need advice...never been

which key to stay at for just 2 days and nights in september? will be flying into miami. thank!

need advice...never been

Depends on what you%26#39;re into. Largo for fishing. Marathon and Islamorada for beach and water activities (including fishing too). Key West for debauchery (and fishing too). I%26#39;m no expert but that%26#39;s my take on it.

need advice...never been

I%26#39;ve spent time in all of them and if I could only get to one , I would make it Key West- unless I was absolutely hooked on fishing, which I think would be a bit better in the Islamorada area. but for dining, sightseeing etc. Key West is best IMHO. It%26#39;s worth another hour or two of driving.

thanks for the input.

we are looking for fun, sun, beach.....want to see a fabulous sunset and sunrise also.

If a beach is important to you, you should not go to Key West- it has the sunset and all the other things you want, but the beaches are terrible- not very wide, very poor sand, rocks in the water etc. I guess people assume beaches are good all over Florida- but that is not the case in Key West- great sailing and snorkeling, but for sun worshipping, you would have to use a pool.

You can get a sunset and sunrise at any of the keys.

Hang Ocean side for the sunrise, Gulf side for the sunsets.

The first poster said about the same that I would say about the different keys. IMHO each key has it%26#39;s own ';style';.

Key Largo is known for its diving. I%26#39;m sure the fishing is good too, but I%26#39;ve never spent any time there, too busy driving through to other places in the keys.

Islamorada is known for its sport fishing. But they have some decent diving as well.

Marathon is more of a family destination with one of the better beaches in the keys. They also have diving and fishing that is good.

Key West is known for its partying and sightseeing, then there is also fishing and then a distant diving destination.

One thing to think about is how much time will you have to travel. I know you said 2 days and 2 nights, but if you get into MIA at noon, you won%26#39;t get to Key West until 5:00PM.

Then what time do you fly out? You%26#39;ll need to leave about 6 hours before your flight if you leave from Key West. You%26#39;ll spend alot of time in the car if you go to Key West.

If it were me, and I only had 2 days, I%26#39;d go to Islamorada. That%26#39;ll knock off 2 hours driving time each way. You%26#39;ll be able to see some of the keys waters, sunsets, and sunrises. There are things to do, places to see, and people to do it with there as well.

I have only been to key west, so I would pick KW or Marathon - just from driving through the other keys. But like the other poster said it takes a looooooooooong time to drive from MIA to KW. It was fun and scenic, but I won%26#39;t do it again!

I love Bahia Honda for the beach, but you have to camp there or stay in one of the cabins. It%26#39;s a state park.

I noticed on another post that you would be stopping in miami beach on your way back up. So I say make the drive to key west. You wont be trying to catch a flight on the way back... so it wont be a rush. Driving down wont take 5 hours but, getting out of the airport, renting a car and driving down might take a grand total of 5 hours. (maybe) There are also shuttles you can take. I would look at www.betweentheseas.com they have a shuttle from miami to key west where they do the driving and you enjoy the amazing views plus cocktails and food. I think it would be fun. If you are going to miami beach to party and that is why you want to go maybe partying in key west will be a little too much partying for you but, key west is amazing. The party scene is very apparent. However it is very different from miami scence. Laid back. The sunsets are amazing and there are historical sites to visit as well. It is a great destination. If you only want to fish and keep really quiet the first two days maybe another key is right for you. My parents always enjoyed staying at checca lodge which I believe is in islamorada. Have fun.

seminolegirl, good catch on them not having to rush back to MIA to catch a flight. I missed that. Cross that off the list as to why you should not go to Key West.

Taking a shuttle would be a relaxing way to see US1 without having to drive it. I%26#39;ve never done it, but I think I%26#39;ll try between the seas at least once. Although (collective groan) I don%26#39;t mind driving US 1, in fact I kind of like the drive (no really - if I haven%26#39;t mentioned it before, I really do like the drive).

I did mean that the 5 hours would include getting luggage, getting a rental car, negotiating the Miami traffic and getting to Key West. The actual drive is closer to 3 1/2 - 4 hours.

I didn%26#39;t mean to say you shouldn%26#39;t go to Key West, you just gotta know what the warts, then make your own decision.

Besides if the worst thing that happened to you for those 2 days is that you HAD to stay in Islamorada, it%26#39;d still be a pretty good trip.

Okay, now where is Seabus? He will be so appreciative of Seminolegirl%26#39;s suggestions now won%26#39;t he?

:-)