Hoosierdaddy

The Mrs. and our 3 teenagers want to spend a 2 nights, 3 days on the Keys in early April. We will be driving down from Ft. Lauderdale.

Should we stay at hotel in Key Largo or fight traffic and drive into Key West? Not afraid of spending $300/night but don't want to spend a ton of time in traffic jams?

The Mrs. will tolerate bugs as long as they are outside, is B&B or Marriott the way to go?

Thanks

bookhall

At the risk of oversimplifying, Key Largo is like a village. And Key West is like a small city. You can do everything in Key West (excluding Pennekamp) that you can do in Key Largo, and a whole lot more.

The traffic shouldn't be that bad--say 4.5 hours from Ft Lauderdale to the end of the road. April is the end of the high season, though I suspect vacancies abound. A "Marriott" is probably the way to go with teenagers. Check biddingfortravel.com for info on Priceline bidding--you could save a bundle.

You gotta do Key West. And this is coming from a guy who takes four days getting down there every year. I love the Keys, but found long ago that part of the attraction is getting on "island" time....

ccolor

I second that emotion! - (and the suggestions). We always stay at Key Largo, but with 3 kids I think Key West would be the much better choice.

rbs360

You don't mention what activities your family might be interested in, but we spent a week in the Keys last year and would highly recommend a trip to the Dry Tortugas for a brief history lesson with good snorkeling. Our teens enjoyed the Sunset Celebration on Mallory Square, too, as well as just walking down Duval Street. We stayed at the Southernmost Hotel, and were very happy. We also spent a few days on Duck Key at HAwk's Cay Resort. The parasailing there was great!

buckeyemom

I second Hawks Cay. They have great programs for kids of all ages.

SusanCS

I think you and your family would like Key West better than other keys. There are a lot of tourist activities for people of all ages and great restaurants. With only two nights I'd drive straight down and enjoy the little time you have there! I'd also advise you to stay at either the Ocean Key Resort, the Hilton or the Hyatt. They're all fronting the Gulf and are within close walking distance of the sunset celebrations and other tourist attractions.

Hoosierdaddy

Thanks everyone--the Keys it is!

TyB

This was excellant because i have a wife that hates to drive and we are coming from Pittsburgh. I'm flying her to either Miami or Key West and me and my teenage boys will be road tripping down from the Burgh. I wasnt sure which to pick

SusanCS

TyB - note that this original post was 8 years old, from 2003, and not all of the hotels are still operating under the same names.

I certainly agree, though, that the trip to Key West would be more fun for a family than Key Largo.