Has anyone been to Key West during this time? I have been down several times but never during the holidays. My wife and I are looking forward to spending the holidays "our way" this year and cannot wait until December. I have three questions and if any can get answered that would be great.

1. X-mas dinner. Any recommendations and are reservations recommended. I have heard Key West is not too crazy until the 26th.

2. New Year's Eve. What time does the crowd begin forming in front of Sloppy Joe's. We are both still in our 20's so we want to be smack dab in the center of the festivities.

3. New Year's Day. Now the painful part of my trip. Catching a 1:20 flight out of Miami on New year's day after partying all night...should be quite interesting. How is the traffic back north on New Year's morning..say around 7 or so?

Again, any or all help is greatly appreciated.

I was down for the holidays last year and yes although Key West is a little congested up until Christmas, the chaos does not begin until the 26th through New Year's. We had a blast!! Be sure you get to where you want early enough. We found a stool in Irish Kevin's and just hung out and kept a close eye on Sloppy Joes as it is right next door. But have fun, never had I experienced a NYE like last years. As for driving home, we stayed until the 3rd, so not too sure how the traffic is. Sorry. Happy New Year!!!!

I would do my very best to switch my flight out of Miami to Key West. At the very least, change the time to later or the date until the next day. Unless you are on the road at 6AM, you are going to have problems. It is normally a 4 hour drive under the best of circumstances.

Yowza! Good luck.

Yes I too would suggest trying to change your flight for a day later. You will have to leave by at least 6am as the other poster mentioned and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for no accidents.

That 4 hour trip took my husband and I 8 1/2 over memorial day weekend when there was a major accident and the 2 lane road was completely closed down.

Have fun.

Add my name to the list of those who suggest you postpone your flight. The above post is unfortunately not that uncommon. One small problem - not to mention a big one - on that little two lane highway can wreak havoc for hours.

Sorry, but I just can't remember the restaurants that are open Christmas Day. I'm relatively positive that the hotels will be, and the Hilton has unusually good food for a chain hotel.

As for New Year's Eve, just be anywhere on Duval and you'll be in the thick of the action.

I appreciate all the feedback so far. I understand how tiresome US1 can be, but unfortunately, I have already extended my stay to the max, and I do need to stick to this flight. My intentions are to hang in town until around 4 or so, head back to my campsite, and relax for a couple of hours until departing at around 6.
Any info regarding restaurants as well as NYE in Key West (ie, where to be, etc..) is still greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Sounds like a plan Brian. From what I heard, most people either depart after the festivities or crash in Key West and sleep for the good portion of morning. Not too packed NY day so I think you will be alright in terms of traffic unless of course there is an accident then you may have to run up US1. I had my X-mas dinner at the Mexican cafe on Duval, I don't remember the name, but it was fantastic. If you like Mexican, this is the place to go. NYE..... go wherever and enjoy yourself. Anywhere on Duval is a guaranteed party. Just remember, DO NOT wear your Sunday's Best. Have fun.
Parrothead!!!

I asked a friend who lives in Key West about restaurants that are open Christmas Day. She said the hotels are always open, but smaller restaurants don't make the decision whether to open until later in the year. If I can remember I'll post the information when I get it. However, I'd definitely advise you to make reservations, since there don't appear to be too many choices.

You won't have any problem eating dinner on Christmas Day. We were there a couple years ago and had a delicious Christmas Dinner at Kelly's on Whitehead St & Caroline. Great, relaxed atmosphere. We were told by Key Westers that it is such a tourist area there are plenty of places to dine on Christmas Day. Reservations are not a necessity, but highly recommended. BTW, Kelly's has a great happy hour everyday. She also has a new place on the beach that's great for breakfast/lunch. I had the quiche of the day and it was absolutely delicious! Have brunch one day and then relax on the adjacent beach. They will also serve you drinks on the beach. I forgot the name of the place, but it's an open air restaurant owned by Kelly McGillis, right on the ocean, anyone working in the area will know where it is.

I know I must sound like a Kelly's advertisement, but I've been there a couple times on vacation and was never disappointed with any meal I got at her restaurants.

I forgot to ask where you are staying while in KW???? I'm trying to find new places to go back to next time.

I will be camping at Boyd's campground this time around. My wife and I are big campers and we love waking up in the morning near or on the water. The only feedback I can offer you is that we stayed at the Southernmost a few years back. Nothing extravagant, one pool, tiki bar, activities on site, but on the other side of Duval so a walk into town is very achievable but rather long. But decent accomodations nonetheless. If I remember correctly, visitors at the Southernmost have full priviledges to the Dewey House as well as La Mer? This helps increase the property which means more overall choices. Hope this helped a little.

Kelly's open air restaurant was next to the LaMer (the previous post jogged my memory.)

As far as getting back to MIA for your flight, I'd suggest leaving out of Key West closer to 6am in order to allow plenty of time to get out of the keys. Once you get out of the keys, grab brunch somewhere. I'd assume everyone else would be sleeping-in on New Year's day, but you never know. All you need is one bad wreck and traffic will be backed up in the Keys. I looked on Orbitz for the price of a one-way ticket to MIA from EYW and it's about $220 (I took a one-way back to Ft Lauderdale on Continental and it was only $115, but that was in July, for some reason it costs a lot more to fly into MIA.)

Just allow plenty of time to get to the airport and you should be okay. You can always sleep on the plane.