Florida Keys

[langley]

Hi All

We are in Crescent Lakes in July and are thinking of taking a 3 day break down to the florida keys taking a trip to the Everglades on the way down and stopping at the Kennedy Space Centre on the way Back.

Are there any good places to stay to break our trip up ??

How long do you think this will take us to get to the Keys ??

Many Thanks in advance

Rob & Carol

[blott]

Well, Miami is around 3 - 5 hours away from Crescent Lakes (depending on which route you take and how many stops!) and Key West, for instance, is around another 5 or so hours drive from Miami so, depending on which Key you're thinking of visiting, you're probably talking about a whole day getting there and one getting back again.

If you go to the Everglades in July, be sure to take plenty of mosquito repellant as it's peak season for them!

Kennedy Space Center is about an hour's drive from Crescent Lakes.

[bellaepovera]

If you are heading to Key West it is a total of 7 hours stopping a couple times etc, so not sure if its worth it for only 3 days..

[Pikey1999]

There is a motel at the top of the Keys. We stopped there for the night then drove down to Key West early the next day.
Beautiful.
Just stop anywhere along the route, find yourself a beach and go for a swim. The water is so warm it's like bath water.
We then drove back up and stayed in the same motel before driving back towards Orlando the next day.
It is a long journey though. But worth it!!! [msncool]

[Ray&Sarah]

A few years back we stopped at the Howard Johnson at Key Largo, which is at the top of the keys. The hotel was pleasant, and we were able to drive down to Key West in about 2 1/2 hours.

Doing Kennedy as part of the round trip seems a bit off the beaten track, as Kennedy is roughly due East of Orlando, and as Blottie says is only about an hours drive.

[Floridalover]

I can recommend the Crowne Plaza on Duval Street. Its the highest building in Key west and has stunning sunset views from the bar at the top. Not cheap though. There is lots to do down in the Keys, so I would add a couple of days to your trip as it will take you a day there and a day back. Miami to the Keys is not the distance its the road thats the problem, very busy and sometimes slow. Highly recommended though

[florida4sun]

Carol,
I wouldnot do the journey over three days. Your looking at 2 days travel and just one day down there. I would make it atleast 4 days. Travel down down the east coast and then on the way back up the west coast.

Kennedy is just an hour from CL so make that a day trip.

Martin


<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by langley
Hi All

We are in Crescent Lakes in July and are thinking of taking a 3 day break down to the florida keys taking a trip to the Everglades on the way down and stopping at the Kennedy Space Centre on the way Back.

Are there any good places to stay to break our trip up ??

How long do you think this will take us to get to the Keys ??

Many Thanks in advance

Rob & Carol
[/quote]

[Cowboy]

Rob & Carol,
I would advise you to do as Martin says re Kennedy and do as Blott says re mosquitoes if you go in Summer - they are bad enough at the beginning of June!!
If you want to visit the Everglades we went to Everglade City from where you can do boat trips etc. There is a large Motel on the Tamiami Trail (US41) near the turning to Everglades City. The Keys themselves, as you may be aware, are quite busy at weekends because many Americans from the Miami area go down for the weekend both fishing and partying and the traffic on US1 can be like our M25 on the Friday and Sunday. There are lots of Motels both on the Atlantic and Gulf sides of the Keys. It is a long way for just 3 days because you will virtually spend one travelling with your return journey.
If you do decide to go, I hope you have an enjoyable time.
Mike.

[andrewmckay5]

Rob and Carol,
just an alternative that might be of interest is going down the gulf coast to fort myers and getting a boat to key west.
www.keywestshuttle.com
regards
andrew

[Ray&Sarah]

Andrew,
That looks like a really nice way to get there. Will have to consider this the next time we are in Orlando, as we would love to see Key West again. The beach should be on the right side of the road by now, the year we visited they had only just started clearing up after a really devastating hurricane.