Key West - What's the best way to get around town?

[TigerLaw]

If we only want to do a couple of the touristy things (Hemingway's, Truman's, southern point, etc.) what is the best way to get around? I was thinking it might just be easiest to do the trolley cars, but we could walk it too I suppose. Never been there before so looking for some inside scoop.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[tnshsms]

We stopped there in May of 2015 and I think its a pretty walkable town but we had my then 6 yo and mom with us and chose the Trolley. We really liked the setup of it and they gave some information as you went along about what you are seeing. Its a hop on hop off type of thing so it does involve waiting between trolleys BUT if some of the things are closer together, you could take the trolley to one, walk to others and take the trolley back around town. Southernmost point would be a bit of hike I would think so we started there and then thought about getting off at Truman's but opted to just take a few pictures from the trolley and stay on. We liked the trolley system and it was easy to use.

 

[bbel]

One of my favourites was to rent bikes in Key West. It's pretty flat and not a lot of traffic, but it can get quite hot, especially cycling to southernmost point (I've walked there too).
Depends on the make up of your party and what you enjoy tho...

 

[hamm1207]

We stopped there last November with our 1 year old daughter. We rode one of those bicycle cart thingies to the southern point, and then we realized we could just walk everywhere. We ended up walking back to the ship; stopping at the Hemingway House and other places along the way.

 

[TigerLaw]

Was this one of of those where someone drives you (like a bicycle taxi I guess) or you just rented and rode on your own?

 

[smga1]

The trolley is great!

 

[over50visits]

We are good walkers, so walking to all the sites you listed is really easy. Bike rentals are everywhere and cheap, and finding your way around town is very easy. For the least effort, the trolleys are reasonable, you get on and off all you want, and they seem to come by every few minutes (well, maybe 10-15 minutes at most).

I've never done it, but I have seen a number of electric golf carts driving around. They really looked like fun.

So the "best" way is what fits your lifestyle. They are all good. Key West is very easy to visit from the ship.

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

We did the trolleys in April and I found them efficient and easy! I bought ours online before we went because there was a special.

 

[Msmit002]

Key West is one of the most walkable places. I've stayed there many times and stopped there on cruises. You certainly can hit all of the highlights (if this is your first trip) on foot and make a lovely day of it. Usually we rent bikes if we are staying for a weekend or longer. Walking from Mallory Square to the Southernmost Point (usually the furthest most people will go on a one-day adventure) takes maybe 25-30 mins and there is plenty of places you can stop along the way.

My advice: start researching things you would like to see in Key West and plot a walking path. If you make Southernmost Point the last POI on the journey, you know that it's a 30 min walk back to port.

Of course, all of this is assuming that you don't have toddlers walking or other adults that aren't up to a walking tour of the town but for your average kid through upper middle aged adult, it's completely doable and economical to boot.

Enjoy!

ETA: My husband reminded me of this website: http://keywestattractions.org/ We consulted this site before one of our last trips to find other things we had missed. You may find it useful. He also reminded me of the Conch Tour train and how much our mothers enjoyed it.

 

[cmph]

We did the trolley, and I sort of liked/disliked it. What I disliked was that it did seem like a little bit of a waste of time vs walking, and it took forever (20min+) to catch one mid-route. We seriously could have walked back faster if the employee working at that stop (it was one where they sold tix) had been more aware of where the trolleys currently were, or at least had been honest about it. He said it would be a few minutes, which it clearly was not. Anyway, ultimately it's about whether you want something cheap/fast (which walking would be) vs something informative. Ultimately, we were glad we did it (the adults anyway) only b/c the driver told us a lot about the history of Key West, flora/fauna, etc that we didn't know and pointed non-obvious but interesting things out along the route, beyond the bigger tourist attractions. If I went back, I wouldn't do it for the transportation aspect, but for a first time visit - it's worth it for the tour guide aspect.

 

[kboo]

Super walkable town! most of the sights are very close to the ship, with the exception of southernmost point and the beach, the trolley is a nice way to see the whole island but is not necessary. There's a lot to do in walking distance.

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

We used the trolley. Some friends rented the electric car.

 

[LivErinZ]

I'd just walk! Everything is close enough together and when we went I couldn't imagine riding a scooter with how crazy all the other drivers and walkers are! I'd be too afraid hitting someone lmao ..Just my personal opinion

 

[TigerLaw]

First off, thanks for all the responses!

Would one idea be to take a taxi or something down from the ship to the Southern most point location and then just walk our way back down Duval street (Stopping off at hemingways, Truman's etc.)?

One good saying about our cruise is that it will be late January trip so the weather shouldn't be too hot for walking purposes.

 

[LivErinZ]

You can take the trolley I believe. It's really not too far down there. Maybe a mile or two. I did it at 8 months pregnant lol I do suggest doing that first otherwise you will be waiting in a line down the block

 

[TigerLaw]

You can take the trolley I believe. It's really not too far down there. Maybe a mile or two. I did it at 8 months pregnant lol I do suggest doing that first otherwise you will be waiting in a line down the block

That actually brings up a related question. How bad are the crowds to get into all of these places? How long are the lines? Are we talking Pandora/avatar levels here?

 

[LivErinZ]

We went in mid feb, the longest "lines" were at the southern most point and hemmingways house. We didn't do the house because I wanna say they only take a certain number people at a time, don't quote me on that though I can't for sure remember. I just remember the line lol ..any place else for drinking and eating we pretty much just walked right in and sat down!

 

[LivErinZ]

Our favorite was Irish Kevin's! And sloppy Joe's!!

 

[IrishEye]

There are so many places we like to stop along the way, shops, restaurants, sites, that we walk. If you are afraid of the walk then take a cab or bike surrey to Southern Most Point and walk back, you need to zig zag to get everywhere. We walk down one street and then come back on another, have done this last 4 visits.

 

[cmph]

First off, thanks for all the responses!

Would one idea be to take a taxi or something down from the ship to the Southern most point location and then just walk our way back down Duval street (Stopping off at hemingways, Truman's etc.)?

One good saying about our cruise is that it will be late January trip so the weather shouldn't be too hot for walking purposes.

We were there on Jan 1st, and it was actually fairly hot. Plus we were only docked in the afternoon, so there was no avoiding the hottest part of the day. Depending on where you are coming from, I guess be prepared for it to be hot, just in case. We live in Phoenix, obviously used to hot temperatures, so it was the humidity that was startling to us. I would think some northerners might find it uncomfortably hot for multiple hours of walking, at least older folks and kids. I'm not sure what it is about 80-something-degrees humid weather that makes my kids go at half-speed (with double the whining)... Anyway, I think your half-walking plan makes sense if it's hotter than you're expecting.