Florida Keys Road Trip

Many of our customers end up flying into Ft. Lauderdale or Miami since the fares are often less than Key West. If so, you can take the Keys Shuttle, Greyhound bus, or rent a car and drive down. We've had requests for sights to see along the way, so we thought we'd post some of our favorites.

You’ll want to leave plenty of time driving down the 100-mile Route 1 Overseas Highway that island-hops the Florida Keys to Key West, the southernmost point in the Continental US. For one, it’s a gorgeous drive, recently named a Great American Road. For another, the speed limit is 45 to 55 with plenty of speed traps!

Historic Route 1 sign

Once you get off the Florida Turnpike in Homestead, you have a choice: the 18-mile recently redone “Stretch” or Card Sound Road, a toll road that costs all of a buck. If you take the Stretch, stop in at Gilbert’s tiki bar; if Card Sound, pull into Alabama Jack’s, a funky watering hole amid the mangroves. Keep your eyes fixed on the creek below for colorful fish and a manatee may even glide silently by.

Key Largo

You’ll start to notice numbered small green signs on the side of the road. These milemarkers start on the Stretch, around 112, and go down to 0 in Key West. It’s a great way to give directions in the Keys. There’s ‘bayside’ for Florida Bay, on your right if heading south, and ‘oceanside’ on your left, referring to the Atlantic Ocean.

At mm104 bayside is the famous Caribbean Club bar where portions of the Bogey and Bacall film Key Largo were filmed. Despite it’s claim to fame, it’s refreshingly un-touristy and family-owned for nearly a half-century. There’s usually some Harleys parked outside, dogs are welcome, and there’s a flock of wild parrots that perch above the waterfront picnic tables.

Pop into Florida Bay Outfitters next door, a really neat kayak shop that sells our “Florida Keys Paddling Atlas.” Tell them Mary and Bill sent you!

North America’s only living coral barrier reef draws divers and snorkelers from all over the world to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park at mm 102.5 oceanside. Even if you don’t take the boat out to the reef, the park is a great introduction to the flora and fauna of the Keys, with nature walks and kayaks trails through mangrove tunnels, a small aquarium, and two beaches.

Islamorada (pronouned eye-la-mor-ada)

While fishing is legendary throughout the Keys, Islamorada is the ultimate destination for a deep-sea sailfish adventure, fly-fishing for tarpon in the nearby Everglades or flats fishing for bonefish. World Wide Sportsman at mm 81.5 bayside is a fun place whether you fish or not. It’s one of the more unique in the BassPro Shop chains, where you can step aboard the "Pilar," sister ship to Hemingway's famous fishing boat, or dine at the elegant Zane Grey Lounge overlooking the marina.

Robbie’s Marina, mm 77 bayside, is the jumping off point for a boat or kayak trip to Indian Key, the island ruins of the first seat of Dade County. A visit to the Keys isn’t complete until you feed the giant tarpon that wait off Robbie’s dock.

Lower Keys
Once you cross the spectacular 7 Mile Bridge from Marathon, you've entered the Lower Keys. This is where we do our Backcountry kayak trips, and where you can see the endangered Key Deer. Stop in at the Key Deer Wildlife Refuge Headquarters on Big Pine Key to learn more.

Key West

Cats jumping through flaming hoops, fire-eaters, clothing-optional bars. There’s no place quite as “ultimate” as the southernmost city in America, from the nightly Mallory Square sunset celebration to the Duval Street “pub crawl”.

Sloppy Joe’s is one of the more popular tourist bars, with lots of Hemingway claims to fame. Some of our favorite bars are the Green Parrot, Schooner Wharf Bar, and the Bull and Thistle (there’s a clothing-optional bar on the roof if you are so inclined!)

Wherever you choose to stop on your Florida Keys road trip, shoes are optional and the sunset lingers.

For more information visit Florida Keys Tourism

Getting to the Keys: a Tip to Save on Flights

There’s still room on some of our March trips, but if you are checking airfares into Key West, you may get sticker shock! They were fairly low in January and early February, but now that Spring Break has kicked in, the fares have gone way up.

Here’s a tip that may help: Fly into Ft. Lauderdale, rent a car and drive down the Keys, and save up to half on your airfare. For example, we just did a quick search on cheapfares.com and SouthWest Airlines, and round-trip flights from Washington Dulles to Key West in March are over $500. Dulles to Ft. Lauderdale round-trip flights are starting at about $230 (plus taxes and fees, of course).

US 1 is a recent designee as a Great All American Road and a spectacular drive across historic railroad bridges and Caribbean-blue waters. Leave enough time, as the speed limit is 45 most of the way, and you’ll want to stop off at some famous—and quirky—places, like the Caribbean Club in Key Largo and Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada, home of the giant tarpon. Our Lower Keys kayak trips start around milemarker 25 in the Big Pine Key area.

In a future blog post, we’ll list some of our favorites stops on a Road Trip to Paradise!

Backcountry Camping in the Lower Keys

Check out our slide show of backcountry kayak camping in the Florida Keys. We do it in style!

Also, here's a blog post from a customer on this trip. She did a great journal of words and photos: blow-by-blow of wildlife sightings, paddling routes and even menus!

Paddling in Paradise: 3-day trip

Warm and gentle winds from the south and east have caressed the Florida Keys these last few weeks and served as a good omen for the first BurnhamGuide trip of 2011 through the wide open waters of the Lower Keys Backcountry. 

When traveling by kayak, a tail wind is always appreciated; this one helped push our kayaks northwest for our nine-mile Day One journey.

At Snipe Point, low tide exposed sand flats as far as the eye could see. It seemed entirely possible to walk to nearby Marvin Key across a watery desert. Far from barren, the flats at low tide reveal hidden wonders: marine worms, whelks, Florida fighting conchs. 

Then the tide rolls back in and the sun melts like a ball of yellow candy into a dark horizon. A billion stars emerged as we sat around the fire, soaking in the moonless sky. 

Come morning, a reddish egret chased minnows in a shallow pool in front of our tent. For three days we immersed ourselves, paddling along the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, making time to indulge our passions, be it yoga, journaling, photography, or just sitting on a beach where you felt like the only humans alive on the planet. 

Always close to our minds were encounters of the wild kind. At the Inner Passage, a three-foot sand shark approached, it’s camouflaged tan body blending perfectly with the bottom. It same me and with a "swoosh" it was gone. We bid it adieu and dug in our paddles for another gorgeous day of paddling in paradise.

If you'd like to join us, BurnhamGuides still has room left on several trips in February and early March, 2011. Email or call 305-240-0650 for availability.

 

Florida Keys VolunTourism

Mary after an island clean-up

Kayaking across warm tropical waters by day and setting up camp on island beaches at night is a privilege we don’t take lightly. That’s why we try to incorporate at least one beach clean-up on our multi-day kayak trips in the Florida Keys.

If you choose to participate in a clean-up, we’ll log your volunteer hours with the Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail. This makes you trail volunteers and VolunTourists!

Trash is not only unsightly, it can be hazardous to marine life. While paddling through the mangroves, you may see Bill or I pull over to the side, flip open a jackknife and cut away some fishing line hanging from the branches. Birds can become entangled in the line, and animals may choke on hooks. The line can be deposited in monofilament recycling containers located at many of the public boat ramps in the Keys.

If you want to volunteer further, consider joining the Florida Paddling Trails Association, which covers all the water trails throughout the state. 

Visit www.BurnhamGuides.com to see our 2011 trip details.

Florida Keys Paddling Party

We're having a Keys Party, book-signing and slide show during Onancock's Second Friday: Nov. 12, 2010, 5-8 p.m. at SouthEast Expeditions at the Wharf, 2 King St., Onancock, VA

Enjoy a tropical evening inside SouthEast's cozy kayak shop and hear about the trips we'll be leading this winter in the Florida Keys, mid-January through March 2011.

Our small group expedition trips range from one-day paddles to Key West, easy overnights along the Seven Mile Bridge, to the infamous 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, scheduled for March 22-31, 2001, with room for several more. 

We'll be giving slide show presentations every hour starting at 5 p.m., followed by question-and-answer and signing copies of our Florida Keys Paddling Atlas and Knack Kayaking for Everyone.. 

BOOK A TRIP THIS EVENING AND GET 10% OFF THE COST! Gift Certificates available. Trip details at BurnhamGuides.com

Paddle Key Largo to Key West March 22-31, 2011

The dates are set for our annual 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, Florida, the Southernmost Point in the U.S. The 10-day trip will be March 22-31, 2011, kayak camping all the way.

We’ll launch from Key Largo, paddle between 7 and 17 miles per day, and land 10 days later in Key West, in time for the Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square. The cost of $1,500 includes everything: kayak, gear, camping gear, all meals, and instruction along the way.

From mid-January through mid-March, we'll offer customized trips ranging from one-night along the Seven Mile Bridge to 2-5 days in the Lower Keys Backcountry. The cost is $150 per person per day for however many days you want to be out.

Upon booking any trip, you’ll receive a copy of our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas so you can see just where we’ll be going! All the details are at BurnhamGuides.com with photos and video from last year’s trips here

Feel free to e-mail or call 305-240-0650 with any questions!