Florida keys with our lab?

[kimbersmom]

We're planning a road trip later this year through the Florida Keys, and it looks like Kimber will be coming with us. Although some things will obviously be out of bounds, I'm hopeful there will be enough dog-friendly places/restaurants/hotels to make this viable. Does anyone have Keys' experience to share? (I've looked at the BringFido-type sites but the info is pretty old. I'm hoping for some first-hand experience and recommendations.)

Thanks!

[arentspowell]

We're planning a road trip later this year through the Florida Keys, and it looks like Kimber will be coming with us. Although some things will obviously be out of bounds, I'm hopeful there will be enough dog-friendly places/restaurants/hotels to make this viable. Does anyone have Keys' experience to share? (I've looked at the BringFido-type sites but the info is pretty old. I'm hoping for some first-hand experience and recommendations.) Thanks!

Growing up in South Florida, we went to the keys a whole bunch when I was a kid. The keys I'm most familiar with are Key Largo and Key West. We actually went to Key West 2 years ago as a destination on a cruise. It's very walkable and dog friendly, lots of restaurants with outside seating on Duval Street. Went to one bar right off Duval that let dogs inside, think it was called the Porch. If you make it all the way down to Key West, there are tons of chickens roaming the streets and Polydactyl cats. Definitely a fun place but be prepared for the heat, even later in the year it gets quite hot.

[LucyTudeOn4Feet]

We tried to find a dog friendly hotel in Key West about 8 years ago, and could not. They do have a very nice dog park, and a doggy beach. There is a campground just onto Stock Island (which is immediately before you drive into Key West proper) called Boyd's that allows dogs, which is where we ended up, and we took Lucy swimming off the dock there (when no one was using it for boats) and no one complained. They have outside and inside spots, and the outside ones are literally waterside, which was pretty nice. They have a nice pool. They are pricey, as everything is down there.