# Which Route To Go To Florida Key



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

I am planning for a trip to Long Key State Park in Florida. I'm coming from Texas on I-10. Once I pass Tallahassee there are three major routes to get to Florida Key.

1) Head to Jacksonville on I-10 and switch to 95 heading south. This route will take me through Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

2) Break off I-10 to head south on I-75 and use Florida Turnpike to pass by St. Cloud before getting on 95 to go through Miami.

3) Take I-75 as in (2), but instead of using Florida Turnpike as in (2), I'll go all the way to Naples and head east on Alligator Alley to go through Weston and Miami.

Which one of these three routes would you recommend? and for what reasons? Which one would be the safest, least traffic and most reliable route to take?

I'll tow my 25RSS and plan to drive at 60 mph.

Thanks


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## sunnybrook29 (Oct 7, 2009)

When ya going ? Right now North Florida has many wild fires in North Florida and I-95 is closed in several stretches . Any one going to Bike Week in Daytona may want to plot several routes in case of closings . I was ran off of I-95 yesterday . No problem as I have ran the back roads in Florida for fifty years .
Tangooutback , also look at route 19-27 just past the Tallahassee exits . Take it down south almost to Tampa and then switch over to I-75 and Alligator Alley to So. Florida . Nice four lane divided hi-way , no traffic , small towns . Thats the way that I go to South Florida when I have a auto auction in Miami or Ft. Laud.
I hate I-75 !!! Did I say that I hate I-75 ?


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## Bob in Virginia (Jul 15, 2010)

Tangooutback, I grew up in Florida, so have some experience with the roads. I would take I-10 to I-75 to Turnpike and take that all the way to the end, then I-95 through Miami. Why? Turnpike is good controlled road with nice rest areas. It is a toll road, but worth it IMHO. I-75 traffic moves along pretty fast, but you won't be on there too long. When I get home I'll look up an alternative route for you.

Alligator Alley is just too remote if you were to have problems along the way.


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

sunnybrook29 said:


> When ya going ? Right now North Florida has many wild fires in North Florida and I-95 is closed in several stretches . Any one going to Bike Week in Daytona may want to plot several routes in case of closings . I was ran off of I-95 yesterday . No problem as I have ran the back roads in Florida for fifty years .
> Tangooutback , also look at route 19-27 just past the Tallahassee exits . Take it down south almost to Tampa and then switch over to I-75 and Alligator Alley to So. Florida . Nice four lane divided hi-way , no traffic , small towns . Thats the way that I go to South Florida when I have a auto auction in Miami or Ft. Laud.
> I hate I-75 !!! Did I say that I hate I-75 ?


It is going to be end of April...around the 28th or 29th.

I don't know what it is like with small towns in Florida, in Texas small towns it is basically speed trap. Local cops/sheriff would ambush out-of-town motorists to generate income for their department.


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## jcat67 (Aug 8, 2008)

Bob in Virginia said:


> Tangooutback, I grew up in Florida, so have some experience with the roads. I would take I-10 to I-75 to Turnpike and take that all the way to the end, then I-95 through Miami. Why? Turnpike is good controlled road with nice rest areas. It is a toll road, but worth it IMHO. I-75 traffic moves along pretty fast, but you won't be on there too long. When I get home I'll look up an alternative route for you.
> 
> Alligator Alley is just too remote if you were to have problems along the way.


X2
I have lived here all my life and this is the route I would take as well. The turnpike which is where I-75 splits off at Wildwood becomes a toll road and pulling the extra axles will not be cheap, but it is definitely the less traveled, but not remote. Plenty of rest areas as mentioned and doesn't hit much traffic until near the end in south Florida, which is where you would hit it on any of the routes. You might want to search and see what the tolls would cost. You could always take the Turnpike to Ft. Pierce or Jupiter and jump over on I-95 there, but you would be getting traffic head aches to save $$.


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## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

We went down the west coast of Florida this past summer when we visited Key West from California, alligator alley included! We told our GPS to avoid toll roads, otherwise you'll get nickeled and dimed to death (really dollars). We left Florida heading up their east coast.

We got to see so much of Florida this way, but we had the time, and it was a great time!


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

For what its worth, we took the turnpike last week and it was $7.50 for a truck/trailer combo. We got off prior to the next major toll plaza past Orland. Not sure how many there are between Orlando and where it ends south of there. We did exit onto I-75 from I-10 but what we found is that with 3 lanes of traffic, we just got in behind a semi and followed all the way to I-10 there and back. Traffic on I-75 is as crazy as they're stating. Wasn't expecting the Autobahn in Florida.

Also, there is some MAJOR construction on I-12 just as it splits from I-10 in Baton Rouge and if you hit it anywhere near a rush hour it will be a bear. It narrows down to 2 VERY narrow lanes. We straddled both lanes of traffic when we went through.


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

TexanThompsons said:


> For what its worth, we took the turnpike last week and it was $7.50 for a truck/trailer combo. We got off prior to the next major toll plaza past Orland. Not sure how many there are between Orlando and where it ends south of there. We did exit onto I-75 from I-10 but what we found is that with 3 lanes of traffic, we just got in behind a semi and followed all the way to I-10 there and back. Traffic on I-75 is as crazy as they're stating. Wasn't expecting the Autobahn in Florida.
> 
> Also, there is some MAJOR construction on I-12 just as it splits from I-10 in Baton Rouge and if you hit it anywhere near a rush hour it will be a bear. It narrows down to 2 VERY narrow lanes. We straddled both lanes of traffic when we went through.


Is the I-75 as bad as our I-45 Gulf Freeway near the 610 loop in South Houston?


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

raynardo said:


> We went down the west coast of Florida this past summer when we visited Key West from California, alligator alley included! We told our GPS to avoid toll roads, otherwise you'll get nickeled and dimed to death (really dollars). We left Florida heading up their east coast.
> 
> We got to see so much of Florida this way, but we had the time, and it was a great time!


Is the I-95 along Florida east coast very scenic?

How was Alligator Alley? was it fast moving?


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## sunnybrook29 (Oct 7, 2009)

I do not have a dog in this fight , but if I did , I would not put a man that wants to drive sixty miles an hour on I-75 . They tend to drive at least 60 in the break down lane .
Alligator Alley , remote , no way ! Allstate Insurance has Courtesy Trucks patrolling and the services are a not as far apart as driving thru Texas . 
I-95 is not scenic at all , just pine trees and billboards .
There is a way to look up the amount of the tolls , it will be a lot more than $7.50 . I do like traveling on the turnpike when I am tired and sleepy other than that I tend to travel the , not back roads , lets say the road less traveled . 
Why go on a vacation and look at Interstate hiway for 1500 miles ?


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## TexanThompsons (Apr 21, 2009)

Tangooutback said:


> For what its worth, we took the turnpike last week and it was $7.50 for a truck/trailer combo. We got off prior to the next major toll plaza past Orland. Not sure how many there are between Orlando and where it ends south of there. We did exit onto I-75 from I-10 but what we found is that with 3 lanes of traffic, we just got in behind a semi and followed all the way to I-10 there and back. Traffic on I-75 is as crazy as they're stating. Wasn't expecting the Autobahn in Florida.
> 
> Also, there is some MAJOR construction on I-12 just as it splits from I-10 in Baton Rouge and if you hit it anywhere near a rush hour it will be a bear. It narrows down to 2 VERY narrow lanes. We straddled both lanes of traffic when we went through.


Is the I-75 as bad as our I-45 Gulf Freeway near the 610 loop in South Houston?
[/quote]

Indeed...think more of the Hardy toll road as far as speed.


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your advice. I am counting days now..


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## Wolfpackers (May 31, 2007)

Just did Florida in 31 days. We were camped in the Ft. Myers area prior to our Key West drive. Park Ranger highly recommended hwy 41 over I-75. It has been resurfaced in the past year or two. It was very scenic, goes right thru the Everglades and you will see many gators on the west side where the sawgrass is and you will see the different areas of the glades....no it doesn't all look the same. Don't drive it at night as I understand an occasional gator will cross the road.

If you do take this route to the Keys, turn right on Hwy 997 (Krome Ave) on the east side of Hwy 41 and take it all the way thru Homestead and it'll put you on Hwy 1 headed into the Keys.

Have fun, whichever route you choose.


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## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Wolfpackers said:


> Just did Florida in 31 days. We were camped in the Ft. Myers area prior to our Key West drive. Park Ranger highly recommended hwy 41 over I-75. It has been resurfaced in the past year or two. It was very scenic, goes right thru the Everglades and you will see many gators on the west side where the sawgrass is and you will see the different areas of the glades....no it doesn't all look the same. Don't drive it at night as I understand an occasional gator will cross the road.
> 
> If you do take this route to the Keys, turn right on Hwy 997 (Krome Ave) on the east side of Hwy 41 and take it all the way thru Homestead and it'll put you on Hwy 1 headed into the Keys.
> 
> Have fun, whichever route you choose.


How fast do you drive on Hwy 41? are there rest areas along the way? how far in between service stations?

One thing I am concerned about while driving on remote route is security. Is there anything I should do to prepare for the worst?


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## thef00l2 (Jul 10, 2011)

I wouldn't recommend taking the trailer on Krome. Too many stoplights. etc. I live in Hollywood, FL and go down to the Keys and over to Ft Myers several times a year. If you want to pay the least amount in tolls with the easiest drive, then either come down i-75 on the west coast, cross over alligator alley and take the turnpike south to the turnpike extension (homestead extension) down thru florida city and us-1. or take I-95 south to 595 and take the turnpike south from there to the homestead extension. you can take 95 south until it becomes us-1 but it's not the easiest drive going thru miami, not to mention traffic takes a bad turn for the worse when 95 meets the turnpike at the golden glades interchange.

don't forget miami-dade county turnpike from the dade county line south to florida city is either sunpass transponder or toll by plate.


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