Has anyone taken the Key West Express from Marco Island to Key West? The boat takes 3 1/2 hours to get there , leaves at 9 a.m., arrive KW at 12:30,depart KW at 6:00 pm and back to MI by 9:30. Wondering if this Day trip is worth it. I realize you're on the boat as much as on land but it sounds fun. Has anyone has done this? What is the boat like on board and is the trip was smooth?

Anyone????

It is very possible to do a day trip, but you need to realize that the boat will cancel at any time the weather/gulf get little rough. Always be prepared for possible overnight in Key West.

It happened to my friends and the rough waters lasted for few days. They ended up renting a car and driving back after couple of nights.

Other than that it is kind of fun. I believe the boat has slot machines and sells drinks and snacks.

Have not done this myself, but have had friends take it down, stay overnight, but boat was unable to return because of weather. They had to end up renting a car and driving on the return - so weather is definitely a consideration.

oops, posting at the same time -- with the same warning! Ironic.

Thanks for the advice. We need to be back for a meeting the next day so I guess will pass. It does look adventureous though!

You can always rent the car the same evening as soon as you find out that the boat has cancelled. It's about 4-5 hour drive back to Marco Island.

Also, the cancellelations don't happen very often so I wouldn't worry too much. I and the other poster just told you about a possibility, not a regular occurance.

Check the weather reports the night before and if there are no predictions of any foul weather then chances are you will be ok.

We used them recently and had a cancellation on the return due to weather. Furthermore, we ALMOST did not make it off of the island due to a shortage of rental cars. There are not many rental cars on the island. We (luckily) had a family member who saw a weather report and got concerned for us and rented a car the night before we were to sail back.
By the time the Key West Express cancelled its sailing the next morning, all rental cars were gone.

Additionally, the customer service of the Key West Express, in my opinion, sucks. The operators they had on staff the day of the cancellation to deal with rebookings and questions about how to retrieve cars from their locked lot, etc, were rude and impatient.

I won't be using them again--its not worth it.