Driving to Key West

[OS2Dude]

My wife and I would like to drive to Key West, but neither of us particularly like tall bridges. (We'd prefer to sail there, but our boat is in a lake near Atlanta, GA) If anyone knows, what is the tallest span on the trip? I believe it is in the 7 mile bridge, but I can't get any details on how tall.

If we go, what would you suggest? We've heard that when the cruise ships come in you can barely walk down the street.

[DotDun]

There are 4 bridges between mainland and Key West, all have 65' clearance, so cars are 70'+ off the water.

KW is a fun place to visit, we personally get tired of it after a couple of days. One or two Duval crawls, people watching, and some bike riding and we're done. We do enjoy some of the out-of-the-way restaurants.

[WindwardPrinces]

The drive to Key West is horrendous.

[DDabs]

The drive to Key West is pretty cool in my opinion... the highest bridge should be 65'. Once you get down into the shorter bridges it's cool going from island to island.

Key West itself is quite different than anywhere else in the U.S. You either love it or hate it. I think it's definitely worth going and seeing.

[OS2Dude]

Thanks to all for the quick responses. I thought I saw something that said they had updated the highway, so are the bridges still 2 lane? They're not OPEN-GRATE types are they?

[Tetra]

There are many, many cars on that little highway. Many.

[DDabs]

Are you riding motorcycles or something? There's nothing to worry about, the roads are well maintained

[Sea Dreaming]

Hey now...millions cross the key west bridges. Your odds of suviving the crossing and far better than winning power ball. But Ill bet you still bought a ticket.

Joking aside - if you can sail anywhere, you can survive the drive...just be patient with the traffic and play your favorite music.

[WindwardPrinces]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

Thanks to all for the quick responses. I thought I saw something that said they had updated the highway, so are the bridges still 2 lane? They're not OPEN-GRATE types are they?

You'll be fine, as long as you're not in a hurry and leave some room in front of you. They're sturdy bridges. The hard part is driving on a two lane road for over 2 hours.

I get your fear of bridges, and there is a really long, high one (7 miles), but they aren't the scariest I've ever crossed, and they're not the rickety-grate type.

[redhead]

We used to do this every winter from New York. Why are you going to Key West? Is it to visit or are you meeting someone? It can get crowded/tiresome after a short time for us. After many years of doing KW we found the way that suited us best was to go just north of the 7 mile bridge (Knight's Key/Isla Morada/Marathon area) and then take a bus to KW if we wanted.

We always thought we had the best of both worlds IMHO.

[Perstarebob]

If you are afraid of the height , why not fly ?

[Tetra]

When visiting KW via land, we typically take a shuttle bus from Miami and just catch up on our reading.

[OS2Dude]

Flying into Key West can be fairly expensive, and we wanted the freedom of not being tied to a drop-dead schedule, and with our own vehicle we can come and go where and when we please. The bus may be an idea. Is it like a metro bus, where you can get on and off at will (with pass), or a Greyhound? We would like to stop and see the other islands too.

For those of you who do not have phobias, PLEASE do not critique those who do. We both KNOW that it is safe, but that does nothing to calm the anxiety. THAT is why it is a PHOBIA...

[DDabs]

The bridges all have guardrails on them, so I doubt you'd drive off into the water. Hope that makes you feel a little better!

[Davy J]

I never had any issues with bridges until I crossed the Sunshine Skyway bridge in very strong winds. Let's just say I'm not very fond of that bridge. It is 180' high though.

All of the bridges in the keys are low to the water except for the cross-under spans, which as mentioned are 65'.

Even though I'm not fond of the Skyway, I haven't had any problems with any of those in the keys.