Going to Key West for the first time! Anything I should know/ do
 

For the Key West veterans, anything I should know, or any pointers/ things to see or do?



Thanks


Mike

Don`t $hit your pants.

LOL I won't, but thanks for the advise... Also packing plenty of pedialyte!

Yeah, my first time too. Can't wait! More stoked about the poker run than anything.

buy the Veteran's a drink!

Louie's Backyard for steak, Pepe's for breakfast (bloody mary and cream chip beef), Tree bar for all your drinking needs:D . . . . take your stunt liver . . .

Rent a scooter... Its the only way to get around.
Get a pit pass... to get up close to the boats in the pits!
Rick's is AWESOME!!!
If you can, score a ride go to the raft up/island party!!!
Set your alarm to get up early to make it to the races!!! We missed a couple of the early races!! Down there you party until 4am....

Have FUN!! Wish I was going!!

We've been trying to rent a boat. No luck. That raft up would be awesome.

If your going to buy a team or event t-shirt, buy the first day you can, the good stuff sells out fast.

How do you get a pit pass. I looked on Superboat.com but couldn't find anything

As many times as i have been down there i have always searched for the best way to get around. Only prob i had with a scooter is most every night i was in no shape to drive it and had to get a cab, then get cab again to drive around and try and find the damn thing who knows where in a sea of nearly incidental scooters then upon finding it there was the ticket for leaving it in the first place lol . . . no . . . dont get a scooter its way cheaper to just cab it wherever your going. ( a little trick with the ticket . . . just put it on the scooter next to yours. Maybe they will pay it lol, wither way i have never paid one and have never had one come back on me}

In Key West they have a very highly honed system of extracting every last dollar you came with so ya might as well spend bigger chunks and make it easier on yourself. Oddly enough the best we ever did was pay the long dollar and stay right off Duval maybe a block from Ricks. Had a bar in the room and because of their open container policy it was easier to just pop back to the room for a fill up. Saved like a grand that year lol.

funny story about the scooter i rented that one time. When i turned it in the check in kid said there was a new mark on the fender that was not on the check out sheet. I looked at it and, even though the thing was beat in the first place, there appeared to be a mark that was not on the sheet. My response was no prob just do what ever ya do or charge me whatever you think is appropriate and lets get 'er done i got a plane to catch. He goes gets his supervisor who looks at it and again my response was " I cant say i remember scratching it but it is certainly possible, no biggie do whatever you guys normally do". He goes back in office with check in kid and kid comes out then tears up the check in sheet and tells me i was the first one in history to not jump down his throat for saying they damaged their scooter. Shook my hand and said have a nice flight lol . . . true story :D

You can get pit passes right at the gate

Friday Night be on Duval around 6pm for the boat parade then be prepared to drink till around 4am!! Saturday everyone goes to the island but Im not sure that is going to happen this year due to problems from last year. IF you want to watch the races, the seawall from the pits is the best place unless your condo overlooks the race course!

Pay your credit cards before you go, and bring plenty of cash:coolcowboy:

And, as my girlfriend constantly reminds me, bail money. For HER !! :eek:

My guy is driving my truck down from Miami with my golf cart. Any special rules if you bring your own cart?

I usually just get one ticket, and put it on my scooter each time I park.

I like Dave's idea. From now on, I'm just going to take someone else's ticket, and put it on my scooter.

Resist the temptation to drive it into Tree Bar/Dirty Harry's.... It's hilarious until they cuff you and put you in the back of the squad car, then not so funny. :evilb:

Start resting your liver as of yesterday and bring 2 extras. Don't sleep with someone else's g/f-wife :lolhit:

Keep a business card in your breast pocket . (a) So they know where to ship the body after being poisoned with alcohol or whatever, (b) so when you do go horizontal and your wallet gets lifted , back to rule a.

yes and along the same lines do not ride three on a scooter (the middle one was a chick) this has nearly the same results :cool:

Or just find Bubba or spicy....they'll cover you! ;)

2x on Rick's tree bar
2x on Pepe's for breakfast
2x on cab'ing it
Best place to watch races on Wed. Sunset Pier. No table charge, at least last year there wasn't
Races Friday and Sunday. The Sail Cat. that anchors in turn 3 is not a bad deal.

Anyone staying at the southern most? Coming in with the Thursday poker run they have us docking at stock island marina. Can't wait.

Fast boat day trip to cuba????????

If you're staying at a hotel, especially one of the larger ones (and none of them are very big down there), use a Sharpie to write your room number on the bottom of your shoe. Could come in handy.

That one comes courtesy of a good friend who use to frequent Las Vegas.

we did the sail cat at the exit of the harbor turn, well worth it and we had a great time.

Oh Sure

Now all of a sudden you all want to be Sailors ?

Lol... Last year we went out for the Sunday races on a "tall ship". The Capt and crew were great. The problem was we anchored so far from the action I was ready to swim to Mallory Square, my wife wasnt down with it so I spent the day wishing we were on the cat anchored in the harbor turn...

I nearly did that one time in KW! Had to run home from the bar after making out with a chic and tried to **** in some ladies yard that called the cops on me. Good times.

First timers as well! Where are the fuel stops?

Gilbert's, Tiki Bar and Sunshine Key. Only Sunshine Key has anything I trust 100% since it comes right from the truck.

Call vacationboatrentals. They have plenty. Just rented a 24 cc for the week. 1100.00 docking at hurricane hole 44.00 a day. Smoking deal. They have plenty of boats left as of a few days ago. They are up in marathon but they will delivery for free.

no sunshine key this year.

All info in captains kits about fuel & Raft up party.

Big Year!!

Just had a few rooms cancel if anyone needs an extra room. Hyatt, Laconcha & Casa Marina

The best dinner in Key West, "Pisces" make a reservation ASAP!

http://www.pisceskeywest.com/menu_blue.php

Louie's Backyard is over rated Better steak at A&B Lobster House. http://aandblobsterhouse.com

X3 on Pepe's for breakfast!!!

The town is like the Offshore only.com web site comes to life. Almost every single person you bump into is a high perf boating freak. The best week you will ever have in Key West!

I have been traveling to Key West for 30 plus years! Hey what do I know?? lol

One question,

She wants to go to the beach, now I know Keywest isn't really a beach town. But it looks like there are a few smaller ones, anyone recommend one versus another? Preferably one with a Tiki bar for me or at least some decent talent wondering around.

We were looking more for a 30' center console boat for a day.

Everyone has made great points on where to go and what to do (and what not to do) but here are two suggestions. Blue Heaven is awesome for dinner and hit Angelina's Pizza on Duval. It's the best for soaking up alcohol. :drink:

Once you are there a full tank will last all week. Couple lunch runs, Island stop and buzz the harbor a few times is about all you will be doing.

I like to only keep only one credit card in my wallet at a time....it will inevitably set off the fraud alert and freeze your account. Normally at that point it would be a good time to go home, because you won’t be smart enough at that point in the night to make the call yourself. And if you only have the 1 card down, you won’t be tempted to buy the bar a round of shots with a freshie…

Just be aware that the Red Garter doesn’t accept AMEX in the champagne room, so have a back-up plan for that.

Lots of places to eat, but hit up this taco truck for a quick lunch one day... you will NOT be disappointed.

http://garbosgrillkw.com/

Check out Pepe's Restaurant on Caroline Street. Its very close to the Poker Run Dock. It's the local's secret place.
Breakfest, Lunch & Dinner. Every Thursday is Thanksgiving.

www.pepes.com