Camping or such?

Howdy yall! I'm looking for a place down in the keys to do some camping or such. Basicly, I'm looking for a cheap cheap place to stay while we do some diving from our own boat. I've checked all the state parks, they are full for the dates we have availiable. (Christmas this year). Any ideas?

You gonna' drag your own boat all the way down from western Kentucky? Wow!

Your profile doesn't say anything about your experience level. You ever done this before? Boating & diving the Gulf Stream can be challenging. Big mistake made by some with their own boat is not leaving anyone on it while the others dive.

But to your question: I considered camping when I first stated going out there, but unless you're in an RV, I didn't see it appealing. There are plenty of economy hotels that offer boat ramps, i.e. Hungry Pelican/Sunset Cove in Key Largo, etc.

The operators there are cheap enough, especially if you have your own tanks, and they know the sites. Just a thought...

Yea, we found we get he same gas mileage with or without the boat behind us! Guess it does help having that gas guzzler!

We've logged over 200 dives in our own boat around the keys, mostly around Marathon, so we have done this a few times before. Most of the time, we sleep on the boat, so no problem with accomidations. This time a couple of wives want to go, but they don't seem to like the idea of sleeping on the boat, so hence the campground question. Also, we'll probably stay a little over a week and that a little too long for small boat quarters.

Cheap?

Hmm 1 week trip.

A 2 tank dive trip a day for 6 days, @ $300 X 4 divers = @ $1200

-OR-

Extra fuel, @ $300, Couple of fill cards, @ $100 = @$400 + a little extra work hauling the boat, ect.

You wanna hear cheap? I've done this trip with 2 loaves of bread, peanut butter and Jelly, and some sliced turkey!!!

Hmm, I think my wife is right, I AM a cheapskate!

Mark

PS yea, we left our boat for the first year or so before we wised up and started making sure to invite a non-diver to stay with the boat!

Okay, sounds like you know what you're doing. Good deal.

Did you try all the govt parks (Everglades, Pennekamp, Long Key, Bahia Honda)? Besides that, there are a number of private campgrounds throughout the Keys. American Outdoors @ MM 98, Knights Key, and KOA in a few locations. These come to mind off the top of my head. Even though its kinda late planning and Christmas is peak demand, you'll be able to find some accommodation. Many of the businesses here are still suffering from the hurricanes (which physically missed the area). You may be able to find an inexpensive motel, if that's something you're interested in.

Daphne

Contact ReserveAmerica.com. That's who handles all camping rez for Florida State Parks. They can also tell you what is still open in which parks.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/
http://www.reserveamerica.com/client/client_fl.jsp
Hope this helps.

k4sdi:

Howdy yall! I'm looking for a place down in the keys to do some camping or such. Basicly, I'm looking for a cheap cheap place to stay while we do some diving from our own boat. I've checked all the state parks, they are full for the dates we have availiable. (Christmas this year). Any ideas?

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Check out Key Largo Kampground.

Invest 25 bucks in a "trailer life" book. They have nearly every campground in the country listed. When you deciede about where you want to be for the night, start calling and negotiate. It worked for us. We pull our camper down when we go to the keys as well. In fact, we spent about 3 &1/2 weeks there camping & diving last summer. If you are not watching, you will find two campgrounds side by side. One wanting $116 per night and the other one wanting $30.00 a night. This is no joke, I told the lady "I don't want to buy your campground, I just want to spend the night". Her reply was "We all charge this much" When I checked at the campground next to hers, I got it for $29.99 and that included sewer and cable as well. I would say the typical price for a campground spot outside of a state park, but still in the keys, with electric and water was 50-75 bucks. Like Dandy Don said, you can find hotels cheaper.

If you know where (which keys) you are wanting to stay, PM me and I will look in my trailer life to find you some phone numbers.

Knights Key has campsites with dockage for your boat at the site. It's not cheap but its a good location for diving with close access to the reef. It has other less expensive sites that are allowed to use the trailer ramp. The sites with dockage are pricey but the convenience of not having to put the boat in and take it out every day make it worthwhile. I don't think there is anything cheap left in the keys, except for the state parks.

http://www.keysdirectory.com/knightskeycampground/