Go see Hemingway’s house.

Near Hemingway’s house, you can also tour the Audubon House which has original prints. Stroll through Old Town, walk down tacky Duvall St to the end and have a beer in a bar. if you can stay through the evening, hang out at Mallory Dock for the Sunset Celebration.

Driving to Key West for just a few hours? That is kind of a haul for just a few hours just so you know. The road going down there can be slow at times, it is not like driving on an interstate once you get onto the islands.

There is a tour you can take and the bus takes you around the island and you hear the history. Hemingway’s house. Glass bottom boat. Hang out at some bars, grab some lunch is a typical pass time. Mallory Square to watch sunset if you are there late. There are usually performers there before sunset for a couple of hours.

Drive around the perimeter of the island until you come to the southernmost point or Land’s End marker.

Go see the HQ of the Conch Republic.

Stop and get a piece of Key Lime Pie.

Go pet Hemingway’s cats.

You can drive to Key West???? I had no idea. That changes everything. I thought you had to take a cruise to get there.

@Skaggfacemutt Are you being serious?

My daughter’s friend Jimmy is selling his fabulous rehabbed house. If you have $2.35 million to spare, take a look at it.

Key West house

He describes it as ” a pied a terre in Key West! It’s in fantastic shape, and ready to be someone else’s dream home in Paradise!”

@JLeslie Yes, I am serious. Geography isn’t my strong suit, I guess. I thought Key West was an island out there between the Bahamas and Florida – I thought it was too far out to build a bridge to. Sorry, guess I am just stupid.

@Skaggfacemutt Goodness, don’t feel stupid. There is so much geography I don’t know. I just was not sure if you were joking or not. The keys run south and bend towards the west if you are driving from Miami. The Bahamas are east of FL. During hurricane evacuations you can see the long line of cars driving up to Miami for shelter. LOL. One of the bridges between two of the keys is very long, several miles, I don’t remember the exact distance, for some reason I think it is seven miles, but not sure.

Yes, after I read this thread, I googled it and saw an arial shot of the bridge. It looks scary. I would hate to be on it in high winds, but I am excited that Key West can be driven to because it is a place I always wanted to visit.

It is a long boring drive from Miami to Key West; it takes about 4 hours.

@janbb Yeah, that was basically in my first response. I hate driving to Key West! It actually basically ruins the whole vacation for me. Maybe because the times I have gone it was only for 2 or 3 days, and my starting place is Boca not Miami. I think it takes us about 3 hours from Miami, but horrible slowish traffic in many spots. I have always said if I ever go again I want to take a boat of some sort, so at least I enjoy the trip down more.

Maybe it would be better to take the cruise, then? Trouble is, the boat doesn’t stay there long enough to really see anything.

@Skaggfacemutt I would say if you like bars, having a few drinks, relaxing by the water and know before you get started the drive down is a little tedious, then go ahead and do the drive if you want to stay a few days. I am not that type of person. I don’t drink, I have no interest in hanging out in bars for many hours, and when I lived in FL I could drive 20 minutes to the beach. Meanwhile, you have never been there, and there is something to be said for seeing it once in your life and pushing the pin in the map. You can do most of the touristy things you might want to see in one day I would think, but it will be a little rushed.

What I would wonder is if there is a boat, not a cruiseship, but a boat or ferry of some kind you can take down there?

We usually flew into Miami and took a quickie flight from there.

I am not a drinker, either, and would not want to do the bar crawl. I have never been there, and would be more interested in the Hemmingway House, and any other historical sites, museums, and I hear that the Hard Rock Cafe is haunted. Ha-ha. I would HAVE to stop there just to say that I looked for the ghost. Also would want to hang out at the beach. Before I actually went, I would do some on-line research to make sure I see what interests me and to get a feel of what to expect.