Key West is not big. It is only 3 1/4 miles long by 1 1/10 miles wide at its absolute widest dimensions. In terms of what you the visitor will see, it is far smaller.

A substantial portion of the island is taken up by salt ponds (overgrown and fenced, you will not see them), naval reservations for housing and bases, an airport, and residential homes. Parks, stadiums, schools, cemeteries, retail, and utilities take up still more. You can wander the streets to your hearts content, but you will only have access to about an actual twentieth of the island of Key West itself.

Once you get the idea of sizing, you can scale back your ideas about Key West. There are no long stretches of private beaches, even on the resorts.

Instead, the romance of Key West is to be found in its history, its world class nightlife, and the balmy warm breezes of the Caribbean whispering in the palms.

Key West is fun, funky, and exciting in a way that can be found nowhere else in the world!

Getting around
You are probably NOT going to need a car. In fact, we found that the car we rented was more of a hindrance than convenience!

See our page on car rental for more info (link).

Staying on Key West
There are two main areas that you can stay on the island.

North: The north side, where route 1 hits the island is where "the chains" are. Days Inn, Radison, Holiday Inn and their ilk can be found here. If you have done the long drive down route one, these are all convenient. The Travelodge is the best in the US in my opinion, and the Comfort Inn is really great too. Days Inn is a good bargain, but stay in the back. See the hotel reviews page for more (link).

Getting to the historic district and beaches is really not as convenient as they make it sound. Still, don't rent a car, use the trolley, your feet, and cabs.

South: The second area for lodgings is down in the historic district on the south end of the island. The "historic" scene centers on Duval Street, but in reality comprises an entire unique area. The next road north of Duval is Simonton. Anything south and west of Simonton is the historic (read also "party") district.

Lodgings in the historic district can be owned by individuals, partners, or any possible assortment. These are unique people and they all have unique ideas of what a Key West lodging should be. The variety is amazing!

The lodgings on Key West can be anything... houses restored into mini hotels, bed and breakfasts with lush gardens, retro fifties roadside motels restored to past glories and updated to modern standards, even the most humble cottages of workmen of generations ago are available!

If you are staying in the historic district long enough, it is recommended that you change your lodging at least once. That is part of the fun!

Tip: Don't stay in a lodging located on central Duval. It is noisy. Not the "murmur of traffic" noisy, but the "howling of party goers" noisy. We speak from experience, haven been awoken at all hours by people who had dissolved their volume controls in alcohol. You will not miss anything if you stay a street or three in either direction.

Stay on South Duval if you want to stay on Duval. Any lodging, hotel or resort on South Duval is good, (with the possible exception of the construction by the Wyndham Reach). We stayed in this area, we loved it, and it is convenient to everything... and quiet.

You can also stay at one of the three resorts at the very north end and stay above the noise (Hyatt, Pier House, Ocean Key). Get upper level or ocean front rooms if you can.

We also recommend a stay on Simonton Street, South Street, Whitehead Street, Eaton Street, Amelia Street, or any other off-Duval property like them if you can. If you can walk 100 feet to get to Duval from where you are staying, you will not only get a good night's sleep, but you will probably save a little $$$ too.

Tip: If you need internet access, you can go to the McDonald's on North Roosevelt. Be warned, though, it is pay-per-login and although you get two hours, there are no electrical outlets to power a laptop for that long.

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