Do we need to keep our rental car in Key West once we are there?
 

Hello... Our adult family of four will be traveling to Key West in January and we are wondering if we need to keep our rental car from the airport once we are in Key West... I am curious about how we will get around ..... bus, taxi,. trolley,etc.

Do any of these bring you around to the "tourist" spots ( like a hop on- hop off trolley) or will we need the rental car to fully enjoy the area? Thank you in advance for your replies.

Hi sealight,

You may choose to but you absolutely don't "need to" keep your rental car. There is a bus system on the island and I remember seeing some sort of tourist trolley. One popular way of getting around is by bicycle, which is what I did. Key West is not all that big; I cycled relatively leisurely (I don't remember exactly how long it took, but I'm pretty sure it was under an hour) from the western end (Zachary Taylor beach) to the eastern end (saw the houseboats on eastern neighbour Stock Island) along the beachfront bike trail (which incidentally is just gorgeous).

Walking from northern end (Mallory Square) down Duval Street to Southernmost Point/Higgs Beach takes maybe 20-30 minutes? Most of the tourist spots (Hemingway House, Southernmost Point, Mallory Square) in fact I'd say are within walking distance.

Enjoy! Daniel

If you're staying in Old Town, you definitely won't want - or need - a car. It's a very tiny island (only about 2 by 4 miles) and is easy to get around either on foot or bicycles.

There is a hop on/off trolley. If you're flying into Key West, I'd just take a cab in town and forget the rental car altogether.

If, on the other hand, you're staying in New Town, you'll probably want to hang on to your rental car because transportation to and from the tourist areas could be costly for a family of 4.

We had no need for a car when we were there for 4 days a few years ago. Everything we wanted to do was reachable on foot.

Let me add that if the bus system Daniel has mentioned is the Bone Island Shuttle, it's now closed. The closest thing to a bus system is the on/off trolley, and I think tickets for it are charged on a daily basis.
http://www.trolleytours.com/key-west/

Has Key West Transit stopped functioning? (www.kwtransit.com) This is how I got from airport/Greyhound bus station to Old Town in 2007/2008 (I believe on the "Blue Line").

Daniel, I'm pretty sure that's the one that's defunct, but I'll find out and post again.

I agree that a car is not necessary during your visit. The Hop on and off trolley is worthwhile though, and if I remember correctly, there are two competing companies.

I don't know where you are staying, but if you are anywhere close to the old town you can just walk everywhere. Be sure to go out to the pier for sunset. It is quite an event and there will be many entertainers and vendors...a must see!

We just got back from Key West - we were there Labor Day week. We stayed in New Town at the Doubletree and did not have a rental car the whole week we were there. Our hotel had a shuttle bus that dropped off and picked up from the Old Town area as well as the beach on a regular basis. They also have service to/from the airport. We did use a taxi just once and it was not expensive.PamT

Okay, so now I know the Key West transit is the city bus system, but I'm still not sure exactly who it serves.

You ought to be pretty comfortable, though, with all these other posters saying you'd do fine without a car :)

How long will you be staying? Will you have a drop off charge? Will you need to rent another car with another drop off charge to go back to Miami? It might be worth keeping if the per day charges are no more than the drop off charges.

Hi Susan,

While a few people seemed to know and chat with the bus driver on the city bus (and made me think them locals), much of the passenger traffic I noticed on the bus I took seemed to be of the tourist variety, possibly returning to Old Town from Smather's Beach or going to Old Town from their outlying hotel? The smallish bus got quite full the evening I took it.

Best wishes, Daniel

Daniel, though I love Fodors, I think you'll get more responses on tripadvisor.com. There are lots of Key West lovers here (myself included), but you'll find more on that website.

I'm still not clear where you'll be staying...Old Town or New Town? It does make a difference in the kind of advice we'll give. In any event, best of luck to you, and I know you'll have lots of fun!

Okay, the final word I've gotten is that Key West transit is cheap and reliable, but operates on "Key West" time, which means you can't be sure exactly when it'll be there.

Sorry, Daniel, I got so busy chatting with you I forgot you weren't the OP!

No worries Susan. Ultimately, I'm glad it appears that Key West Transit is still serving the island, offering an inexpensive option into Old Town from outlying locations.

Thank you for your advice, everyone.I think it sounds like maybe I don't need a vehicle for the whole week.We are staying at the Naval Air Station in Key West and they say it is just a few blocks to Duval St., less than a mile to Old Town.

You may not "need" it but what are you going to do to get back? Is it not cheaper to rent for the week than two days, drop off charges, etc.

Sealight - I've walked all over Old Town, but don't really consider the Naval Air Station to be in that area. Unless I'm mistaken, I think the edge of Old Town is Grinnell. If you don't want to keep the car, you might consider renting bikes or (if you're familiar with operating them) scooters.

Here's a map.

http://keywest.com/newbigmap.gif

Saving this for future travels. thanks