Travel time between Key West and Miami Airport
Jan 21st, 2009, 12:43 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Travel time between Key West and Miami Airport
We are planning a trip to the Keys and are wondering if we would run into a time crunch driving from Key West to the Miami airport on a Friday morning for a 12:30 pm flight. I've read that we should plan on 4 hours, but can we realistically get to the airport in that time frame, or will we be causing ourselves some panic? Any thoughts are greatly appreicated.
Jan 21st, 2009, 01:00 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,518
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's always taken us 4 hours, too, but we've never gotten in a traffic jam or behind an accident. If you have ample time to spend in the keys, I'd probably advise heading on to Miami the night before, too.
Jan 21st, 2009, 01:00 PM
#4
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 730
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We travel up from Marathon (which is closer than Key West). We always do it the day before and take advantage of the spare time to visit the Everglades. We overnight in Homestead.
You could probably do it but why stress out about it. Traffic around Miami is terrible. Traveling through the Keys might be easier on a Friday, but around Miami it will be a work day.
You could probably do it but why stress out about it. Traffic around Miami is terrible. Traveling through the Keys might be easier on a Friday, but around Miami it will be a work day.
Jan 21st, 2009, 02:38 PM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Agree that 4 hours is the minimum time to allow. If you want to stay in KW the night before I'd still advise you to leave a bit earlier. It doesn't take much for Miami traffic to go from bad to awful.
Staying in Homestead/Florida City still leaves a trip of almost an hour. If you need to return a rental car take that into consideration.
Staying in Homestead/Florida City still leaves a trip of almost an hour. If you need to return a rental car take that into consideration.
Jan 21st, 2009, 05:28 PM
#6
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 506
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The problem with traveling through the Keys to catch a flight is that there are several sections of the route that do not allow for any detours around obstructions. If there happens to be a serious accident or problem, traffic can and does come to a standstill for either a few minutes or several hours.
Realistically, if you have a 12:30 flight you probably should be at the airport at 10:30 or so to return rental car and clear security. We have usually either stayed close to the airport or at least Key Largo for an early afternoon flight.
Realistically, if you have a 12:30 flight you probably should be at the airport at 10:30 or so to return rental car and clear security. We have usually either stayed close to the airport or at least Key Largo for an early afternoon flight.
Jan 22nd, 2009, 06:12 PM
#7
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Seems to be a lot of agreement on this one.
Determining your actual travel time between those two points is the same as getting up tomorrow morning and predicting the closing number for NASDAQ.
It could be a nail bitter but if you are travelling to someplace where there are a lot of daily flights, you can use that as your fallback.
But, why not just fly from Key West and connect in MIA and that way you can relax and not have to worry.
Determining your actual travel time between those two points is the same as getting up tomorrow morning and predicting the closing number for NASDAQ.
It could be a nail bitter but if you are travelling to someplace where there are a lot of daily flights, you can use that as your fallback.
But, why not just fly from Key West and connect in MIA and that way you can relax and not have to worry.
Jan 23rd, 2009, 11:53 AM
#10
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Agree with the other posters and will add that if you're returning a rental, be prepared to get lost. The address on our contract (Alamo because it was a package deal through AA) was incorrect and the GPS took us way out of the way. We made our flight, but just barely. All the car returns are in the same area--lots of one-way streets and lots of construction.
www.hereinfranklin.wordpress.com
www.hereinfranklin.wordpress.com
