I'm trying to set up my trip to the World Offshore races.

I've never been to Key West, but am really looking forward to it.
I live 4 miles from CVG, but I can save $200 on the flight if I drive to Indy.

I want to know if driving from Miami to the Key's is a pain in the A$$ ? it seems like it would be a nice drive.

Any suggestions on a place to stay?

Some people have told me of a few of the resort hotels - but I'm not gonna fork out $350 a night - anything more reasonable???

I've looked into the B&B's a little, and that might be OK - any help or suggestions???

Look forward to meeting everyone there.
Bouy

check out www.keywestinfo.com they are very nice people and can seem to always find a room . and fevermike is right , if you are in a hurry ,you will go nuts. and don't try to speed , i saw more traffic police writing tickets on that hwy than anywhere i have ever been. eric

I went for a trip from Houston to Key West. Drove and had a good time. If your not in a hurry its o.k. There is no speed zone over 55. There are some areas you cant drive over 35 due to deer wild life preserves. Its about 136 miles to the tip from miami i think. In some of the small towns there is a small 20mph zone.

The best drive is during the day to check out the amazing water and kick ass beach houses. Lots of places to stop and have cocktails and enjoy the scenery.

The road is a single lane, so passing can be hazardous, but is possible. There were lots of RV's going down poking around, but all in all it was a great trip.

All the above is correct..........nice ride don't be in a hurry.......there is no place to make up time if you are. cb

Have done this out of the Miami airport several times. It is usually a very enjoyable drive. Plan on about 3 hours, maybe a little more with the traffic from the race. Great scenery for those of us from the midwest that are not used to it. Try to rent a convertible if you can. Late afternoon/sunset driving into the lower keys is a magnificent experience.

It always takes me 4 hours from Fort Lauderdale to Key West, so figure 3 from MIA.
Like the others have said: don't be in a hurry, just go with the flow of traffic.
For Key West "affordable" accomodations, go to: www.expedia.com ,I think there are still some rooms for about a buck.
Sea ya there.

or, you can book a puddle jumper from MIA to Key West Airport....but, if you've never been in the Keys, I highly recommend you plan your trip to have a liesurely drive down to Key West, it really is a beautiful sight......then, if in a hurry to get back, maybe book a flight back to MIA then to your destination

Delta also has jet service from ORL and ATL to Key West. Nice ride, better then the prop jobs.

I agree with all of the above.

Me too! About 4 years ago, my wife and I flew to Miami and rented a car to drive to Key West. Drove to Islamorada the first day and stayed at Holiday Isle (very cool place) for a day. When we left there, we stopped at a place called "Robbie's feed the Tarpon" which was one of the coolest things that I've ever seen. The place used to be a fish processing plant and for years, the Tarpon would come there and eat the scraps from the plant. Now it's just a small marina and dock. they charge you like $2 to get on the dock and sell buckets of fish that you can feed the Tarpon with...it's unbelieveable!!! Needless to say, Robbie is probably a millionaire