We read and heard of many different ways of visiting Key West in Florida. Many people completed the Miami to Key West road trip as we did, driving from Miami and driving back. Others will fly directly to Key West. Some will even go from Miami, leave a rental at Key West and fly back.
We, however, wanted a few days in Miami, experience the drive down to Key West, stay there for a few days and drive back to Miami.
Starting in Miami
We stayed in Miami for a few nights. Our hotel of choice was the Fontainebleau on Collins Avenue. A stylish hotel in the heart of Mid Beach. Onsite it houses a Hakkisan restaurant, which is pricy but always a good experience. The one in London, UK was great, so we thought we might also try this one. As always, the food is fantastic.
Passing the surfside Memorial
Our trip to Miami was a few months after the Surfside condominium collapse, and we drove past the site. Truly horrifying when you look up close and see the size of the site, looking up at the adjacent building and looking back where now stands empty sky. Reports of Ninety-eight people died that day.
Our Miami to Key West Road Trip
It’s a little over 160 miles from Miami, Using the toll roads to get out of Miami and jumping on the US Highway 1, all the way to the overseas highway. You can see why people spend a few days exploring each key as soon drive over the bridge. There is plenty to see. On entering the bridge, the colour of the water starts to turn to an aquamarine colour. The further along the bridge you go, the more the land disappears, and the water surrounds everything you see. Some parts of the road look like you are heading into the sky.
Our Stay on Duval Street
The whole reason people try a Miami to Key West road trip is to visit Duval street, this may not be the case, but I’m sticking to it for now. Duval Street runs from the north to the south, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean and is only a mile long.
We stayed in the Ocean Key Resort & Spa at the end of Duval street for a few days. Our room faced Sunset Key and was next to a pier. This meant we could sit on our balcony and listen to the live bands playing when we didn’t fancy going out. Especially lovely as the pier was a well-known place to take pictures of the sunset. Being a floor up allowed us an uninterrupted view of the sunset and no pictures from the back of people’s heads.
The location was perfect for us, and we had easy access to shops and local bars around the marina. Of course, we were at one end of Duval street, and we tried to walk the whole road in one go, but with numerous shops and bars along the way, our journey took longer than it should have been.
Getting around Key West
Although our Miami to Key West road trip involved a car, we didn’t use the car while we were there. The best way to see Key West was hoping to use the Conch Tour Train. Click here to find out more about them. You could walk if you like the long walks, but with the heat, we chose to get a tour of all the significant spots and then decide if we wanted to return and spend more time there.
The Conch Tour Train rides around Key West, explaining key points of interest, it also allows you to get off at specific stops, and your ticket allows you to get on the next passing train. If I can remember rightly, it’s every 45mins. This will enable you to get off in an area and spend time before getting on the next train.
Covid meant that visitor numbers were down. Talking to shop owners, it was both a good and bad time. Locals liked that it wasn’t too crazy, and they could enjoy their spot to themselves. Others were affected by the loss of revenue.
Some areas other than the bars were still as busy. The southernmost point buoy in Key West still had a queue for the famed landmark. We walked past, thought about it and left, even though we are British a love a good queue.
Technically I had a picture of it, just not Instagram-ready.
When we were there, Florida had just relaxed the mask mandate, so while some shops required you to wear masks, others didn’t, and tightly packed bars suggested that Covid was not a thing.
We had to worry about getting a flight back at the end of the journey, and catching Covid would jeopardise everything.
Key West, and the Keys in general, is a unique place to visit. There is plenty to see and do. Key West is full of historical sites, and you are never far away from a bar or restaurant.
Some of the best restaurants we enjoyed were off the beaten track a little, tucked away, some without big signs advertising their existence. The Flaming Buoy Filet Co was one of them.
They describe themselves as one part retro supper club, one part sassy bistro, and one part highly personal whim.
The few days were spent visiting the landmarks, eating and drinking. Our Miami to Key West road trip would not be complete without some relaxation. Therefore, our next few days were spent at the Sunset Key cottages on Sunset Island.
Our stay in Sunset Key Cottages
Sunset Key is a secluded island of around 27 acres. Seven acres are dedicated to the Sunset Key Cottages and the rest to an exclusive residential community.
Getting from ‘Old Town’ to Sunset Key is by water taxi. If you arrive here by car, you can park it in a multi-story car park near the marina for a charge. Once your booking has been confirmed, you are escorted to the water taxi, and your luggage is placed on the boat. Access to the island is for guests staying at Sunset Key Cottages or visitors to the on-site restaurant, Latitudes.
You are met in Sunset Cottages, a ten-minute boat ride across and checked into your cottage. Our Cottage faced the ‘Old Town’ with just a few palm trees separating us from the water. This makes the island very secluded yet so close to the rest of Key West.
Dolphins could be seen close to shore.
Our Accommodation
Our cottage had 2 bedrooms, a big kitchen, dining room and plenty of our door space. This allowed us to pop out to the ‘Old Town, pick up some groceries, and enjoy it back in our cottage.
Breakfast is delivered to your door in the morning via a hamper. The contents changed daily, but I was a sucker for the pastries.
Having a private beach experience and being close to the ‘Old Town’ was a great treat. Our time was spent lounging around and popping back into town to find somewhere to eat or just go for a walk.
If anyone is thinking of doing a Miami to Key West road trip, I recommend staying here at some point in your journey. For us, it was perfect timing before our big drive back to Miami.
Our return to Miami
After such a lovely stay in Key West, the time had come to return to Miami. The weather had started to turn. We were lucky to miss most of the rainfall. This includes the two warnings of tropical storms that passed either side of us while we were there.
They included Fred and Grace.
Although there were no tropical storm warnings when we left Key West, the remaining rain clouds followed us back to Miami.
We were both so relaxed during our experience of Key West that the drive back wasn’t as exciting as on the way there, as is sometimes the case that going somewhere feels better than the return trip.
On reflection, if we chose to repeat this trip, we would look to change the return journey and maybe fly back into Miami rather than drive. That said, the choices available to you in a car are better when there are delays at the airport.
Our Miami to Key West road trip was a great experience. Sure there was plenty more to see, but we were happy with what we managed.
If you are into relaxing beach holidays not far from Miami, look at this one, Bahia – A relaxing beach house. 30min from Ocho Rios, Jamaica.