on, and the drivers that we had were very informative.

 

I would highly recommend them for exploring the downtown area.

[mommiemudd]

Took my daughter on the conch train which she loved, but if I am remembering correctly we only stopped one time. If I were to do it again, I would pick the trolley so we could get on and off when we needed to.

[Florissouri]

I have never been to Key West and was wondering about the best way to see it for the first time. Conch Train or ON-OFF trolley

 

Would love your input.

 

Thank You!

 

If your somewhat ambulatory and able to ride a bicycle I would say forget the overpriced Conch Train tour, get a good map and rent a bicycle. You can go a lot farther, see a lot more, stop and go on your own schedule.

[aggiejade]

We chose City View Trolley and had a wonderful time. We went fairly early, not very crowded and the driver was a very informative guide. If you book online you will get a discount. Otherwise you can buy tickets just before departing at a store across from where you start tour.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

We rented a golf cart.

[OHCruiser]

We did the trolley, but .....quite by accident and good fortune.

 

We had just planned to stroll around in the afternoon because we'd done an AM snorkeling tour. Walking off the ship, 2 women approached DH & me and whispered, "Do you want to ride the trolley?" I stammered, "Sure...." and they promptly removed their stickers from their shirts and stuck them onto ours!!

 

We didn't realize that they'd just handed us over $50 worth of tour! Now, this is the kind of thing that I do pretty frequently (a few months earlier I'd handed over 2 Rome Metro tickets that had 18 hrs. left on them to some new arrivals at the train station), so it was a wonderful feeling being the recipient this time!

 

We only had about 3 hrs., so the trolley was wonderful. We headed straight to Hemingway's house, did the tour, and then rode the rest of the route. The drivers were delightful and we were able to take lots of photos.