driving from west palm to key west
 

I am consdering playing hooky from a conference in West palm beach and driving to Key West, coming back the next day. the map tells me the drive would be about 6 hours. is this roughly correct? (I know it depends on traffic.) I assume the drive is pretty amazing.

thoughts?

That sounds about right (although I haven't driven there in years. If you figure 3 hours (or less) to Key Largo, it will be another 3 hours to Key West.

Don't do it on a weekend. There's only 1 lane in each direction for a long time and backups are common. You should be able to fly from FLL to Key West if the objective is to get to Key West.

It's a hike from WPB to the Keys - 6 hours at least. Have food and beverage in the car 'cause there isn't always a convenient place to stop for food.
Also, there is at least one drawbridge I remember at the very beginning of the Keys - it held up us for about 45 minutes, plus you have to hope the traffic gods are on your side and it't not moving along at a snail's pace.

You'll probably have to leave WPB EARLY to get ahead of rush hour traffic -talk to the locals about timing your drive.

But since time is tight, I agree with mclaurie to see if you can just fly there. It's ok to drive if you have the time, but your schedule is tight.

Take Card Sound Road from Florida City to Key Largo. Much more scenic and less traffic. You can take it just as you go out of town, it will pull off to the left going south. Do a Google map search for more info.

thanks for all the help. I assume it's a pretty amazing drive in terms of scenery?

As I remember, the road from Key Largo to Key West is not particularly scenic, although there are a few spots worth viewing. Does anyone else remember differently?

The only amazing part of the drive is once you are in the Keys. It seems like an awful lot of driving for very little time in the Keys. Another idea would be to spend the day in Jupiter,FL. Jupiter is only about 20 minutes north of West Palm. It has a laid back feel and is known for its beautiful beaches. You could go fishing in the morning on a drift boat such as the Blue Heron or take some beach supplies and spend the early afternoon at the beach or Dubois Park which has a swimming lagoon. Then you could have lunch at Food Shack or Guanabanas and take a trip over to the Sqare Grouper; a waterfront tiki bar right on the Jupiter Inlet with a view of the Jupiter Light house. This bar is really cool and was featured in Allen Jackson and Jimmy Buffets video for the song "it's 5 o'clock somewhere". What ever you decide to do have a great time!

Well, some people DO consider having clear turqouise blue to green water spreading out to the horizon on either side of the highway as you drive south to be somewhat spectacular. Yes, you have to overlook some of the tackier buildings that have sprung up, but driving over the bridges from key to key has always done something for my heart. Once you hit Big Pine Key, it's a bit more like the Keys used to be. I suppose it's all in the eye of the beholder.