What is boating like around Key Largo?

[zipper]

I live in Big Pine Key on Pine Channel... its just a short hop to Looe Key,... I have a friend with a big Morgan Ketch and thats what I like to go out in the blue water on...

Now we're talking, that Morgan must be beautiful. I love the interior wood work on those.

 

[Smiley]

We will be there soon. Looking forward to the trip, long ride down, but making a few stops to see friends along the way.

 

[84rzv500r]

I'll be here drinkin beer... and chasin wires in MR-1 HO harneses LOL

 

[Jet Boat Okie]

Hey guys, the wife and I just spent 5 nights in Key West and were thinking of coming back for a month next winter and bringing the boat and kids. I saw some posts about Key Largo, but has anyone stayed farther south like Summerland? We are trying to decide Key west without boat, or stay somewhere more low key and just boat all the time...

We really liked Key West, and went to Dry Tortugas on a charter trip and also rented a boat for a day and just hit some sand bars in Jewfish basin or something like that, was a cool place also.

I’ve got a 210 FSH Sport, any advice is appreciated

 

[lazergeek]

Hey guys, the wife and I just spent 5 nights in Key West and were thinking of coming back for a month next winter and bringing the boat and kids. I saw some posts about Key Largo, but has anyone stayed farther south like Summerland? We are trying to decide Key west without boat, or stay somewhere more low key and just boat all the time...

We really liked Key West, and went to Dry Tortugas on a charter trip and also rented a boat for a day and just hit some sand bars in Jewfish basin or something like that, was a cool place also.

I’ve got a 210 FSH Sport, any advice is appreciated

Im alrady in South Florida so the keys are already my backyard but we get a rental house on a canal with a dock for a week a few times a year in Marathon. I personally hate Key Largo. I consider it part of the Everglades as its just a swamp and nothing tropical about it. If you bring you boat make sure you have a good navigation app as its very shallow.

 

[jocolo21]

Done Big Pine key on jetskis few years ago stayed at the RV resort. Then last year i did Key Largo and stayed at the Hampton in, they have a sea wall gulf side you can leave you boat there and some empty parking you can leave your trailer, from there shore hop to isla morada sand bar, toilet seat cut and alligator reef. Was thinking about going in July but looks like price are going up, our Bimini trip in June is still more afortable

 

[BlkGS]

We are going down in a couple of weeks for a weekend trip for my wife's bday. No boat, just hanging out and probably bringing the little guy, she's never been to the keys and I haven't been in decades.

Bahia Honda is on my to do list, we are going to be staying in marathon. Anything that's a must do for y'all? We are only gonna be down for like 2 days, but what's the can't miss stuff?

 

[lazergeek]

We are going down in a couple of weeks for a weekend trip for my wife's bday. No boat, just hanging out and probably bringing the little guy, she's never been to the keys and I haven't been in decades.

Bahia Honda is on my to do list, we are going to be staying in marathon. Anything that's a must do for y'all? We are only gonna be down for like 2 days, but what's the can't miss stuff?

Snorkeling at Looee Key is the best in the Keys, you will need a boat or charter to get there however. Snorkeling the Sombraro Reef Lighthouse is always great too. We do both of those frequently.

 

[84rzv500r]

im on big pine key on pine channel... we go to Marvin/Saywer, the content keys, bahia honda, picnic, tarpon belly, naked beach, and a couple other sandbars that have no name... typically out every day during the week in the afternoon and prolly once a month or so we travel... next sunday were gonna skip the little boats and take my buddys 42' Morgan Ketch out for the day...

 

[Kaiser211]

Done Big Pine key on jetskis few years ago stayed at the RV resort. Then last year i did Key Largo and stayed at the Hampton in, they have a sea wall gulf side you can leave you boat there and some empty parking you can leave your trailer, from there shore hop to isla morada sand bar, toilet seat cut and alligator reef. Was thinking about going in July but looks like price are going up, our Bimini trip in June is still more afortable

I am thinking about a Hilton/Hampton and taking my 2012 SX240. Did you trailer yours down and keep it by the Hampton for the week? How did that all work out for you if you could let me know - where did you put in at, keep it in salt water all week or pull it out at times, any help would be much appreciated.

 

[jocolo21]

I am thinking about a Hilton/Hampton and taking my 2012 SX240. Did you trailer yours down and keep it by the Hampton for the week? How did that all work out for you if you could let me know - where did you put in at, keep it in salt water all week or pull it out at times, any help would be much appreciated.

The 275 its not mine i had a 242 at the time i didnt know about the sea wall and rente a slip across the street i think Marina del Mar is the name and keept the trailer there too, but there empty park space on the east side of the hampton, i used my Hiltom points to stay, was looking at hoing again but its now $400 a night so i was gonna bring the rv but the reviews for most rv resorts are awful.
Make sure you bring an old toilet seat screw and zip ties and hang it at toilet seat cut decorated with your family name. Isla morada sandbar its a big party had fun there alligator reef was fun but 5 foot swells. Couldnt do the under water statue as the weather there was not good at all. Plenty of docking restaurants to visit, try isla morada brewery, you can buy it at win dixie Isla Morada Sandbar and Sunday Funday i believe pale ale and belgium ale. Yes i trailered from Orlando. Dont be afraid to leave the boat in the water, old wifes tale. Its a boat its made to handle it. I used the ramp at Peningcamp, about 7 mins drive from the hotel.

 

[leonard delia]

I am considering a summer family trip to the keys. Key Largo looks like a likely base.

How much use would a boat be? What are the local boating destinations?

Key West appears to be fully booked. We might venture there to launch for the Dry Tortugas on a calm water day.

Would it be better to be on the Biscayne Bay end?

you would be better off if you stayed at islabella mm47 trailor down to my area mm28, there you can visit several islands. there are a couple motels in area as well sugarloaf lodge and big pine motel. dry tortugas does not have a gas dock and u wont have enouph to make it back

 

[leonard delia]

you would be better off if you stayed at islabella mm47 trailor down to my area mm28, there you can visit several islands. there are a couple motels in area as well sugarloaf lodge and big pine motel. dry tortugas does not have a gas dock and u wont have enouph to make it back

Key Largo is ok

 

[Farny]

Done Big Pine key on jetskis few years ago stayed at the RV resort. Then last year i did Key Largo and stayed at the Hampton in, they have a sea wall gulf side you can leave you boat there and some empty parking you can leave your trailer, from there shore hop to isla morada sand bar, toilet seat cut and alligator reef. Was thinking about going in July but looks like price are going up, our Bimini trip in June is still more afortable

Need a buddy to tag along??

 

[BlkGS]

I am thinking about a Hilton/Hampton and taking my 2012 SX240. Did you trailer yours down and keep it by the Hampton for the week? How did that all work out for you if you could let me know - where did you put in at, keep it in salt water all week or pull it out at times, any help would be much appreciated.

We made our trip down this weekend. We stayed at the Fairfield in marathon, there's a Hampton right next door if you're a Hilton fam. They're both on a small marina, the Fairfield Inn has a restaurant, Sparky's, that is OK. There's a launch here, and a couple of spots for trucks with trailers (actually a yamaha here right now, lol).

We didn't bring our boat but there's tons of launches here. That said, it's easy to forget how freaking big the keys are. And how slow and heavily policed the speed limits are. Staying in the middle is nice in theory, but it ends up being 1.5 hours to wherever.

Other thoughts... If you're bringing the boat, don't even bother thinking about key west. It's a crowded hell scape of drunks on bikes, drunks on mopeds, and tiny streets with street parking, not at all suited for something that can tow a boat.

Bahia Honda is really beautiful, but somehow I thought it would be bigger. Probably because of how long I've wanted to go. Definitely recommend going.

One of the beaches at Bahia Honda was closed due to high levels of bacteria. The other side of the island wasn't closed. Not sure how I'd take that having my family swim in it, but something to note.

The water seems to get prettier around lunchtime. That's when it turns the nice bright aqua colors.

We ended up cutting our trip short because our hotel isn't as dog friendly as they claimed. They were cleaning the ros next to ours and called us 8!!! times because the dogs were barking. We got there and they're banging and clanging around cleaning the rooms, so yeah, they're gonna bark. Between the dogs and the baby, we decided we might have bit off more than we could chew and decided to head out a day early and make our final day a bit more low key (heh, get it? Cuz it's the keys. It's a joke, it's funny). Definitely want to come back with the boat and no dogs, and maybe no baby, lol. The snorkeling and stuff here seems awesome.

 

[jocolo21]

We made our trip down this weekend. We stayed at the Fairfield in marathon, there's a Hampton right next door if you're a Hilton fam. They're both on a small marina, the Fairfield Inn has a restaurant, Sparky's, that is OK. There's a launch here, and a couple of spots for trucks with trailers (actually a yamaha here right now, lol).

We didn't bring our boat but there's tons of launches here. That said, it's easy to forget how freaking big the keys are. And how slow and heavily policed the speed limits are. Staying in the middle is nice in theory, but it ends up being 1.5 hours to wherever.

Other thoughts... If you're bringing the boat, don't even bother thinking about key west. It's a crowded hell scape of drunks on bikes, drunks on mopeds, and tiny streets with street parking, not at all suited for something that can tow a boat.

Bahia Honda is really beautiful, but somehow I thought it would be bigger. Probably because of how long I've wanted to go. Definitely recommend going.

One of the beaches at Bahia Honda was closed due to high levels of bacteria. The other side of the island wasn't closed. Not sure how I'd take that having my family swim in it, but something to note.

The water seems to get prettier around lunchtime. That's when it turns the nice bright aqua colors.

We ended up cutting our trip short because our hotel isn't as dog friendly as they claimed. They were cleaning the ros next to ours and called us 8!!! times because the dogs were barking. We got there and they're banging and clanging around cleaning the rooms, so yeah, they're gonna bark. Between the dogs and the baby, we decided we might have bit off more than we could chew and decided to head out a day early and make our final day a bit more low key (heh, get it? Cuz it's the keys. It's a joke, it's funny). Definitely want to come back with the boat and no dogs, and maybe no baby, lol. The snorkeling and stuff here seems awesome.

i stayed at the Hampton in in key largo with my dog 100lbs American Bully, didnt have any issue but my dog doesn't bark, you can giv it cbd to calm them down next time.

 

[BlkGS]

i stayed at the Hampton in in key largo with my dog 100lbs American Bully, didnt have any issue but my dog doesn't bark, you can giv it cbd to calm them down next time.

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Awww! That's a cute little puppers!

I think our next trip down we'd stay further north. We did some stuff up in Islamorada area today on the way back and liked it. Islamorada brewing gets 2 thumbs up from us.

I'll have to check them out for our next trip down, thanks for the heads up!