Hey Florida Crew--taking the missus on a cruise (the boaty kind) out of Miami in early February for her bd. Will have 2 days in Miami area before cruise and 4 days after before I have to fly home to the frozen north.

Need suggestions on
1) decent Miami airport hotels, nothing fancy-but hopefully near enough to the beaches so I can hop a bus
2) Is 2 days long enough to "do" Key West? any preferred hotels or are they all pretty spendy?
3) best place to rent a ride for a few days? Looking at 3 days on a bike and a few in a convertible
4) Is Kennedy Space Center do-able from Miami or should I look at staying "up there" somewhere?
finally...are the touristy "airboat/gator attractions" worth it?
Living in a frozen rainforest, we dont get many gators...Grizzly bears yes, no gators

Thanks very much

 

Well, as far as Miami hotels, I'm not sure. Pick one on Miami Beach with transportation to the port of Miami / cruise ships included and stay with a name brand. My GF from VA booked a "cheap" hotel thru an online service, and it was so miserable, she checked out and came to my house. She never got her $$$ back either.

Key West: Depends on what you mean, "do." Do you mean drink at every bar on Duval Street? Or water sports like fishing, diving, snorkeling, or museums, Fort Taylor and beach, cemeteries, art galleries? Let us know what you're thinking.

I heartily recommend www.AndrewsInn.com. Great small b&b right off Duval, right behind Hemingway House. Clean, breakfast by the pool every morning, and happy hour at 4:00 p.m. Priced right also!

The Everglades are neat in February also--no mosquitoes! Lots of boardwalks and trails over different ecosystems--you can go there on your way up from Key West, drive down to Flamingo and back in a couple of hours stopping at the different stops along the way. If you go there, you will see PLENTY of alligators. Most of the migrating birds will be there also. $10 per car all day. No restaurants--pack a lunch or eat in Homestead before/after.

Air boat rides are a lot of fun but are pricey if you just want to see an Alligator or two. They are located West of Miami on SR 41, a/k/a Tamiami Trail.

To rent a bike, Peterson's Harley-Davidson. They have two stores--north and south. South is probably better stocked with rentals as it has more square-feet of space.

Space Coast: I defer to someone more local. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks- by "do" KW I mean, get a sense of the place, drink some beer, sit on a beach-maybe a sunset sail. Not sure if im 2 wheeling or 4 wheeling down, Wife needs some surgery and her backs a bit wonky so may have to car it-cheers for the advice so far-some of them online bargains are pretty nasty

 

Sounds like you are packing allot into her Birthday! Barbara and I just got back from a cruise last month. We left from Fort Lauderdale. If that is the port you are leaving from, we recommend Lago Mar Hotel. It is ON the beach....great place (I don't know the price since her family paid). Key West from there? Leave early...have a beer at the usual places....drive back...been there done that (Get a t-shirt). Kennedy Space Center....5-6 hour drive North. Go another time. Take an air boat ride.....sit on the beach. Enjoy the cruise. Order a Carib Beer onboard.....Tell the bartender "Give me a Carib. NFL."


Chuck the mensh

 

NFL indeed, fruit is for salad, not beer :-)

We are leaving from Port of Miami, never been to FLA so trying to cream the highlights. Youd think a Carribean cruise would be a nice bd gift but I need to get some me time while i'm there too!

 

So, you can stay at Douglas House or Andrews Inn in KW. (I designed my personal pool at home based on the cocktail bench in the pool at Douglas House.)

At night you can walk, cab, or rickshaw Duval Street and tne restaurants. If you want, there are plenty of party boats for drift fishing, there's a ferry to Fort Jefferson/Dry Tortugas (awesome day back in history), Fury Watersports has wave-runner rentals and sunset cruises, or you can drive down and rent scooters to ride around the island. You should eat at least one meal at Conch Republic for fresh local seafood, and for more upscale dining, A&B Lobster House.

On your way down, don't forget that one of the top ten beaches in the world is at Bahia Honda State Park. Just 30 miles north of Key West. There are snorkel trips, dive trips and kayak rentals also. Just another idea. DH and I usually camp there for a week with our small boat for under $275 a week. Unheard of in the Keys.

 

My advice may be a bit different than others, but hear me out.
Very near to the Port of Miami, is a place called "South Beach". YES, the hotels are expensive, but subtract the money you were going to spend on a rental car, fuel, etc. and you can stay in one of the trendiest places in the USA. The beach is beautiful, the night-life is unbelievable, there is every kind of food within walking distance. DRIVING in South Florida defies the meaning of the word VACATION. I'm a South Florida transit bus driver, and all day I see tourists stuck in the same BS traffic as me, and I think, "they could be at the beach, sipping a drink, but look where they are instead"...
Enjoy your vacation, cruises are a lot of fun. -Steevo-

 

In Feb you shold find good prices on hotels because it is off season for travel. There are some tourists, but not too many. Tons of restaurants up and down the strip. Stay away from the Hollywood types and you will be fine. Seafood can be expensive, but if you go to the grocery store and but it and have a romantic seafood bake on the beach your Wife might like at and you will get a lot more for your money. Try Zatarans low Country boil spices, shrimp, corn on the cobb, scallops, onions, popatos and drawn butter you both will be in heaven. Pop open a couple of coronas and you are set! You can make your fire with palm leaves or just get charcoal from the grocery store. If you buy some thick foil you can avoid having to use a pot. Place over the hot coals and cover with sand. 30-40 minutes later you are ready to grub. That is what My Wife and I do......it works and I get LAID!!!!!!
D

 

I just read CBUDS response to you, I was about to give you pretty well the same advice so go with that. Have fun.

 

Steevo-is South Beach that much nicer than plain old Miami Beach? Dude, im from the "bush"-anything to me with sunshine and sand is outstanding! Hotels are quite a bit cheaper in plain old Miami Beach and supposedly you can ride the bus (maybe your bus!) up and down the strip