Miami/Key West stay?

[DevonianCruiser]

We have 3 nights before our cruise. Land at around 3pm. We were supposed to go to key west last year and it didn’t happen. Just wondering if it’s worth a short visit - so maybe hire a car and drive down after landing and having 2 nights there followed by a night in Miami? Or is it too much to do after a 10 hour flight? 
 

We’ve been to Miami before but it was 10 years ago so not sure whether we should just have 3 nights there. We’ve an 8 year old.

 

One other question, our flight home is at 5.20pm, does that give us any time to do something after docking in the morning? Only ships tour o can see at the moment is recommended for international flights after 6pm.

[FOPMan]

It takes about 4 hours in "normal" daylight driving to get from Miami to Key West with minimal stopping. But there is alot to see, both in terms of specific places such as Bahia Honda State Park and John Pennecamp. which is an underwater park. The Miami-Key West drive is not really a drive one should do at dark, at least not as a first-time visitor. My guess is that you'd be on the road at 4:30 or so if your flight landed at 3 and you need to clear customs/immigration and pick up a car.

 

It is not the easiest drive in the sense there will be traffic to contend with. Ehile ig is the Keys Highway, if is not typical US highway driving. It is, however, a generally pretty straight road.

 

As some alternatives, you could visit Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, take a day trip into the Everglades, and/or explore other parts of South Florida. You could also take the Brightline train to Orlando and visit Mickey Mouse, Sea Eorld, and/of Universal Studios. Any/all might be very attractive to an eight year old.

 

You had also asked about a part-day trip before your return trip. The issue is that the airports want international travelers at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled flight time to clear outbound immigration. It doesn't often rake that long, but they don't want people missing flights because they gave bad advice. And if is true that it CAN and sometimes does take the full tome, especially if there are many people and/or there are individuals that have problems that take time to sort out.

 

Again, there are lots of things to do/see, if only for a few hours. The larger issue is what to do with luggage. If you are on an excursion/transfer from the ship, the luggage will often go under the bus. Dome cruise lines offer baggage transfer service separately. Third-party companies that provide day tours can also accommodate your luggage. Most attractions do not have short-term parcel storage. There are a couple of places that specialize in holding your luggage for a few hours.

 

Safe travels!

[DevonianCruiser]

1 hour ago, FOPMan said:

It takes about 4 hours in "normal" daylight driving to get from Miami to Key West with minimal stopping. But there is alot to see, both in terms of specific places such as Bahia Honda State Park and John Pennecamp. which is an underwater park. The Miami-Key West drive is not really a drive one should do at dark, at least not as a first-time visitor. My guess is that you'd be on the road at 4:30 or so if your flight landed at 3 and you need to clear customs/immigration and pick up a car.

 

It is not the easiest drive in the sense there will be traffic to contend with. Ehile ig is the Keys Highway, if is not typical US highway driving. It is, however, a generally pretty straight road.

 

As some alternatives, you could visit Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, take a day trip into the Everglades, and/or explore other parts of South Florida. You could also take the Brightline train to Orlando and visit Mickey Mouse, Sea Eorld, and/of Universal Studios. Any/all might be very attractive to an eight year old.

 

You had also asked about a part-day trip before your return trip. The issue is that the airports want international travelers at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled flight time to clear outbound immigration. It doesn't often rake that long, but they don't want people missing flights because they gave bad advice. And if is true that it CAN and sometimes does take the full tome, especially if there are many people and/or there are individuals that have problems that take time to sort out.

 

Again, there are lots of things to do/see, if only for a few hours. The larger issue is what to do with luggage. If you are on an excursion/transfer from the ship, the luggage will often go under the bus. Dome cruise lines offer baggage transfer service separately. Third-party companies that provide day tours can also accommodate your luggage. Most attractions do not have short-term parcel storage. There are a couple of places that specialize in holding your luggage for a few hours.

 

Safe travels!

That’s fantastic, thanks for the info and definitely food for thought. Really want to see the Keys but probably not likely we can do them and any of Miami. Plus with the 4 hour drive back not sure we’d want to do that on the day of the cruise. 
 

Maybe we’ll concentrate on Miami this time and look to do the keys another day 🙂

[Flymia]

You could stick with the upper Keys, give Key Largo a look. About 90-min drive from Miami. It could be a long day trip or spend a night there. It is not as famous as Key West, but still the Keys with great scenery and water. But that is definitely a water/beach type of trip. And by beach small beaches, not resort type beaches. Key West has more things to do in town lots of history etc.. 

 

I would say you would need two more days to really be able to enjoy the keys and take that trip. 

 

Miami has changed in 10-years and certainly plenty of things to do and see. A rental car helps a lot.