Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 22

Thread: RFI: Florida Travel

  1. #1
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Lexington, SC

    RFI: Florida Travel

    The family and I depart Fri AM for a week in Key Largo. We are ALL in need of a break. We are staying in a VRBO condo in Tavernier with the intention of making the drive to Key West for a day trip at some point during the week.

    With all the goings on lately I wanted to ask if in addition to any regular places that are must see or should be avoided, are there any COVID related requirements to be aware of for the state or the Keys in particular and with the recent riots across the country do I need to detour any areas on the trip down from SC or just in general?

    I appreciate any info you all can share, this forum is always such a great source of info!

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Ref COVID / State in general: Here in Tampa, beaches are open, restaurants are every other table kind of deal. Malls and shops open. Lots of masks in public. Some services still not open (FL DMV). Traffic back almost to normal levels.

    Ref Riots, again only for Tampa: the disorder here was centered North / East side of town, near USF. Only thing we saw was the International Mall was closed by LEOs Sunday. That’s about it.

    The Keys are going to be pretty hot. A1A is busy normally. Key West is a longggg way down, it always takes us longer than we think. Tavernier to Key West is 90 miles...ish? That’s a long day if you are going to sightsee in Key West. You can see a few sights but it’s going to be rushed to see the typical sights in that time. We usually spend a night or two there (I personally would allow a day and a night and the next day to see KW, but not much more. Kinda depends if you like the vibe.)

    We usually stay in Key Largo near Pennecamp State Park. We like that area. Docs Diner is awesome for a pre-Dive breakfast:

    http://www.docsdiner.com/

    Hope this helps.

  3. #3
    Member Outlier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Georgia
    Georgia is still showing checkpoint warnings at the GA/FL state line on the digital interstate signs along I-95 southbound in Savannah as of yesterday. Whether that is still going on I do not know.

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by Outlier View Post
    Georgia is still showing checkpoint warnings at the GA/FL state line on the digital interstate signs along I-95 southbound in Savannah as of yesterday. Whether that is still going on I do not know.
    What kinda checkpoints?

  5. #5
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Canton GA
    Quote Originally Posted by rd62 View Post
    What kinda checkpoints?
    Slow drivers in fast lane with Florida tags

  6. #6
    Member Outlier's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Georgia
    My understanding is that Florida was screening drivers from known Covid hotspots; NY for example. Coming from SC probably won't be an issue. I would just expect some traffic delay is all.

  7. #7
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    SE FL
    As RJ alludes to, driving in the Keys always takes longer than you’d think. Don’t let the name “overseas highway” fool you. It’s a small road, with traffic lights quite frequent, and the speed limit can be lower than you’d think even for a 2-4 lane roadway. The local PDs also like to set up radar checkpoints. Google is showing the 90 miles from Tavernier to Key West as a 2 hour drive but it will likely be longer in the real world. Best practice is to enjoy the drive, rather than try to beat the Google time (which is my typical practice on actual highways).

    Look for places to stop for lunch, a beer, some sort of activity, a nice water view, etc. the Keys are still a pretty overall dingy little beach town (beer coozies are sold that say “a sleepy little drinking town with a fishing problem”), which I still great,y enjoy as someone who grew up in the state. There are absolutely luxury things to do and fancy spots (Ocean Reef, for one) but if you really want to appreciate the Keys, you need to embrace the dinge. I haven’t been down since the last major hurricane but I have heard from friends that there is still quite a bit of damage, FWIW.

    If you are driving down from out of state, be aware that rioters have shut down the interstate in Palm Beach County (three counties north of the Keys) at least once. I don’t much pay attention to Broward (two counties north of the Keys) or Dade (one county north of the Keys, and also the county Miami is in) but I can’t imagine they haven’t had shutdowns as well.

    One last thing, be aware that they Keys isn’t really much of a beach area. If you’re looking for beaches you’d have been better off in the NE part of the state (Amelia Island, in particular). There are some, but many people (myself included) are pretty surprised on their first trip to the Keys at the relative lack of beach.

  8. #8
    If you're hitting Key West, my favorite part of that neighborhood is the Dry Tortugas. Take the last flight out and you'll have the entire park mostly to yourself as the last catamaran will be leaving shortly after you arrive. Lots of barracuda, parrot fish and the occasional shark to snorkle with.

    ETA: Bahia Honda used to wind up on best beaches lists on a fairly regular basis. Looks like they've just opened up for day visits.

  9. #9
    Driving 231 the South Bend into the Florida panhandle weekly since this event started. Near interstate 10 FHP had what could be described as a rolling C19 blockade early on. If you had out of state tags from a flagged area a friendly conversation may have been initiated. Middle part of May this appears to have been stopped. Since Memorial Day weekend the traffic has increased significantly. Have a great family vacation.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Outlier View Post
    My understanding is that Florida was screening drivers from known Covid hotspots; NY for example. Coming from SC probably won't be an issue. I would just expect some traffic delay is all.
    Use Waze. If it is really slowing down traffic Waze will take you on US-17 to cross the GA/FL border. I did this less than a week ago.
    "Specialization is for insects." -Robert A. Heinlein

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •