Key West area timing

[garmp]

Always wanted to see the Key West area. Have scoured various Key West posts here and tried to soak up what I could, but am still left with a bunch of questions.
Lets say we want to go to Key West next year, what time of the year is preferred, where to stay and how far in advance do we need reservations? Which campgrounds are the best, and/or which sites? What can we expect in the way of a campground and amenities?
OK, background info. We are B campers, approaching our early 70's, and only need electric. Not much on city activities/night life, other than dining and a grocery store. A quick tour or drive by and that's fine. (Saw New Orleans in under 5 minutes - the stop lights were against us.) History is always a plus. Other than the water, what highlights are there to see & do beside sit on the beach and relax?

Thanks

[Locky]

All I could afford wrote:
I was there this past January, as well as 4 years ago in August. Don't go in August. It was miserably hot and humid, even at 9 pm. I got to say if you're not into the night life, it's probably not the place for you. Crowded, loud, and the most fun I ever had with my clothes on, although there is a clothing optional rooftop bar as well.

The Garden of Eden. Wife and I have been there a couple of times 🙂

[Navy_Smoker]

We go to NAS Key West yearly in late April or September have had no problems getting FHU site on the water. From November through Easter they do limit the total number of RVs allowed (approx. 400) due to space availability and use a rotation policy to be sure that FHU and boon docking sites are shared equitably. They do not take reservations and sots are filled on a "first come/first served" basis. W call before leaving to ascertain the probability of having a site available on arrival and found lots of spaces outside of snowbird season.

[tplife]

We really liked our stay at Sunshine Key RV resort, it had the things Bahia Honda did not: 50A service and full hookups...And you could carry an adult beverage outside of your campsite, LOL. Nice and close to Key West/Marathon area we love, but far enough away too. We like to go in low season June/July when the kids are out of school, so certainly it's less crowded.

[welove2drive]

Big Pine Fishing Lodge, mm 33, no dogs as the tiny key deer roam around the campground. It is a very clean and nice campground and shower house. We walked around to look for future reference.
There is a lot more to KW than Duval Street and partying.In addition to what has been mentioned...
In Key West, we enjoyed these spots.
On the Atlantic side of the island:
White Street Pier. Free
West Martello Tower, I believe an old Fort that the KW Garden Club has a beautiful Garden. They were setting up for a wedding the day we stopped to look around. Free
Fort Zachary Taylor beach, small entry fee
Gulf side:
Historic Harbor: great area to walk around,several restaurants, some boat tours
Schooner Jolly Rover II with Red Sails, nice tour around the island, great crew, no music or food, $45 each.
Simonton Street Beach, the quiet place to view the sunset. Small group gathering. Small dock. Lagerhead bar. No street vendors/entertainers. This is on the gulf side at the end of Simonton Street.
Parking is at a premium. There is a city parking garage near the Harbor area.
Be sure to drive all around the island. We enjoyed looking at the houses. There is a road along the Atlantic side past the Airport.
May is a great time to go to the Keys. The winter crowd is gone and it is before hurricane season. Nice temps. August in KW is about like St. Louis so no break from the heat.
There are many festivals in KW that draw big crowds in addition to the cruise ships so I would check out the schedule before you go.
Have a great time!
Marcia

[enblethen]

Naval station key West does or did not follow the DOD MWR regulations requiring a maximum of 14 day stay unless under orders.
Most military bases follow the regulation that you must leave the facility not just move from site to site.

[paulcardoza]

Judging by your New Orleans experience, Key West will be a waste of your time. The drive along the keys is amazingly beautiful, but just turn around before you reach KW.

garmp1 wrote:
Always wanted to see the Key West area. Have scoured various Key West posts here and tried to soak up what I could, but am still left with a bunch of questions.
Lets say we want to go to Key West next year, what time of the year is preferred, where to stay and how far in advance do we need reservations? Which campgrounds are the best, and/or which sites? What can we expect in the way of a campground and amenities?
OK, background info. We are B campers, approaching our early 70's, and only need electric. Not much on city activities/night life, other than dining and a grocery store. A quick tour or drive by and that's fine. (Saw New Orleans in under 5 minutes - the stop lights were against us.) History is always a plus. Other than the water, what highlights are there to see & do beside sit on the beach and relax?

Thanks

[cjoseph]

enblethen wrote:
The navy base most likely will not have anything. They allow people to move from one site to another. Very hard to get in. It was a waste of time for us to even try.
Did not try at Coasties!
Got into Bluewater Key without any problems. We expected to pay more then we did for week there.
Bluewater key

That's the first time that I've heard that. Have things changed? Maybe? I have found that some military campgrounds have "local rules" that are more than likely unofficial where things like that happen. Maybe Sigsbee has some of that going on? I have run into CGs where it appeared as though the camp host was allowing long term stays when policy forbids it?

We still work, so haven't snow-birded there. We have been down in the summer and the campground had many empty spots.

I have read on forums that in winter months, snow birds are sent to dry camp at Trumbo Point and rotate into the full hookups where they are allowed 14 days before they have to rotate out. If you are planning your trip for spring, maybe many of the snow birds will have left for home by then. I would call the MWR office at Sigsbee and ask. They were very helpful for me. The first year we went, I called ahead. They told me in June/July no reservation needed, just come on down. We did and it worked out fine.

[RVcrazy]

If you end up staying in a private RV park, Point of View is nice in Key Largo. Nice sized gravel spaces, nice pool & beautiful water views. We drove to Key West for the day to hit the high spots. Driving & parking are brutal!

[NanciL]

garmp1 wrote:
Bahia Honda seems to be our goal. Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson are also on the list. Visiting Key West is a must. Either Marathon Coast Guard Station or Key West Naval Air Station could hold a viable possibility, as we have access. And as far as timing goes, it would more than likely be the end of April or early May with a duration of only up to 4 days. We have a long ways to get there and do have some at home responsibilities to tend to so we can't spend too much time there. I'd love to coordinate a stay at Long Key SP as well and add a day or two.
And as for seeing New Orleans, AIN'T NO TREES THERE. We went down there to camp not party. Another day and another time, maybe.
Thanks for all the great info.

If you are going to Key West to "Camp, not party"; my advise is to don't waste your time. The only thing to do in Key West is party. It used to be nice to watch the sunset in Mallory Square, but the high rise hotels have ruined that.
Get a good RV park in Key Largo. then you have access to all the keys and the southern Everglades which is only an hour away.
Take a run down to Key West one day and drive through and then on the way back stop at Bahia Honda state park which has the best sand beaches on the Keys.
jack L

Jack L

[enblethen]

Make sure you hit the Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe!

[ro_sie]

the Truman white house is in key west and does tours. I really enjoyed it. Also the Hemmingway house is there and also does tours. Key west is very small. Duvall street is really just a place for bars and places that sells t shirts. Do check out trumans place tho and Hemmingways house and the collection of cats that still inhabit the place.

[enblethen]

The navy base most likely will not have anything. They allow people to move from one site to another. Very hard to get in. It was a waste of time for us to even try.
Did not try at Coasties!
Got into Bluewater Key without any problems. We expected to pay more then we did for week there.
Bluewater key

[garmp]

Bahia Honda seems to be our goal. Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson are also on the list. Visiting Key West is a must. Either Marathon Coast Guard Station or Key West Naval Air Station could hold a viable possibility, as we have access. And as far as timing goes, it would more than likely be the end of April or early May with a duration of only up to 4 days. We have a long ways to get there and do have some at home responsibilities to tend to so we can't spend too much time there. I'd love to coordinate a stay at Long Key SP as well and add a day or two.
And as for seeing New Orleans, AIN'T NO TREES THERE. We went down there to camp not party. Another day and another time, maybe.
Thanks for all the great info.

[TNRIVERSIDE]

If you think that you saw New Orleans in 5 minutes you missed New Orleans. That's like saying you saw Yellowstone in one day. Sorry but that can't happen. I'm in the Keys now and staying at Long Key State Park. I agree with others that the State Parks are the best option but you should plan ahead. Good luck.