Bus (public transportation) in Key West About This Page:

[Marv]

I posted this in the DCL section, but I'm not getting any information from anyone who has actually used public transportation. Has anyone taken the bus? I'm debating whether to do the old town trolley or just walk when we go in August. If it was just DH and I, we would walk. Our youngest DS (age 13) has asthma and had a hard time with walking a lot in hot weather when we were in Mazatlan in June. I think all the exercise in poor quality air actually started to set off an asthma attack which we countered with meds (he hasn't had exercise induced asthma in the past.) These are the only things we really want to see on the trolley route and I'm not really sure it'd be worth the 100.00 plus dollars to take the trolley vs. walking:
Stop 1: Mallory Sq.
Stop 3: Get some key lime pie, stop into sloppy joe's, pirate soul museum
Stop 4: Margaritaville, oldest house museum
Stop 5: possibly lighthouse museum
Stop 10: southern most point

I've pulled up all the maps. If it weren't for stop 10 (southern most point), I think it would be an easy walk. I've read it's only 1 1/4 miles from port to southern most point but then it's a mile and 1/4 back! I'd read in PP book it costs .75 for the bus. I wondered if we could walk to the things I've mentioned above and then just take the bus back? Or, I saw on good morning America they have people who ride bikes and have 2 seaters for you to ride in. Anyone ever done that? If so, any idea of the cost? OR would it just be better for us to do the trolley. My kids aren't really psyched to do the trolley, they'd rather stay on the ship, but I guess I'd like them to see a little of Key West. The trolley with the 5 stops would take at least 4 hours and that's if we only spent 30 minutes at the 5 stops. The kids would rather only be gone a couple of hours, I think, which we might be able to do if we walked and took the bus back.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. It's tough for me to determine if the walking would be too much when I've never seen the town. Or maybe we should just leave the kids on board being they don't want to do it anyway. I can't decide!!

[rescuesk]

When we did Key West, we walked. It's a fairly easy walk, BUT it is very hot and humid, and that may be an issue for your son. I have never taken the bus, but I'm sure you can take it one way.

We decided not to take the trolley because we wanted to do things at our own pace. We had lunch in Margaritaville, which was air conditioned and cool. The lighthouse was cool inside, but not air conditioned, and 88 steps to the top. The view is wonderful, though, if you can do the climb!

IMHO, I would skip the bikes. It's not a very long walk, and I think the extra anxiety of having the bikes, riding in traffic and trying to find a place to secure them would be more hassle than it's worth.

If the boys don't want to go, I think I would feel safe leaving them on board. We left our DS on board at Castaway Cay (he was older than 13, but I think your older boy is 16?) because he wanted to sleep in! First of all, you are not far away from the ship at all if you need to get back. You literally can see the port from all the places you mentioned. Also, cell service was great all over the island, so if they needed, they could call you. And, of course, there is plenty to do on the ship while you are in port, including movies, food, swimming, more food, the teen club, and, oh, did I mention food?

I know this hasn't really answered your question, but I hope I shed some light on it. If he does opt to go with, keep his inhaler close at hand. Also, keep him well-hydrated, carry water, wear a hat, maybe even invest in a misting fan. There's alot of small shops and stores that you can duck into for some cool air and a/c. Margaritaville is air conditioned and a cool place for lunch.

Key West is an awesome town! I hope the boys decide they want to go, it's something they should see!

[Marv]

Originally Posted by rescuesk

When we did Key West, we walked. It's a fairly easy walk, BUT it is very hot and humid, and that may be an issue for your son. I have never taken the bus, but I'm sure you can take it one way.

We decided not to take the trolley because we wanted to do things at our own pace. We had lunch in Margaritaville, which was air conditioned and cool. The lighthouse was cool inside, but not air conditioned, and 88 steps to the top. The view is wonderful, though, if you can do the climb!

IMHO, I would skip the bikes. It's not a very long walk, and I think the extra anxiety of having the bikes, riding in traffic and trying to find a place to secure them would be more hassle than it's worth.

If the boys don't want to go, I think I would feel safe leaving them on board. We left our DS on board at Castaway Cay (he was older than 13, but I think your older boy is 16?) because he wanted to sleep in! First of all, you are not far away from the ship at all if you need to get back. You literally can see the port from all the places you mentioned. Also, cell service was great all over the island, so if they needed, they could call you. And, of course, there is plenty to do on the ship while you are in port, including movies, food, swimming, more food, the teen club, and, oh, did I mention food?

I know this hasn't really answered your question, but I hope I shed some light on it. If he does opt to go with, keep his inhaler close at hand. Also, keep him well-hydrated, carry water, wear a hat, maybe even invest in a misting fan. There's alot of small shops and stores that you can duck into for some cool air and a/c. Margaritaville is air conditioned and a cool place for lunch.

Key West is an awesome town! I hope the boys decide they want to go, it's something they should see!

Hey Sue! I had taken notes off your TR when you did your walking tour!

The bikes I meant were the ones where the guy pedals the bike and people sit in back on bench seating and just ride. I wasn't going to bike around.

I would feel fine leaving the kids on the ship being they are 13 and 17 and LOVE the clubs, but I wanted them to do some "touristy" things as a family. They will spend enough time in the clubs, believe me. We couldn't get them out last year when we cruised! I didn't think of the cell service thing though, good point. I may just have them come to a couple things and then we could walk them back to the ship and go back to southern most point. I know it's silly to want to do that, but it's such a good "tourist" thing to do and will be a fun scrapbook page! Plus, it's fun to say you've been to the southern most point!!

I do have a couple little misting fans from our WDW days that I forgot I had, thanks for reminding me!

[wheatenwalker]

I dont know if your son 'pre treats' his asthma with his inhaler but that might help prevent him from having an asthma attack-
my older son has asthma too ( has pretty much out grown it) and that helped a lot if we were as proactive as possible -
off topic, I know, but the nurse in me has to escape

[Sue M.]

We are here now! Don't know when you plan on being here, but it is hot. We did the Conch Train which was fun, and informative. I think it was $35 per person. However, you don't get on and off. Last night we did a sunset cruise. Good luck.

[Marv]

Originally Posted by wheatenwalker

I dont know if your son 'pre treats' his asthma with his inhaler but that might help prevent him from having an asthma attack-
my older son has asthma too ( has pretty much out grown it) and that helped a lot if we were as proactive as possible -
off topic, I know, but the nurse in me has to escape

Oh yes, he does an inhaler twice a day when he has no obvious symptoms and we have an asthma action plan of what to do if he gets symptoms start. Usually it's just when he gets a cold, so the attack in Mazatlan kind of caught us off guard being he didn't have a cold. I appreciate your post though, I know there are a lot of people (my son's best friend included) that don't have asthma action plans.

Originally Posted by Sue M.

We are here now! Don't know when you plan on being here, but it is hot. We did the Conch Train which was fun, and informative. I think it was $35 per person. However, you don't get on and off. Last night we did a sunset cruise. Good luck.

Thanks, it's no fun getting overheated. Being I can't seem to find out for sure whether we can catch the bus from southernmost point, it might be best to just do the trolley.