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Elextric Car Rental

bonniemari

By bonniemari,
in Key West

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bonniemari

bonniemari

Posted
Posted

Thinking about renting an electric car for our visit in Key West. I would need one for 6. Is is best to wait to be get to Key West or rent in advance.

 

I was kind of leery of booking in advance cause some agencies charge you 20% if you are a no show. With the weather the way is it down that way there is no guarantee that the ship will go to Key West.

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croosieloosie

croosieloosie

Posted
Posted
It can be pretty difficult to find parking at times; but usually you can find a spot within a couple of blocks or so.

 

Metered parking is .25 for 10 minutes.

 

Mike:)

 

Thanks. I'm assuming those electric carts have to go in a parking spot if you stop some where. Would bikes be better just to get around what ever is near the port?

What part of ATL are you in, just curious.

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bhopal21

bhopal21

Posted
Posted

Yes you must use a regular parking spot for the GEM cars.

 

Since this is your first visit and Duval Street is only a mile and a quarter long I wouldn't bother with bikes. It is an easy walk with the Southernmost Point, The Hemingway Home, Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum, The Beach at Fort Zachary Taylor, The Butterfly Conservatory, Little White House et al being very close by.

 

And my GA residence is very close to you.;)

 

Mike:)

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croosieloosie

croosieloosie

Posted
Posted
Yes you must use a regular parking spot for the GEM cars.

 

Since this is your first visit and Duval Street is only a mile and a quarter long I wouldn't bother with bikes. It is an easy walk with the Southernmost Point, The Hemingway Home, Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum, The Beach at Fort Zachary Taylor, The Butterfly Conservatory, Little White House et al being very close by.

 

And my GA residence is very close to you.;)

 

Mike:)

 

So, are you saying walking is better than the GEM cars also?

Thanks for your help

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bhopal21

bhopal21

Posted
Posted
So, are you saying walking is better than the GEM cars also?

Thanks for your help

 

Not saying it is better but you will spend more time looking for a parking space than you will walking to most attractions. Old town is very compact, flat and easily walkable unless you have some sort of disability.

 

There is basically no parking on Duval Street so you will have to park at least a block or two away and then walk. Of the attractions that I listed previously only The Hemingway Home and Fort Zachary Taylor have limited parking, the others have none.

 

Mike:)

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trunabiscuit

trunabiscuit

Posted
Posted

My kids are 3 and 6 so we plan to avoid the debauchery since they'll be in tow and head to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park instead. If it was just my husband and I, walking would be no problem, but with them I'm afraid they'll get tired. So what's best, the electric car and hope to find parking or hoof it and push them in umbrella strollers? I don't really know how far we'll be from the park (arriving on Imagination 10/6/09)? Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...
bonniemari

bonniemari

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Wanted to come back and let ya'll know how it turned out. We ended up renting a 6 person electric car from Pirate Rentals and they were really great to deal with. We keep missing each other's phone calls and finally Brett (the owner) emailed me and said just to call him when we got off the ship and he would pick us up. I called as we were getting off the ship and he was right there waiting on us. He hauled all 6 of us in his van back to his place of business to get the car.

 

So if anyone is interested in renting electric cars or scooters I highly recommend Pirate Rentals.

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Royaltmom

Royaltmom

Posted
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bonniemari would you rent an electric car again in Key West? Did you have difficulty parking or getting around? We are planning on renting one in a month, as one of the women we are traveling with doesn't do lots of walking well. Hoping to see lots of the island . Any input is greatly appreciated!

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bonniemari

bonniemari

Posted
  • Author
Posted
bonniemari would you rent an electric car again in Key West? Did you have difficulty parking or getting around? We are planning on renting one in a month, as one of the women we are traveling with doesn't do lots of walking well. Hoping to see lots of the island . Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

We did not have any trouble finding parking but take plenty of quarters cause the parking meters only take quarters. What we did was when we found a place we wanted to stop at my friend that was driving would drop most of us off and he went and found a parking spot. I think the furtherest he had to park was a 1 1/2 blocks away. Some of the places did not have meters and we were able to park for free. Anywhere near Duvall you will encounter the meters. We rented it for 5 hrs and that was more than enough time to see everything we wanted.

 

If it is your first time to Key West (it was ours) then I would rent the electric car. Probably would not do it again-I was not impressed with Key West and not even sure I would get off the ship if I went back-well maybe for a piece of Key Lime Pie. It is so commercialized and not at all what I expected.

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Royaltmom

Royaltmom

Posted
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bonniemari thank you for responding. Was there anything in particular that you did that was a favorite? Or anything that you think we should stay away from?

I am the designated "planner" for the trip and am trying to have as much info as possible.

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peter_krynicki

peter_krynicki

Posted
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People get a bad impression of Key West by staying around the northern end of Duval Street where all of the obnoxious T-shirt shops are, Sloppy Joe's, Margeritaville, the crowds, etc.

 

Having fun in Key West for a morning or afternoon depends on what you want to do and see. There are good bars at the Key West Bight where you can try a Key West Sunset Ale or a Dark & Stormy and share seafood and shellfish (Alonzo's, the Conch Republic, the Half-Shell). These are a 10 - 15 minut walk form the docks.

 

There is the Hemingway House, the Little Whitehouse, Audubon house, lighthouse, etc. where you can take a tour and learn a little of the history of the island. Most of these are $11.00 - $12.00 pp and there are coupons.

 

If the timing is OK, you can take a day-sail, a snorkel trip, a dolphin watch, or the glass-bottom boat trip. You can spend the day at Dante's pool where, as long as you buy a drink or somethng to eat, you can splash around.

 

You can have a real, sit-down lunch at Blue Heaven, the Rooftop Cafe, etc, then have home-made icecream at Flamingo Crossing on Duval. On the way back up Duval you can browse in the several galleries or artists's shops there.

 

Or you can stay on upper Duval and be disappointed.

 

Pjk

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woodi

woodi

Posted
Posted
Wanted to come back and let ya'll know how it turned out. We ended up renting a 6 person electric car from Pirate Rentals and they were really great to deal with. We keep missing each other's phone calls and finally Brett (the owner) emailed me and said just to call him when we got off the ship and he would pick us up. I called as we were getting off the ship and he was right there waiting on us. He hauled all 6 of us in his van back to his place of business to get the car.

 

So if anyone is interested in renting electric cars or scooters I highly recommend Pirate Rentals.

 

What was the rate for the 6 person car?

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  • 2 weeks later...
RQINFL

RQINFL

Posted
Posted

We rented an electric car from Adventure Rentals after reading good reviews on these boards. Definitely recommend their company.

 

Service was great ~ spoke with Megan on the phone with some questions and she was helpful and friendly, received an email confirmation from Cliff which said to meet him at the pier right off the ship. Did not realize they are RIGHT off the ship ~ the very first booth on the pier. He immediately got on the radio to Megan, a gentleman walked us off the pier to where she was waiting in a golf cart to take us to the location with the cars (about 2 blocks away.) Another gentleman was waiting for us with the paperwork ready. We selected our car and were on our way within about 10 minutes of getting off the ship.

 

When we returned the car we walked the few blocks back to the ship and grabbed a drink rather than have them drive us back.

 

Their rates are posted on their website, and you get 2 hours free if you book online.

 

http://keywest-scooter.com/

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