Florida Keys/Miami

[WhyDoesItAlways]

Ive been eyeing up some flights to Miami next August and thinking of spending a night or 2 in a Miami hotel before making our way down to the Keys for a couple of weeks and staying in a villa. We'll probably stay pretty local to our accommodation and spend our days in the pool, at the beach or doing water sports.

Will we need to hire a car to get around the keys. I'm not sure how spread out everything is and how common Uber/lyft/public transport is down there.

Can we get to the Keys from Miami without hiring a car? We're happy to drive but just want to check other options.

Does anyone have an accommodation recommendations either for a miami hotel (just to chill by the pool for a couple days) and somewhere self catering down in the Keys. We're not set on which area of the Keys so open to all suggestions.

Also, any recommendations for things to do down there for 2 adults and a 9 year old.

Thanks all

Yo can book transfers but honestly car hire would be really cool. It’s such a good drive it would be nice to stop whenever you want for a drink etc.

Part of the fun of the Keys is the drive down. It’s stunning. En route, you can stop via the Everglades.

We love Key West, but you need to be very careful about when you go, ensuring there are no adult themed festivals or parties. We were there last November, and were horrified to discover there was an adult Neon fest going on. Elderly folk walking around with it all hanging out. A few other unlucky families were equally shell shocked, and we’re a fairly liberal family. KW is famous for its relaxed vibe, but just take care about calendar dates. Otherwise, it’s beautiful and chilled.

The other keys are literally just points on the road. Great for watersports. We stayed at a hotel in Marathon on the way back; this would be a good place to break the journey, or Key Largo.

For Miami, we usually stay on Collins Avenue. One block back from Ocean Drive, a couple of blocks away from Espanola Way, and close to Lincoln Avenue shopping. Lots of mid-range hotels around there with pools.

In terms of activities in the Keys, there’s plenty of boat and snorkelling trips. In KW, you have the sunset activities which are pretty famous. We loved Fort Zachary Taylor State Park; the fort itself is well worth visiting, and the beach there is one of our favourites. Then there’s the Hemingway house, and you can hire bikes to get around town.

Agree with both PP. I love the drive from Miami to Key West & KW itself is lovely. Such a chilled vibe.

We have stayed at The Mondrian South Beach a few times. The pool area has gorgeous views of downtown Miami across the water but you are a few blocks from South Beach itself (about 15 min walk). I’d definitely recommend it.

I think you need car hire for the Keys really. The drive is epic

You need to drive
If going to Miami look at Hollywood Beach and an area called Davey both are nice

If you just want the beach and pool in Miami, I'd stay somewhere on South Beach - needn't be beachfront. We stayed at the Pestana, a little set back from beach, but it had a pool, art deco rooms, and its own area on the beach. It was an easy walk to the beach, the main art deco area, and lots of restaurants. It also had bikes to hire, which was a lovely way of exploring the area.

For the Keys, I would definitely recommend hiring a car - it's an iconic drive down to the Keys over the bridges. It's quite a long drive - at least 3 or 4 hours from South Beach down to Key West, and that's assuming that the traffic is ok - it can get very busy during the summer, adding quite a lot to the journey time. And it's much easier to move around the Keys once you are there if you have a car.

For the Keys you really need a car, it’s an amazing journey and many places to explore when you are in the Keys.

I would stay central in Marathon or possibly Islamorada unless you really want the nightlife of Key West.
note- traffic out of Miami towards the Keys is awful at certain times so check your route and don’t drive out of Miami in rush hour,( becomes 3 hours).

Thank you all for this info. We will definitely be driving by the sounds of it and very much looking forward to it! Part of the reason behind spending a couple of nights in miami is to fit in a chilled pool day after the flight so will be driving down after check out, hopefully missing rush hour.

Ive been looking around and think we've settled on marathon as looks better for kids and being fairly central in the keys a good place to explore from.

Thank you all for your guidance!

Definitely drive, but I agree, don't drive in Miami, loads of Ubers there.
Just be aware August is hurricane season so be prepared for potential disruption. Easter is better if possible.

I’d hire a car. Once you’re away from the airport, it’s a really easy drive down to Key Largo and it’s be a shame not to do at least some of the amazing drive down to Key West.

I looked into this and decided that you do need a car to do the keys. You can technically get to a few of them using flix bus but you miss things in between. We ended up spending 4 days in Miami Beach and then Bahamas cruise including a stop at key west. Inwould definitely opt for Miami Beach opposed to Miami and Collins avenue is a good place to stop. We stayed at tradewinds apartments which was a little bit run down but good location, good pool and it worked well for us.