Went to Islamorada in the Keys for our honeymoon this past week and I was not impressed at all… I could write a narative about the trip, but to save yall the time Ill hit on a couple of key aggrivating points.
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Bass Pro Shop on the Keys only carried the high priced items. Wanted a new spinning real but couldnt find one for under $100. Needed a bait bucket (the yellow kind you hang off the side of a boat to keep the shrimp alive), but all they had was litarally a plastic bucket with a lid. And not to mention the staff was very rud and not helpful when I asked about the fishing down there.
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Cheapest charter for flats fishing was $375 for four hours!!! WTF!!! Its January, Its 55 degrees and cloudy, lower your rates!!! I saw the same boats sit in the same slips all week and never go out. You would think they would discount in the off season just to make some cash.
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Cheapest meal all week was $55 for the two of us to split the entree, a salad, dessert and one beer. Most expencive meal was $120 for two entree, and one beer. It was $5 a bottle for Corona everywhere you looked…
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Sales tax in the Keys is 12.5% Are you Fing kidding!!! That is almost twice what it is in SC…
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The resort we stayed at was not all inclusive, nor was it private, as they advertised… House keeping was $15 extra a day, paddle board and hobie cat rentals were around $65 an hour, plus $35 for “instructions”. The place had no bar or food on site, but you could walk accross the street and spend $55 or more to eat. People from around the neighboorhood would just walk their dogs all over the “private” beach and use the chairs and dock for their enjoyment. And some clothing company outa Europe did a photo shoot all week taking up most of the resort.
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Had to call to get a fishin license (cant get one in person anywhere) and then it was mailed to my house in SC. How does that help me fish in FL when the license takes five days to mail to SC?
Dont get me wrong the Keys are a beautiful place and
christmas of 2006 we went for 8 days and stayed on duck key, rented a nice waterfront home on a free flowing canal with an inground pool,ate out at all the nice places, drank too much, went on glass bottom boat tour,i split a sailfish charter and caught 4,spent a day in key west, went snorkeling at bahia honda, took my kayak and caught crazy amounts and all types of fish including bonefish,snapper and grouper. wife went shopping a couple times, went to robbies and ww sportsman,did all kinds of tourist stuff, caught bunches of fish off the bridges, including gas we spent $2000. we were there during their “high season” of christmas to new years .
i thought it was pretty reasonable, cheaper than the same vacation would be at folly beach.
if you’re not a fisherman or water person then the keys is’nt that great.
no need to charter inshore in the keys, if you can’t catch fish there you should give up.
Jeff Davis is my President
Left Charleston Friday Morning (1/1/10)
Went to the Gator Bowl
Tail Gated and Ate Out
One Night in Jacksonville
Spent the Day in Miami (1/2/10)
Ate Out Every Meal
One Night in Key Largo
Five Nights in Islamorada (1/3/10 to 1/7/10)
Made breakfast and lunch in the room, bought from Winn Dixie
Ate out every night for Dinner
Didnt go out drinkin, brought our own beer and liquor from home
Bought a Fishin License and Fished from the Beach and a Kayak
Took trips to Geological Site, Long Key State Park, Wild Bird Rescue, Theater of the Sea, and WW Sportsman
Got back to Charleston on Friday Evening (1/8/10)
Total trip including everything from Friday to Friday cost just slightly over $3000. And we were there durring the official first week of the “off season”. I still think it shoulda been cheaper, but maybe Im just a tight wad…
“Pura Vida”
Smitty
India '07
15’ Alum. Fisher w/ Mercury 25HD
12’ Tarpon 120 w/ Two Arms and a Paddle
agree its pricey, but the price of paradise is seldom cheap. I have felt the same way there plenty of times. rent a houseboat out and stay away from the madness.
congrats on the marriage!
www.flyfishingsc.com
Go in the summer…the prices are way less. You were there with the snow birds during “the season”.
Really… that sounds crazy to me. I know that the placed I stayed raises there price by $100 a night durring the summer. Do the restaurants and charter boats lower their prices durring the summer?
“Pura Vida”
Smitty
India '07
15’ Alum. Fisher w/ Mercury 25HD
12’ Tarpon 120 w/ Two Arms and a Paddle
Rent condo from FRBO with a slip, I usually pay 1,100.00 per week during that time in Largo, Islamarado is a little more. Take your skiff,fill w/ food ,ice,booze,bikes or whatever.
Get another couple to share the ride and expenses,if the fishin doesn’t work out take the girls booze cruzin,if the winds blowin hit the canals good sight seeing and mangrove fishin. Go to waterfront restaurants for lunch we usually cook dinner or get take out, pretty tired after all day on the boat.
Sorry about your bad expierence, resorts can get pretty pricey and have a lot of rules, I’ve been going once or twice a year for the last 10 years and allways have a blast, remember the Keys are a very diverse area upper, middle and my favorite lower keys like Summerland,Cudjoe are really quiet however the only rent monthly in the lower keys.
Give it another go its a beautiful place !!
dinnertime,
Thanks for the advise. If we do go again we will either do just that or we will camp at Long Key State Park and bring my boat and kayaks. Its only $35 a night for ocean front camp sites that are elevated off the ground on wooden decks with showers and restrooms. With the money I save on camping and bringing my own boat eating out wont feel so bad, haha.
“Pura Vida”
Smitty
India '07
15’ Alum. Fisher w/ Mercury 25HD
12’ Tarpon 120 w/ Two Arms and a Paddle