Traveling to "The Keys"

[leebee]

We always look for something else to tag on to a Disney trip. I am intrigued by the Florida Keys and the Everglades. How long a drive is it from Disney to Key West? Do you see much of the Everglades from the drive or is it better to schedule some sort of tour for "up close and real" views (and encounters)? I don't know anything about this area but we are thinking of maybe driving down for a few days the next time we go to Orlando (probably January). Opinions??

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've never made the drive myself, but am also curious!

 

[wabbott]

bookmark

 

[LoveDaisy]

I did the drive years ago. It took us about 10 hours but we did stop for lunch and a short walk to break up the drive.

I have been to the Everglades but not on that trip. Hopefully someone else can help with that. I don’t remember seeing it from the drive but it was years ago.

 

[bobbiwoz]

If I were driving to the Everglades from WDW, I would go to Shark Valley portion of the Everglades along the Tamiami trail. I don’t think you can do both the Keys and the Everglades in one day!

 

[Travel60]

You won't see much of the Everglades driving to the Keys, especially if you stay on I95. To me, the Everglades are a couple of days visit - do an airboat tour or nature tour, eat delicious seafood, etc. It's a three hours+ drive from WDW to Miami on I95 but I'd want to take a western route down the Gulf on I75 - about 5 hours but beautiful drive. Then stay a couple days in the Everglades area.

Key West is ~3.5 hours driving from Miami. Again, I'd want to stay a few days - if not Key West, maybe Marathon. Good reading to learn a little local history before you go: Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleetin.

 

[HeatherC]

The Keys are great and a fun extra trip to add on! That being said, the hotels in January are very expensive so if you are planning to go in January, I would book asap because many will be booked already and those that are still available are going to be quite pricey.

If you don’t want to go all the way to the Keys, you could do a few days in the Ft Lauderdale area and do an airboat tour of the Everglades to see them. You could stay a day or two on Hollywood Beach which is just south of FT Lauderdale and has a fun boardwalk with shops and restaurants and hotels lining the beach if you are beach people. Or stay in the city of Ft. Lauderdale. Ft. Lauderdale also has a water taxi which is fun to get around and see all the canals and homes on. It does go as far as Hollywood Beach too. So there is plenty to do in that general area for a few days.

 

[fla4fun]

I did the drive years ago. It took us about 10 hours but we did stop for lunch and a short walk to break up the drive..

Yes, this sounds about right. You generally make good time on the interstate or turnpike until you get to Miami. Then it gets a lot slower from there to Key West. Of course, there are many places to visit in the Keys, so you don’t have to go all the way to Key West, particularly if you like nature and less urban surroundings. Key West is a city squeezed onto an island, with the crowding and traffic you would expect in any tourist destination. We didn’t have a bad time there, but it wasn’t relaxing and beachy like we expected.

 

[LuvOrlando]

We did Key West a few months ago. I loved driving up to Miami through all the Keys, I would suggest flying into Miami or Ft Lauderdale to shorten the drive and free you up for more sightseeing then just drive one way up to WDW or reverse it. The Miami Zoo was lovely but if you go do get the bikes and bring lots of cold water, there are cooling stations well placed but it is a great distance in the heat with only one way to go, I regretted not getting the bikes. Hotels in Miami are expensive & the Keys are expensive but Homestead was not and is a great base that would allow visiting of all the places mentioned with tolerable drive times. We didn't do the Everglades as we had family to visit, I didn't get the sense of really being in it but there are lots of people who share their trips so you can get a good sense of it. If you really want to enjoy the Keys I would splurge a bit and rent an overnight somewhere in the lower keys for one night, which we did. The drive can be a hike and an overnight or two prevents the day trip from being a chore.

 

[shh]

I'd consider the Keys an entirely separate vacation destination -vs a quick add-on - particularly Key West. There is so much to see and do. It's an amazing place - there's nowhere else like it in the US. But to really enjoy the vibe, you need at least a few dedicated days.

If you don't have that much time, consider sticking to upper keys - Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon.

You can take a boat excursion out to the reefs and snorkel...it's like swimming in an aquarium. Or take an evening sunset cruise. Kids love the Marathon Turtle Hospital (book tours in advance...very limited space fills fast.) Or relax at beautiful Bahia Honda state park. Plenty of great food venues, with gorgeous waterside views. Just a few of many more options.

Can you tell I love the Keys? lol

 

[goofyernmost]

I did the drive years ago. It took us about 10 hours but we did stop for lunch and a short walk to break up the drive.

I have been to the Everglades but not on that trip. Hopefully someone else can help with that. I don’t remember seeing it from the drive but it was years ago.

Years ago, I made a side trip from Kissimmee and back to Key West. On the way the weather was iffy at best and it took about 6 to 8 hours (I don't remember the actual mileage or time. Google says 374 miles) but I arrived late afternoon and it was a downpour. I found a hotel and decided to just stay overnight. (Remember this was an unplanned trip that I decided on just after I woke up that morning). I don't remember much of the everglades on the way down as I took the main highways to Miami and then Route 1 through the keys. The next morning I took one of the tour trains around the highlights of Key West, the water front and the furthest point in the USA. Then I headed back to Kissimmee as I was also paying for a hotel room there. It was a beautiful day and I stopped at just about every pull off just to look at the waters of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico just by turning my head. I loved every minute of it but by the time I got to Miami it was really late and I headed across the state to the west coast and took the straight line highway that ran through the everglades (Tamiami Trail). By that time it was dark already, since it was in February so I never actually saw the glades even though I was only a few feet away from it on both sides. I never saw another vehicle all the way to Naples where I connected with another road(s) that went to Kissimmee. I got to a high spot on Route 27 and saw the MK Fireworks from quite a distance away.

I don't recommend doing it the way I did. I had no plan and just did what I wanted those two days. If I were to plan it I would have planned for at least two days in Key West and another day in the Fort Lauderdale area (Many years later, I ended a cruise there and while waiting for my flight home (much later in the day). I found a tour bus to the Everglades and then took an Air Boat excursion right in and through the glades. Made friends with some gators, from a distance, an was not only close to the Everglades but was part of them. In spite of the trip being scary at night knowing that there were all kinds of hungry animals only a few feet away. I just kept my fingers crossed and my radio blaring, praying that my car didn't break down. It didn't and now I have a very clear memory and would have liked to go to Key West again just to spend more time there. The drive through the Keys is something that cannot be duplicated anywhere else.

 

[Stratman50th]

We live off of I-4 about 30 minutes west of Orlando. It took us about 7 hours to get to Key West. Actually we stayed at MM 14, so not quite to Key West.
We took the turnpike as far as it goes.
I agree that the Everglades is another separate trip. You'd end up spending more time on the road trying to just get to everything than actually seeing anything. Florida is a much bigger state than people tend to realize.

 

[wabbott]

We've been twice - Spring, 2021, and April of this year.

As noted upthread, the prices in the winter are peak season, and Key West lodging is WDW expensive, so know that beforehand.

But, IMO, the drive along the islands is one of the better on the North American continent. Blue sea, palm trees, tropical islands, bridges. Take your time, and make frequent stops to see things up close. There will be considerable traffic. Some of the old historic bridges are still standing and worth looking at.

This place is notable for a stop, and is a pure tourist trap. However, it seems to have captured the Keys vibe quite effectively. They play Elvis music over the loudspeakers, and it works. Good food.
https://www.robbies.com/

At Key West, we found these places interesting.
https://www.hemingwayhome.com/
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-zachary-taylor-historic-state-park
https://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.org/
https://www.melfisher.org/
https://www.kwahs.org/museums/custom-house/visit

We did a sunset sailboat cruise. Worth it, we thought
https://www.viator.com/Key-West-tours/Sunset-Cruises/d661-g3-c5638

Everyone, and we mean everyone, gets their picture taken here. Go early in the day, otherwise, long lines.
https://cityofkeywest-fl.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Southernmost-Point-44

Duvall Street is the Key West version of NOLA's Bourbon Street. Perhaps a little less coarse than the original.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...val_Street-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html

Note that roosters and chickens run wild throughout the lower keys. To me, it really adds to the local color. They call them "gypsy chickens."
https://www.floridarambler.com/florida-keys-getaways/key-west-chickens-key-west-roosters/

We've driven the Tamiami Trail twice, and you get a good view of part of the Everglades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamiami_Trail

We spent the night here, just about the end of the road Eat stone crab claws. Airboat tours are available, but we didn't go.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34210-Activities-Everglades_City_Florida.html

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

It takes about 7.5 hours to get to key west from Orlando driving with a lunch stop and a couple of bathroom breaks. That said, that doesn't allow for any sight seeing along the way.

 

[kanne323]

We had a few days in the West Palm area after Orlando and then went from there to Key West, which was about 6 hours, if I remember correctly. Once we got on 95, the drive was incredible. We fell in love with a place in Homestead (stopped on the way down and the way up)- Robert Is Here, an odd store/ice cream stand/petting zoo mix. Delicious milkshakes!

If you're doing the keys, I do think it's worth it to go all the way down to Key West. We didn't have a lot of time- 2 nights- but it was enough to get a taste of it and do the major things we wanted to do- snorkeling tour out at the reef, sunset in Mallory Square, bar hopping on Duvall Street, and the main reason for our detour down there, to see the end of Route 1. Oh, and I had a side goal of sampling key lime pie from everywhere, and I think I did quite well with that.

 

[NotUrsula]

Going via Brightline normally shaves a lot of time off the mainland portion of the drive. The train ride from MCO to Miami is 3.5 hours, sio you only have to drive the actual island portion.