What to see in the Florida Keys January 2020

[Forfun1960]

I will be trailering my Cdory down to Florida in January and have 5 days to spend in the Keys. Looking for advice on where to launch from leaving truck and trailer and what to see while there including anchorages or marinas for overnights on the boat.

[gulfcoast john]

We’ll trailer down to our fav marina in Key West (Stock Island Marina) next month for six weeks (every year for the past 5 or 6 years). Your trailering 2,600 miles for 5 days of boating is hardcore. Artic blasts from the north drop the temps from 82 to 65 for a few days til they pass. Navigation is straightforward, but unforgiving. Nav aid posts may be set in coral rocks that are awash at high tide. Brown is bad. Green water is good. No shortcuts ever until you’ve been there before. Plan to cruise with the sun at your back with polarized sunglasses from sunrise to noon. It’s basically the Caribbean in winter…windy to Small Craft Advisory most every day in the afternoon. Don’t even think about going to Dry Tortugas…10 million lobster pots marked by 3 inch Styrofoam floats that are invisible in the whitecaps. Fine to do it in July, but who wants to be in Key West in July? Take the seaplane there for a trip of a lifetime!

https://stockislandmarina.com/ Key West has great protection from wind and wakes, a heated pool, 5 star resort marina, AC in restrooms/clean showers and laundry, free weekly pumpout by dockhands, free hourly shuttle in to town (though we have our truck there and don’t need it) half price pool bar dinners during happy hour, check DOCKWA there for your rate. Free cancellation up to 48h prior to reservation. $15 to launch at Key West City marina at, Garrison Bight, $10/day for dual axle trailer storage. Have to cruise west then south then east clear around the island, may be rough in the afternoons. Cheaper at Garden marina Cudjoe Key but 20 miles away. Founders Park Plantation key also has trailer storage and ramp. The closest big 6-lane launch ramp with rig storage is Herbert Hoover marina on Biscayne Bay east of Homestead (not in the Keys).
On your way to Key West you will see most every marina from A1A. TugNuts seem to favor Blackfin and Banana Bay (next door) marinas in Marathon, I have no idea why…no beaches, tough ramp, much less attractions and shopping and things to do. We tend to use the boat as a floating RV at this warm locale rather than ‘cruising’ there. 2 years ago we had a 1-day window of calm winds and cruised to Boca Grande key (20 miles 1 way).

Realize you’ll only avg 35-45MPH on A1A from Homestead to Key West with lots of traffic lights. There will be up to 1-2 hour traffic jam where Reagan Expressway dumps into Homestead area at rush hours with construction. We will both be dead for 10 years before this construction is completed, and our kids will be, too.

Check the mfg date on your trailer tires DOT stamp code week/yr and replace them with Goodyear Endurance ST tires if date of manufacture is over 4 years (not date of sale, deterioration starts before and 30% of structural integrity lost in 1 year). We had 4 explosive blowouts (3 on the six-lane portions of I-10) prior to switching in 2017 when they came out and none since.

If you are just looking for a warmer spot, check Calusi Island marina, Goodland, FL. Just north of the Everglades south of Marco Island, direct access off I-75 saves 8 hours driving east and through the Keys with the same weather and has trailer storage with ramp.

Safe Travels,
John

[BrentB]

Many places to see in downtown Key West and lots of restaurants.

We stayed in Marathon and went lobster hunting, snorkeling at the protected reef and boating . We visited KW before the cruse ships arrived and the boat trip to Fort Jefferson was packed

[BillE]

Lots of great places to eat in Key West, I'll list a few you might miss:

Breakfast at Pepe's on Caroline Street. Creme cheese and scallion omelets are killer.

Rooftop Cafe on Duval for lunch. Shrimp salad and Bloody Mary's highly recommended.

Hogfish Bar and Grill on Stock Island, more locals than tourists, not too pricey, great fish sandwiches.

Amen on the seaplane (or fast charter boat) to Tortugas. Fort Jefferson is amazing.

[Foggy]

Kudos to John. Great summary for 1st timers to the Keys.

Depending on what you're looking for, Key West can be comparable to
east FL vs west FL; busy v laid back. OK, just a generalization...

That's why I prefer Goodland, FL north of the Keys, specifically:
http://calusaislandmarina.com
It is smaller than Stock Isl Marina but 1st rate. Spent 3 months
there a few years back in my CD 26 Venture where I sold it.
And, you'll thank yourself for not hitting A1A at the wrong time.

Nearby Marco Isl has all the goodies and Goodland has much relaxed fun
as KW. Plus, fishing, the 10K Islands to explore and more.

That said, KW is still 'an experience' to remember.

Aye.

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

If you're in Marathon, you have to eat at Herbie's bar and chowder house. We had a really amazing meal there, and I think they had something like 100 beers on tap. A highlight of our trip.

Ill echo what John and Foggy said. The keys are all very small, even KW. Expect terrible traffic and crowds most everywhere. We took a week last April and rode our motorcycles down from Savannah. We made it all the way to Okeechobee the first day, it was an easy ride. The next day we had what looked like a quick ride down to Marathon. It took 4 hours just to get maybe 15 miles through homestead. Once through there, we got stuck again in Key Largo, and then basically parked on the highway in Islamorada for hours in the hot sun, hoping my old Harley doesn't overheat. After a full day of stop and go traffic we made it to our hotel. I was exhausted and having 2nd thoughts about the whole trip.

There's a small number of beaches in the Keys, so they get pretty busy. Its a two lane road the whole way and is beyond the capacity of vehicles. We never had a boat, so perhaps that would open up a whole other world. Im glad we went, and I finally saw what its all about. I don't know if ill ever go back. Over and over again though while we were there, I thought about how amazing it must have been back in the 50s and 60s, before all these people! The rest of Florida especially the north half is still pretty amazing!

[BrentB]

Have you considered Pensacola and Alabama area?
or Jacksonville area
and more fun time

[ken35216]

I was going to do the Keys for 2 weeks next month but changed my mind and doing SW Florida. I'm putting in at St Pete and heading down to Ft Myers. Goddaughter flying in Ft Myers and then spending 10 days heading back up to St Pete where she will fly back to college.

I did Ft Lauderdale to Key West and back, a few years ago, and loved it but I really do (personal opinion) like SW Florida better.

One of my favorite places (rustic and cheap) in the keys was http://pennekamppark.com/

[ken35216]

[anchorout]

Consider Marathon. The mooring field there has everything you need and the folks are friendly. We picked up a mooring in Marathon then did the south Florida loop. Went down the keys to Key West, (Stock Island Marina is great) then across Florida Bay to Flamingo, spent a few days in the Everglades, crossed Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway (great folks in the Indian Town Marina), then down the east coast back to Marathon. We had planned to cross to the Bahamas, but weather did not permit.

[Foggy]

About Marathon; I spent a winter there and visited a friend on a hook in
Boot Key Harbor. It was crowded. The water was stagnant; most had
divers scraping their U/W hull to remove growth before leaving. There
was a fun shore bar ("Dockside"?) but that was the best of it.

There are, of course, other places in Marathon. My experience was
marginal in Marathon but it may be better there than sticking out the
winter "up north".

Aye.

[thataway]

Ok let me address several of the issues. In my opinion the traffic situation has been overblown. We drove down with a 42' RV towing the Caracal cat--slightly under the 65' legal limit. No issues, and never really got hung up in bad traffic.

We spent 5 winters at Knight Key, which is adjacent to Marathon/Boot Key harbor. I had the Caracal 18 Cat for our boat. We had a number of C Dory members drop by during the 3 + months we stayed there each year. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

It's like anyplace else--you get out of it what you are looking for. I know of a "secret' marina, in a resort, which is $30 a night by the month for a C Dory 22 (about $70 a night by the night for short stays)--this includes all of the amenities, and some have even got free breakfast buffets. There are a lot of good restaurants in the Marathon and Big Pine Key area. There is Bahia Honda, marina--state park--about $3 a night a foot, But if you have an RV it is almost impossible to get in. Plenty of places for boats in the harbor.

We always enjoyed the "Crab Rubin". at Key's Fishery. Dockside was OK for lunch--a lot better cocktail places in my opinion. A bit out of the way is Burdines Waterfront, Castaways, Key Colony in for lunch. For the special occasions we enjoyed the more expensive Barracuda Grill. Small, reservations suggested, great food.

Yes the harbor is crowded--you probably will have to wait a couple days for a mooring--no anchoring--I am not sure about Sister's Creek currently---it used to be a good place to wait--the last year we were there, all boats were having to anchor in the open road stead. Now--there are a few hide holes which we found where a c Dory could be comfortable, and out of the way. Lots of dinghies at the dock at Boot Key harbor. There were other places you could go ashore to eat, and shop which were better. We would take the Caracal and almost every day go "boat watching" in Boot Key harbor. Some nice boats and very interesting/ fun people.

Weather--we went fishing in the 18' Caracal at least 5 days a week--it was rare that the weather was so bad we could not go out--and catch a great variety of fish. Beaches--not along the road, but there are some keys and isolated areas which are un-inhabited and have nice beaches--if that is what you want.

Alternatives of Pensacola (where we live) and Jacksonville--about the same lattitude--but perhaps slightly warmer because of the Gulf Stream. (including the St. John's River. The Winter time, is not tropical in these areas. Yes, we do have a fair number of snow birds. But our "season" in Pensacola, and Gulf Shores/Orange Beach (we live on Perdido Bay) is summer. Folks from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky are most of our vacationers. The water is cold during the winter--and if you want to experience a "Norther". Come one down. There was a reason we drove almost 1000 miles to the keys from Pensacola--we would still be doing that--but the RV park is now a bunch of condos, and we lost our spot!

Key West. I guess everyone should visit it once in their life. There are lots of places like that. I have been there twice--both times we sailed in from Mexico. Spent a few weeks, and moved on up the Keys. Never drove down there the 5 winters we stayed at Marathon for 3 to 4 months. Just not our type of "fun".

Come on down--look for the good things and fun. The keys are great places--but I agree that they would be better with less people.

[BrentB]

Do you have a heater?

[Forfun1960]

Wow thanks for all the info and advice.

Yes i have a heater. Is that important?

[gulfcoast john]

Forfun
I reckon you already researched that the Jan low/high in Pensacola is 43/61 vs 64/74 (record hi 90) in Key West. A heater will be nice for both boaterhoming en route and if a Norther' hits the keys while you're there.

Eileen thinks you should simply fly down to the Keys and take the extra days to enjoy. That is actually not a bad idea overall, all expenses and trailering hassles considered.

Check out

https://www.silverairways.com/more-information/travel-information/route-map

which flys cheap turboprops out of backwater airports (including Pensacola and Key West) all over the Caribbean, but won't show up on travel sites. They are always on 'Island Time' so laughing a lot helps if you fly with them.

A low of 43 degrees (esp if there is cold rain) is absolutely intolerable for normal humans (I'm sure Colby will agree) which is why we will vamoose to Key West next month.

Happy Planning!
John