Miami To Key West – One Of The Best Weekend Road Trips In Florida
Photo: © Own archive

Miami to Key West – One of the best weekend road trips in Florida

Key West is probably one of the most memorable places to visit in Florida!

Why, you may ask? Read on, and you’ll find out!


As you may already know, I’m from Europe but I love exploring the United States. And it’s not by chance – I’ve always associated the US with its untold wonders of nature, exciting amusement parks and cruise adventures from the many ports located in its major coastal towns and cities.

Our adventure today begins in one of these cities – Miami, Florida. All my friends tell us – whenever you’re in Florida, go and visit Key West and enjoy the route that takes you there. This time, on our latest trip we finally managed it! We took a car for the weekend and headed south.

A word of advice: it’s cheaper to rent a car if you return it in the same state where you took it out. If you want to get the best deals, make your reservation no later than three weeks before you rent it (i.e. it’s better to plan early for these things).

 

For those who don’t know, the road to Key West is US Highway 1 – the one which actually begins from our end point (where I expect to see the Mile 0 Key West sign) and extends 545 miles (877 km) north up to Folkston, Georgia. The U.S. Overseas Highway 1 makes for an impressive sight. It connects the entire length of the Keys over 42 bridges, from where the view of the shimmering blue water is simply breathtaking. The road to Key West is only 165 miles (approx. 265 km), but even so we decided to really take in the wonderful weather and the splendid sea views, stopping over at Marathon Key for an evening mid-way through our journey.

smartslider3[14]

 
We booked a room at Hyatt Place, a pleasant hotel with helpful and friendly staff, comfortable accommodation and nice, warm beds. The hotel also had a bar, fitness centre and outdoor pool.

It wasn’t by chance that we stopped at Marathon Key. We knew there was a great beach here, as well as restaurants offering tasty, fresh seafood. I really recommend you spend at least one afternoon at Sombrero Beach, as we did. It pays to really enjoy the tranquillity of the area, the white sand, palm trees and cool, crisp sea water. And once you’re ready for something really tasty for dinner, I would really recommend the restaurant & tiki bar Island Fish Company, where you can enjoy the magical sunset as you dine…

 

smartslider3[17]

The next day after a healthy breakfast at the hotel we went on to Key West. Once we got there, we decided to leave the car at the Mallory parking lot next to the quay – a good place to start a long and exhilarating walk through the town.

Fun fact: as soon as you arrive, you’ll see that there are quite a few unusual residents enjoying a walk just like you – hens and cockerels! Yes, that’s right – get ready to be noticed by these feathery friends!

 

smartslider3[18]


To sum up our day at Key West I’m going to show you the TOP things you really need to do and see while you’re there…


As you start walking on Whitehead Street, you’ll not only get your first impressions of this quaint town, you’ll eventually get to Southernmost Point Buoy, which is the southernmost point in the continental United States and only about 90 miles away from Cuba.

On the road towards it, you’ll pass US 1 Mile Marker 0, the Hemingway Home and Museum and Key West Lighthouse (the first Key West lighthouse, built in 1825). Take the time to have a look around them. Nearby you will find Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory, where you can see a variety of butterflies as they flutter around, and even flamingos! 

If you want get the most out of your walk from the start, you could visit the Harry S. Truman Little White House, Florida's only presidential museum, the US Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum or the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, which can easily be found on the western coast of Key West and just a little walk away from Whitehead Street.

The list goes on of worthwhile places to visit, but it’s best to go and explore them yourself just like us – try out some of the local delicacies such as pink shrimp, royal reds or rock lobster and then take a stroll along Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park Beach. Soak in the afternoon sun as you lie back on a deck chair with a local drink in your hand, such as hurricane rum, a dark ’n stormy or a papa doble (as long as you’re not driving!) or take a dip in the tropical waters of Key West.

As you walk back to the car, you might take a detour to Duval Street, which is parallel to Whitehead Street and a vibrant downtown commercial zone street brimming with bars, restaurants and souvenir shops, where you could get yourself a sweet souvenir as a memento…

We had a great weekend full of exciting trips, tasty seafood and magnificent beaches replete with sea views of shimmering blue water and fine white sand. I really recommend you visit these places and I’m sure you’ll love the walk to Key West, one of the most beautiful beach resorts in the whole of America! Until next time!...

Comments (0)

No comments yet.

Add a comment

Data controller: travelinspirationmag.com. Privacy contact: info@travelinspirationmag.com. The data you provide are used to publish and moderate your comment, send necessary status notifications and protect the commenting service. privacy information

Data protection details

Legal basis information: Personal data related to submitting, publishing, moderating and securing comments, sending necessary service notifications, preventing abuse and handling reports are processed on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The legitimate interests pursued are providing and maintaining a secure and functional commenting service, protecting the integrity of the website, preventing misuse and enabling effective moderation. Data subjects have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests in

Retention information: Published comments are retained for as long as the related article and discussion remain publicly available, unless they are deleted earlier by the commenter or the controller or their continued retention is no longer necessary. Associated pseudonymous security, voting and moderation data are retained only for as long as necessary to protect the service, prevent abuse, maintain the integrity of voting and moderation, resolve outstanding reports, comply with applicable legal obligations or establ

Reactions: For signed-in users, vote uniqueness is tied to the Joomla user account. For guests, it is limited to the current first-party Joomla session. TemplinTech Comments does not store an IP address or device fingerprint for vote uniqueness.

Rights, complaints and redress: You may request an internal review of a moderation decision by contacting the privacy or support contact identified by the controller. The decision and the relevant circumstances will be reviewed and, where appropriate, corrected. If your concern relates to the processing of personal data, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. For a controller established in Baden-Württemberg, this is the Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI BW), Heilbronner Straße 35, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany, poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de. Any other administrative or judicial remedies available under applicable law remain unaffected.

Email address: It is used for necessary comment-related status notifications and secure guest self-deletion and is not displayed publicly. For guest comments, the plaintext email address is removed from the comment record after the publication notification has been successfully handed to the configured mail transport. TemplinTech Comments sends only transactional emails about this comment and does not add marketing content, tracking pixels or advertising identifiers.

Comments are reviewed before publication.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Winter Vacation in Mexico on Cancún’s Caribbean Beach with White Sand and Turquoise Waters
Photo: © AdobeStock 703183777 | Winter Vacation in Mexico on Cancún’s Caribbean Beach with White Sand and Turquoise Waters
Alaska Cruise in 2028: Glaciers, Juneau and Denali on Royal Caribbean Itineraries
Photo: © royalcaribbeanpresscenter | Alaska Cruise in 2028: Glaciers, Juneau and Denali on Royal Caribbean Itineraries
Happy Holidays from Travel Inspiration Magazine
Photo: © AdobeStock 231298307 | Happy Holidays from Travel Inspiration Magazine
Royal Caribbean Prepares to Open Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in The Bahamas
Photo: © royalcaribbeanpresscenter | Royal Caribbean Prepares to Open Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in The Bahamas
Ready for the Most Exciting Sea Journey? Meet Star of the Seas
Photo: © royalcaribbeanpresscenter | Ready for the Most Exciting Sea Journey? Meet Star of the Seas
Why don't polar bears eat penguins?
Photo: © AdobeStock 217896050 | Why don't polar bears eat penguins?
A Postcard from Naples, Florida
A Postcard from Naples, Florida
Why Are Mud Baths Good for Your Health?
Photo: AdobeStock | 367059001 | Why Are Mud Baths Good for Your Health?
Top 10 Most Cosmopolitan Cities in the World
Photo: AdobeStock | 3308865241 | Top 10 Most Cosmopolitan Cities in the World
Coffee Around the World: 11 Types You Need to Try
Photo: AdobeStock | 456313500 | Coffee Around the World: 11 Types You Need to Try

FOR CONTRIBUTORS

CONTACT

Hello! 👋 If you have any questions, ideas, business proposals, or simply want to stay in touch, don’t hesitate to reach out to us:

Person: Adela Dvorakova
E-mail: adventure@travelinspirationmag.com

Hello there! 👋 If you have any questions, ideas, or business inquiries, or simply want to say hello, feel free to reach out. We’d be glad to connect and have you join us on this journey.

Happy reading!
Adela Dvorakova