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Sun and Fun and Key West

MikeyDale

Well Known Member
I am very fortunate to be off work from March 30 till April 12! Sun and Fun falls right in the Middle of that time frame so me and the Bride are planning a grand RV adventure from West Texas to the Florida Keys with an stop at SUN and Fun for a few days either coming or going. Much to my delight, she has agreed that we will not make any advance reservations more than a day ahead so we will be very flexible for weather and length of stays at any particular place! Freelance all the way! I have a couple of questions for you more experienced Sun and Fun and Island Hoppers out there!............Is there any particular days at Sun and Fun that are better than others? Also, we are very adaptable travelers and will be happy staying almost anywhere on the Keys but if we fly to Marathon or Key West, will we have trouble finding a place on short notice? We plan on camping at Sun and Fun so we will have our tent in case we cant find a room somewhere! :eek: But after a few days of roughing it, a bed would be nice! If anyone has any suggestions on where to stay, I would love to here them!

PS: I have searched and read all the Florida Keys threads.
 
Marathon Key is great fun

Just last week my wife and I spent 4 enjoyable days in Marathon key, with a side trip by rental car to Key West. We stayed at Rainbow Bend resort, sort of shabby chic right on the water and you get the use of a boat for a half day every day you stay there. Epic surprises and sunsets. The folks a Marathon airport are great. There is even an EAA museum there run by the local chapter. Enterprise rental car is top drawer.

Any day at SNF is a good day, except for the last day of the show, which is sparse.
 
Earlier in the week is always better. Planes begin leaving mid week. More non fliers attend toward the end of the show. Just my experience.
 
Call ahead if headed to eyw. Since signature bought the FBO I have heard horror stories about fees to stay there. That time of year, key west should not be to bad, but it is always tough to book last minute there.

Bob burns
Rv-4 N82rb
 
Thursday & Friday is my favorite time to hit SNF.
Going into the weekend, it does get sparse.

At Key West, We usually stay at the southern most point. They are excellent hosts. http://www.southernmostpoint.com

From the FBO, you can catch the city bus for $2 and they run counterclockwise every 30 mins and will drop you off at most hotels. They will offer to get you a cab, but if you walk around the corner to the main terminal, the bus picks you up right there.
 
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I am headed to KEYW this coming weekend for a wedding. I just called Signature to make a reservation and current fees are:

$25 one-time fee, waived with 7 or more gallons fuel
$5 fee for either facilities or handling, forget which
$23/night tie-down

Current fuel price is $6.94, which makes it just barely a better deal to buy 7 gallons from them than to refuel up at APF which is $3.68

My two night trip will cost me about $80, which I guess is better than driving 6-7 hours each way, and way more fun. That said, those prices make it less attractive as a place to fly in for a quick lunch or sightseeing, which is a shame, it's a fun place to fly for a day trip.

Chris
 
I am headed to KEYW this coming weekend for a wedding. I just called Signature to make a reservation and current fees are:

$25 one-time fee, waived with 7 or more gallons fuel
$5 fee for either facilities or handling, forget which
$23/night tie-down

Current fuel price is $6.94, which makes it just barely a better deal to buy 7 gallons from them than to refuel up at APF which is $3.68

My two night trip will cost me about $80, which I guess is better than driving 6-7 hours each way, and way more fun. That said, those prices make it less attractive as a place to fly in for a quick lunch or sightseeing, which is a shame, it's a fun place to fly for a day trip.

Chris

Just last week my wife and I spent 4 enjoyable days in Marathon key, with a side trip by rental car to Key West. We stayed at Rainbow Bend resort, sort of shabby chic right on the water and you get the use of a boat for a half day every day you stay there. Epic surprises and sunsets. The folks a Marathon airport are great. There is even an EAA museum there run by the local chapter. Enterprise rental car is top drawer.

Any day at SNF is a good day, except for the last day of the show, which is sparse.
__________________
Steve Ashby
Stone Mountain, GA
N184RW (reserved)
RV-8A
YIO-360 180 hp Lycoming
Hartzell Blended Airfoil Prop
Engine Hung

At Key West, We usually stay at the southern most point. They are excellent hosts. http://www.southernmostpoint.com

From the FBO, you can catch the city bus for $2 and they run counterclockwise every 30 mins and will drop you off at most hotels. They will offer to get you a cab, but if you walk around the corner to the main terminal, the bus picks you up right there.

Dan "RoadRunner" Landry
Morphed RV7, N20DL
955+ hours
2017 Donation Paid

Mmmm.......... Marathon looking better all the time but I'm going to keep all the places in my phone so I'll have plenty of choices!! Thanks for the help, guy's!
 
KEY WEST

Try the Truman Annex (Compass Realty is who I use) which are converted buildings of the original Naval Base now a housing and rental neighborhood.

"The little White House" used by Truman and several others is in the middle of it as are many historic buildings now living space.

Walking distance to Duval ST, Le Creperie (my fav breakfast place), Kelly's (as in Kelly McGillis of Top Gun fame) Restaurant which is in the original Pan Am offices.

It is a block from the Mel Fisher Museum where you can see the treasure of the Atocha and Santa Margarita.

Duval street is much like Bourbon St in New Orleans in that one end is mostly restaurants and bars, the other is art galleries and cafes.

Southernmost hotel is a couple blocks from the art gallery end and the entire street from end to end is only a couple miles long and a great walk!

You don't need a rental car, get a cab from the airport then walk everywhere.

I lived there for a while during winters and hopefully you find some of the non-touristy parts enjoyable as I do.
 
I stayed at the Doubletree (Hilton) a couple of years ago. We flew down without reservations. The FBO found rooms at the hotel for us. The hotel shuttle picked us up at the airport. The hotel bus will take you to the north end of Duval St. The bus runs every half hour until 10pm.
 
Make reservations

We just returned from a weekend trip to the Keys. It was packed and extremely pricey without prior reservations. I would suggest do your best to calculate the stay and book a place in advance. Don't expect tie downs. :)


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If you want to enjoy the Keys, fly to Marathon and grab a rental car. The drive from there to Key West has some of the best scenery ( 7 mile bridge, Bahia Hondo, etc). If you want to be near Duval, then Southern Most resort or the Margaritaville resort (former Westin). Away from Duval is Marriott Beachside, which has a shuttle to Duval. If you want to rent a place for a few days, contact Last Key Realestate. They are a first rate company with great service. We live in the lower keys part time, so feel free to PM or call me if you need more info.
 
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