Florida Keys Trip Report Overview

Here is an overview of our recent driving trip through the Florida Keys. As mentioned in my previous post, we flew in and out of Fort Lauderdale. Once in Fort Lauderdale we rented a car from Dollar. Unfortunately, I wasted time waiting in a line that I didn’t need to because there were no signs showing where express members could go to pick up their rental. I rarely rent cars at the airport, so for the uninitiated like me, check the parking garage for express membership pick-up first. Once in our rental car we stopped at a Publix to get water, soft drinks and snacks. I also tried to get a SunPass transmitter there, but they were unavailable. SunPass is an electronic toll pass system used in Florida. I had previously downloaded the SunPass app on my phone and quickly created an account and added our rental plate information and date range we would be using it. At the time, I was unsure if that was all I had to do for it to work for any tolls we went through, but it worked like a charm and when I checked the app later, the tolls showed on my account. This saved us a bunch of money on our rental as the daily fee for the toll service on the rental would have added significantly to our rental fee. As a side note, there were no toll booths to stop and pay cash on our drive to the Keys.

Our first stop was in Key Largo and we stayed at the Playa Largo Resort and Spa for one night. On our way back up at the end our trip we stayed at Baker’s Cay in Key Largo and I will write a post comparing our stays between the two resorts. (https://wp.me/pbEnDN-9R)

The next day, we made our way down to Marathon, stopping along the way at the Rain Barrel Village and Anne’s Beach.

The Rain Barrel Village is not a must do, but it does offer a great photo opportunity with the art sculpture out front. Inside offers an opportunity to by some nicknacks if that is your thing.

Anne’s Beach boardwalk below

Once in Marathon, we stayed for two nights at the Courtyard by Marriott Marathon. While in Marathon, we did a half day fishing charter with SeaSquared and visited the Dolphin Research Center.

From there, it was on to Key West where we stayed for 3 nights at the Hyatt Centric Key West. While in Key West, we got a photo at the Southernmost Point and spent the day at Fort Zachary Taylor and Beach.

The next day we were to go to Dry Tortuga, but unfortunately weather cancelled the ferry for that day. Instead, we had a leisurely breakfast and drove around before heading back to the resort for a while. That afternoon we visited the Mel Fisher Museum and I explored on foot the area around our resort.

The next day, we drove back up to Key Largo, stopping at Bahia Honda State Park for a beach day, before continuing on to Baker’s Cay Resort for one night. We enjoyed the resort amenities a bit in the morning before leaving for Fort Lauderdale and made the decision to try to find an airboat ride along the way. Taking a slightly different route back towards Fort Lauderdale, we drove along the edge of the Everglades and did an airboat ride at Coopertown Airboat.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale the night before flying home as I was too nervous to drive up the day of our flight from Key Largo, but this allowed us time to fit in the airboat ride on our trip.

Stay tuned for individual posts on our various activities , dining and resort stays on our trip through the keys!