I'm staying in Fort Lauderdale and want to do a day trip to Key West. How long is the drive and what are the things I should see while I'm there?

When we visited Key West, Mel Fischer's
"Atocha" Treasure Ship museum was at the top of our favorites list. Ernest Hemingway's House and Truman's "Little White House" were also interesting. The city also offers a tram tour that takes you around town & explains different sites. If you're there for the evening, don't miss Mallory Square for the sunset celebration & entertainment.
I don't remember how long the drive is (perhaps 2-3 hrs?) but I assume it depends on traffic, since there is only one road in & out. Also lots of good restaurants there...have fun!

The trip from the airport in Miami to Key West is 3 1/2 or 4 hours and can be longer on a Friday or during weeks of special events. You should add another 30 minutes or so from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami. Although the trip from Miami down isn't many miles, it's primarily a two lane road that disallows passing much of the way. You'll really having a difficult time making this a day trip.

Hank-You can fly Cape Air from FLL to KW. The url is: www.capeair.com.

fly, baby, fly
everyone hates and dreds the drive back

Take it from a former "conch", don't do this in a day trip.Impossible on a busy weekend. Get a room overnight(MAKE RESERVATIONS!), enjoy Mallory Square celebration, hit Sloppy Joe's & Pier House, do a snorkel cruise the next am and allow 4-5 hrs min for drive.Stop at Holiday Isle, Islamorada at the Tiki Bar both ways-catch the Polynesian show weekend afternoons free-and stop in Marathon to break up the trip. If a day trip is the only option-spend the money and fly!

Having just done it yesterday let me tell you now before my short-term memory loss kicks in: We left Key West at 9:00AM and pulled into the rental car lot at the Ft Lauderdale airport at 12:55PM. We made NO stops along the way. Traffic was not horrible, but it also wasn't smooth sailing. It took us about 5 1/2 hrs to drive DOWN to Key West from Ft Lauderdale, but we stopped for lunch and did a little sightseeing. What I really find annoying is the traffic on the highways around Miami and Ft Lauderdale. It seems as though there's a slow person in EVERY lane. And people are changing lanes constantly. And some people zoom!! Yikes. I've been dring to the Keys for 30 years; I'm really thinking about flying the whole way next time. No matter the cost.
Have fun in the Keys.

Hey JT, is the short term memory loss due to traveling warp speed all those years???

Hank,

One poster said fly, fly, fly & so on! Another poster said fly Cape Air! Well, here is another resorce for ya! It's a brand new site for Florida travelto Key West! Hope this helps!

http://www.floridaair.com/

I did that drive last summer, and as earlier post noted, it is no longer a quick drive as it was 3-4 years ago. Plan at least 4 1/2 to 5 hours to be safe. Also, earlier post was right on regarding the dreaded drive back. On a Sat. night after the sunset it took us 5 hours to get back. Miami traffic at midnight is like rush hour. If you have the time, it is a pleasant "one-time" experience. But not for a day trip.

ttt