Suggestions for short visit to Key West

[Flipperfla]

There is really no driving out to MM0 its just at the end of a dead end street in a neighborhood. You could walk or drive to it, Its right off Duvall St the opposite end from the downtown district where Sloppy Joes is. When you enter KW the main road circles the outer edge of the 1 mile diameter round island. When you get there you get to the T at the redlight make a right this loops you west towards down town.
Finding a place to park is going to be very hard during FF. There is public parking downtown right at the harbor on the right just before you get to duvall st. I would try there first.
On the east side of the loop there is parking all along the shoreline but you will be on the wrong side of town. Parking is a real issue in KW, just think New York City. A lot of people that live there dont even have cars,its mostly bikes and scooters.
Good idea to srtike camp and get there real early, even if you are in Marathon and its only 50 miles to KW it still takes a couple of hours to get there because of traffic.
Your main islands to get supplies are going to be Largo and Marathon. Publix, Winn Dixie and Kmart. Worldwide Sportsman is in Islamorada. Rock On!

[joefromsf]

Woo Hoo. Just scored a Friday night campsite at Bahia Honda SP. Time to cancel our KOA Ft Lauderdale reservation.

[Flipperfla]

YOU ARE THE MAN! So now you have Pennekamp, Curry Hammock, and Bahia Honda thats the grand slam dude! Congratulations, hope you have a great time.

[wanderers]

You can also see the Ernest Hemmingway House in Key West and see the six toed cats there. It's near the lighthouse and supposedly on the highest point of land in Key West (still not very high).
You can also take a boat out to The Dry Tortugas, one of the least visited national parks. Ft. Jefferson is there and covers most of the main island. There are a lot of frigate birds there if you are interested in the wildlife. I went snorkeling while there but the water was a bit cloudy from a recent storm. The boat company supplied the mask, flippers and snorkel. I'm not sure how the "red tide" algal bloom has affected the waters in the Dry Tortugas but we really enjoyed the visit to the fort.

[joefromsf]

Just wanted to report back that we had a pretty good (although brief) visit to the Florida Keys. Thanks especially to FlipperFla for all his suggestions.


As mentioned before, we picked up single night campsite reservations at Pennecamp, Hammock and Bahia Honda by checking each day for cancellations. This was very short notice and for the Wed/Thur/Fri of Fantasy Fest week on Key West.


The order of our camps kind of drove our schedule, so we went snorkeling out at Molasses Reef on Thursday. I've been to better reefs but it was a fun outing. We spent Friday in Key West playing tourist and had a good time. Got there early and parking the van wasn't a problem. Snapped photos at the Southern Point and Mile Marker 0, took a trolley tour and walked Duvall St which was closed to traffic for a Fantasy Fest street fair.


Unfortunately nights were hell as we did get eaten alive by no-see-ums just as FlipperFla warned us. No relief at night in the van as SMB penthouse screening isn't fine enough to keep them. Plus we probably already had lots of bites just hanging around outside in the evening. it was 80 degrees but we had to sleep with long sleeves, long pants, socks, hat and a towel or t-shirt covering the face. Hundreds of bites. Brutal.


Pennekamp wasn't that great as the camp was far from the water and no breezes back there. Curry and Bahia Honda were much better in that regard.

[Flipperfla]

Glad I could help. I agree about Molasses, I would give it a C- with Looe Key and Carysfort being an A. We were down the week after you and stayed at Curry Hammock all week. I was really suprised how fast it came back after Irma when you think there was nothing left but sand, mother nature is amazing. Hope you didnt stop at 7 Mile Grill, we did and it was terrible, I think it is under new management. I also agree with Pennekamp, the only plus is you have access to the northern reef line if you have a boat but the no-see-ums love those mangroves with no breeze. Again, glad I could help and you had a good time!

[joefromsf]

Didn't make it to 7 Mile Grill. Some of our favorite stops:


Bayside Grille/Sunset Bar in Key Largo: Went there just for drinks and sunset view. Recommended by ranger at Pennekamp. Excellent place for sunset views.


Waffle House in Key Largo: Sherry was feeling queasy after the snorkeling excursion and needed some familiar comfort food ASAP. Quick diner stop for bacon and eggs hit the spot.



Midway Cafe and Coffee Bar in Islamorada: Recommended by my cousin. Very good.



Frenchie's Cafe in Key West: Recommended by several people. Also very good.


Conch Republic in Key West: Good seafood, but nothing special, although we did enjoy the live music. Duvall St restaurants were packed as it was Friday on FF weekend. This place was away from that scene and close to where the van was parked.

[hippievan]

If your van is short enough, I've stealth-camped on top of the city parking garage down by the Ferry Terminal close to Duval Street. Awesome view of Key West and the Harbor. Makes it nice to stumble home after a Duval Crawl.

[hippievan]

You can also stealth camp overnight at the IHOP in Marathon. It is closed for Irma renovation right now. Several big trucks park there in the back every night. A van full-timer I know parks there all the time overnight.