Key West FL RV Park Options

[rctour]

We're from So Cal. One of my dream destinations is Key West Florida. Having never been to the area I would appreciate some feedback on were would be the best RV park to stay for a month or so during Nov - April months.

We would like most all the amenities including good restaurants in the area, and a nice sandy beach. We don't fish or dive. We will bring our car with us. Cost is important but not a deal breaker. There are several option down there, where should we stay?

What do you think?

Thanks!

[NCBounder]

Best bet is to simply find an RV park you like and take day trips to the state parks or other side of the road beaches in the area.

[Parrothead_Mike]

We stayed in Marathon last winter for almost a week. It's about an hour drive to Key West, but the prices aren't bad. Check out the various campground offerings in Marathon at RV Park Reviews.com

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Florida/Marathon.html

[univmd]

We just came back from Blue Water Keys. It is the best RV park in the entire Keys by far. We highly recommend it. We really enjoyed having our own private dock and private tiki-hut. Very quiet gated community. Totally worth the $100+ per night. Makes the other parks, including the state parks, look like trailer parks.

[Swampman597]

Thats really helpful, thanks for the info. I'll have to check out Trumbo because we've only stayed at Sigsbee.

[JoeH]

You will not find the sandy beaches in the keys, but all else is great. If you want super beaches, head to Sarasota or St. Pete areas. Since you are planning to be there for awhile, you might want to check out a few different places. Blue Water Key is very nice, but you will need to drive to KW. Boyd's is not as luxurious but you can ride bicycles into town, or take a taxi or bus. Geiger Key is a bit off the beaten path and rustic , but that's what makes it interesting .
If you can get into Curry Hammock State park, it's very nice and quiet. But, quite aways from KW..( about 56 miles) but Marathon is just a short drive and there is plenty to do there.
See if you can split time between Curry Hammock, Bluewater or Gieger and Boyd's ... it'll give you a flavor of the various spots in the keys

[The_Texan]

Swampman597 wrote:

The Texan wrote:
Are you retired military or DOD civil service? If so, then your best bet is the Navy famcamp on Key West. It is the ONLY RV park on Key West island, all others are north of the island, starting with Boyd's at MM 5 on Stock Island.

We've camped there in October and it was great. However, we've heard from others that December and January it is filled up. Since "others" isn't always the best source of accurate info, can anyone confirm or deny this? I'd really like to go down there for a couple of weeks in December and hope what I've heard isn't true.

Doesn't Marathon Key have a Coast Guard campground?

Thanks

We have camped there in the winter and it does get a crowd, but not to bad. We like to dry camp at Trumbo Field, the old sea plane base and not go to the full hook ups at Sigsbee.

Yes, they have a small 4 site campground at the CG base on Marathon, but they are NOT cordial to anyone but coasties. They were so rude to us, the one time we tried to stay there, that we left and spent the night at a commercial park on Marathon even tho they had several open sites.

[Dixiechick]

We stayed at Boyd's a few years ago and enjoyed our trip. The sites are tight-there's not much land down there. We stayed a week during the Christmas season and paid the daily rate. As I recall there was no such thing as a weekly rate. There is a rocky shore with some sand at Boyd's but not the type of beach we like. Key West is a fun, funky kind of place with lots to do in town and we wanted to stay as close as possible.

[Swampman597]

The Texan wrote:
Are you retired military or DOD civil service? If so, then your best bet is the Navy famcamp on Key West. It is the ONLY RV park on Key West island, all others are north of the island, starting with Boyd's at MM 5 on Stock Island.

We've camped there in October and it was great. However, we've heard from others that December and January it is filled up. Since "others" isn't always the best source of accurate info, can anyone confirm or deny this? I'd really like to go down there for a couple of weeks in December and hope what I've heard isn't true.

Doesn't Marathon Key have a Coast Guard campground?

Thanks

[The_Texan]

Are you retired military or DOD civil service? If so, then your best bet is the Navy famcamp on Key West. It is the ONLY RV park on Key West island, all others are north of the island, starting with Boyd's at MM 5 on Stock Island.

[rr2254545]

dieharder wrote:
You say "Cost is important, but not a deal breaker", but you really need to determine what your budget is. the closer you get to Key West, the more $ you're doing to spend. Wayyyy more. Bluewater Key and Boyd's are going to run you $100+/night. Bluewater can get upwards of $150/night.

Jolly Roger in Marathon, maybe an hour away, is the only place we stayed in the Keys. Not sure of their monthly rate, since you want to stay a month.

Actually the water front sites are 155 + tax but worth it, but that would be a pricy month of camping and I doubt if you could get a month anyway

[dieharder]

You say "Cost is important, but not a deal breaker", but you really need to determine what your budget is. the closer you get to Key West, the more $ you're doing to spend. Wayyyy more. Bluewater Key and Boyd's are going to run you $100+/night. Bluewater can get upwards of $150/night.

Jolly Roger in Marathon, maybe an hour away, is the only place we stayed in the Keys. Not sure of their monthly rate, since you want to stay a month.

[rr2254545]

wbwood wrote:
If we were going to do a private park, blue water key looks like the one we would opt for.

Reserve way ahead we were only able to the in for 5 days not the 7 we wanted. The 2 days at the KOA down the street were awful, site was so tight I could not ever put my awning out and it was over $100 per day

[NCWriter]

North of Key West, for day trips, you might want to try the pretty sandy beach, ranger talks and other recreational facilities at Bahia Honda State Park.

(It has a campground but very hard to get a site, even when you try the very instant the booking window opens 11 months out at 8 a.m. And it isn't close to the Key West restaurants, etc you mentioned.)

Other than state parks, you'll find anywhere in the Keys expensive. But fun. We've started going every winter for a few weeks.

[Eycom]

You're going to be disappointed regarding sandy white beaches. The island chain is lime-rock. In KW, both Smathers and Monroe beaches are man made. When I lived in KW back in the early 60's, they had to haul in sand after hurricanes. That doesn't subtract from it's charm, you understand. If you want to see Fl's sandy beaches, travel Hwy 98 along Florida's gulf coast from Pensacola to Panacea in the panhandle. For decent beaches with a little surf, try Fl's east coast: Daytona, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville come to mind. Enjoy your trip.