Florida Keys Lodging in April

[Pellice]

I am helping to organize a birdwatching trip for 6-8 friends to the Florida Keys next April. The centerpiece of the trip will be a 3 day boat trip to the Dry Tortugas, which is famous as a birding destination at that time of year. But - the boat departs before sunrise from Key West, and also returns there.

Now, our group is not really interested in Key West itself - early AM birding and night life are hard to reconcile once you are past age 25 - but we can't really be more than an hour away in order to catch the boat. Are there any good locations to try to avoid the higher priced Key West accommodations, when we'd only be using them briefly? Also, is Airbnb realistic for 6-8 people?

We do plan to do additional birding in the Keys, but probably not near Key West itself.

 

[cathy63]

Hmmm. Not sure if this helps or not as we only did a day trip to Dry Tortugas in late March this year. We stayed at the Albury Court hotel, which was reasonably priced, and walked over to the ferry dock in the early morning and back that night. We had a great day birding and snorkeling in a beautiful place.

 

[Red Badger]

Airbnb should be a worthwhile search. Use the filters tab to book larger property, beds, baths, etc.

If anyone in your group is a military retiree, the Navy Lodge has basic on-base rooms, and is a great option (low cost, safe, decent). Also has a great oceanfront pub a couple hundred yards from the hotel.

It does require an ID card and may limit number of rooms per ID card holder.

 

[Breedlove]

If you want the Keys contact Susie Rodnon . She is all over the net . tell her what you want , how much you are willing to pay and make her work for you . The Keys are kind of a good ole boy system . The farther you are from KW or Duval Street the cheaper it is but still there are good deals all over at that time of year.




http://keywestkey.com/

 

[Teacher Terry]

With that many people you could rent a house.

 

[Pellice]

Thanks for all of these responses! I have already started looking. Breedlove, I thought that later in April would still be a top-priced time in Key West. Is that not the case?

The Albury Hotel looked very nice, I will call them today.

Teacher Terry, I did find some houses on VBRN - are there other places to look for houses?

I really didn't think AirBNB rented for that many, will have to check.

What islands/towns with lodging are within an hour of Key West, if anyone knows off the top of his/her head?

 

[donheff]

Most keys are within an hour of Key West early in the morning. I would look into a VRBO or AirB&B on Big Pine Key or Marathon if you don't want to stay on Key West. There should even be a fair number of house rentals in the smaller keys further west from Big Pine - just look at VRBO to get an idea. But, I recommend you also look at Key West properties. After your birding you can walk to restaurants and other attractions. And you will be in easy boat travel to the some of the uninhabited sections east of the naval air station where there is probably good birding. I rode my bike through those areas many times and saw a lot of birds.

 

[firemediceric]

Maybe a little further away from Key West than you'd like, but we often stay at Ocean Pointe Suites in Tavernier just south of Key Largo. Back in July we were able to get a 2 bedroom condo that sleeps 6 with the sofa bed for $160 per night.

If your travels allow, great birding at the T.J. Goodwin Preserve aka The Stick Marsh to the west of Sebastian, FL