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Hi, I have been reading here for a while and starting posting some. I have already met some fun BNers in Tallahassee in Feb. and hope to meet many more. I am going on a cruise and will stop in Key West. (First time). We won't have much time so I was wondering if the Trails of Margaritaville tour would be good or is this something I could do by myself? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks to everyone who makes this board so much fun!
Barbara
FINS UP!!!!

We haven't done the Trails of Margarita tour, but we've been to all the great bars numerous times...start at the Chart Room (just like JB did), work your way up Front/Duval & hit Hog's Breath, Sloppy Joe's, Rick's Tree Bar (best bloody mary, sorry Louie's), make a right down Greene for Capt. Tony's, continue up the block (a while) down to M'Ville of course...I think I could go on & on...don't forget Schooner's Wharf Bar, and if you get all the way down there, hit Louie's Backyard!! My hands down favorite bar: The Green Parrot on Whitehead. ENJOY!!!

I am not sure what "not too much time means" but you probably want to stay Mallory Square end which unfortunately means no Louies Backyard (I love that place).

There are the tourist spots like Schooner Warf and the Chart Room that are really cool. Get a Papa Doble at Captain Tony's Saloon andwork your way down a block and over to the Green Parrot which is nothing more than a glorified locals joint but there are some really cool people there.

If time permits . . . walk up Caroline and accross from the Schooner Warf (which is nice for the music and ambience but it really has become another t - shirt store for tourists that sells beer) hit Pepe's for the cheapest beer on island (1$ Yeungling's) and the food there is by far the best I know . . . Have Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pepe's is the oldest restaurant in the keys and has by far the best grouper sandwich I have ever had.

First of all Welcome I'm Nancy!!!! Went on this Trails of Margarita tour this year. Really a lot of fun.

Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

SWB and Chart room touristy?? LOL. Hardly.

The Trails tour is cool. Yes , it is a bar tour you could do on your own. But the tour will give you much more that you would not find on your own. A lot of cool little JB facts that not a lot of people know, the location of Shrimp Boat Sound, Jimmys first KW house, another house on Caroline St. that belonged to some crazy woman, a special seceret as to something really cool the bartenders at Mville keep behind the bar, and more.

The owner of the tour has very special ties to Jimmy. So alot of the tales are told first hand. All the guides are true parrotheads. One has even been adopted by the Cincy PH club.

If you go and get Tim or Frank as your guide be sure to ask for some magic at the end of the tour

Trails of Margaritaville tour is a must!

Quint wrote:SWB and Chart room touristy?? LOL. Hardly.

The Trails tour is cool. Yes , it is a bar tour you could do on your own. But the tour will give you much more that you would not find on your own. A lot of cool little JB facts that not a lot of people know, the location of Shrimp Boat Sound, Jimmys first KW house, another house on Caroline St. that belonged to some crazy woman, a special seceret as to something really cool the bartenders at Mville keep behind the bar, and more.

The owner of the tour has very special ties to Jimmy. So alot of the tales are told first hand. All the guides are true parrotheads. One has even been adopted by the Cincy PH club.

If you go and get Tim or Frank as your guide be sure to ask for some magic at the end of the tour

tho the term "some magic" in KW now, is not the same as it was in the mid-70s...

Oh I almost forgot. When you step off the ship onto the excursion area look for a short guy holding a sign that says Ghosts and Legends. Stop by and say hi

What day is your ship coming in? What ship is it?

Karacal wrote:Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

If you only have that little then I wouldn't do the tour . . . find Caroline Street (not hard) and walk up it until you hit Pepe's (not far) and grab beer . . . look accross Caroline and you will see an old beat up bar or two (one of them is the Schooner Warf) and a beat up white shack somewhere adajacent to it in the parking lot . . . that is Shrimp Boat where Jimmy sometimes records . . . get in a taxi (not alot of money) and tell him/ her to floor it down Simonton (Duval has too many tourists and will take too long) and around the corner to Louie's Back Yard and next door to that great establishment (or a couple houses down I forget) is Jimmy's old pad . . . one of the locals will show it to you . . . you don't need to spend money to see it.

Then race back up Duval and stop in Margaritaville if you must - I don't recommend it and then hit the Green Parrot and Captain Tony's like I posted earlier around the back and down a block or two . . .

There - Key West in a nutshell . . . . you miss Smather's Beach (overrated), Southernmost Point (locals p*** on it - not worth it . . . trust me, I lived there for awhile) and Fort Zachory which is cool but hey, you only have so much time.

Quint wrote:Oh I almost forgot. When you step off the ship onto the excursion area look for a short guy holding a sign that says Ghosts and Legends. Stop by and say hi

What day is your ship coming in? What ship is it?

We are sailing in Oct. I think we stop in Key West on a Monday. The ship is Carnival's Celebration. All the tips are very helpful. Can't wait!

I also recommend the walk up Caroline Street to Pepe's.

Avoid Duval Street, as well as Margaritaville.

Don't forget to stop at BO's Fish Wagon on Caroline Steet. A favorite of Jimmy's. Jimmys recording studio is just around the corner. (See the picture below). After lunch at BO's stop into the fish maket next store and pick up some stone crab claws to go.They are amazing!!

if you want the best Cuban food on the island, El Siboney at 900 Catherine, a couple blocks from the Catholic Church and the Hurricane Shrine (easily reached by walking)

Karacal wrote:Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

Sorry, Karacal - the tour starts at 4:00. We were down for a few days in May and missed it as well. Each morning we had the most honest intentions of doing it, but oh well - it's Key West.

Hog's Breath and Captain Tony's are fun; Sloppy Joes and Margaritaville are a little touristy (imagine that). Don't forget to EAT. Great food (shrimp, fish, etc.) especially in the Marina area. However, I believe your ship will be docking at the square, so you might be limited to just an extended "pub crawl" (which is what the tourist area is built for anyway).

Have fun!

zingme wrote:

Karacal wrote:Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

Sorry, Karacal - the tour starts at 4:00. We were down for a few days in May and missed it as well. Each morning we had the most honest intentions of doing it, but oh well - it's Key West.

Hog's Breath and Captain Tony's are fun; Sloppy Joes and Margaritaville are a little touristy (imagine that). Don't forget to EAT. Great food (shrimp, fish, etc.) especially in the Marina area. However, I believe your ship will be docking at the square, so you might be limited to just an extended "pub crawl" (which is what the tourist area is built for anyway).

Have fun!

Apparently Carnival is now offering the tour as an excursion. I will check into it further. Again thanks everyone, great suggestions!!

If you like rum, stop by the Rum Barrel on Greene Street and try the Pyrat XO Reserve. WOW!!. When I was there in April I sat next to the bartender on the flight from Miami to KW. He hooked us up. I wish I could remember his name. KW is the best. Can't wait to go back next year.

drunkpirate66 wrote:

Karacal wrote:Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

If you only have that little then I wouldn't do the tour . . . find Caroline Street (not hard) and walk up it until you hit Pepe's (not far) and grab beer . . . look accross Caroline and you will see an old beat up bar or two (one of them is the Schooner Warf) and a beat up white shack somewhere adajacent to it in the parking lot . . . that is Shrimp Boat where Jimmy sometimes records . . . get in a taxi (not alot of money) and tell him/ her to floor it down Simonton (Duval has too many tourists and will take too long) and around the corner to Louie's Back Yard and next door to that great establishment (or a couple houses down I forget) is Jimmy's old pad . . . one of the locals will show it to you . . . you don't need to spend money to see it.

Then race back up Duval and stop in Margaritaville if you must - I don't recommend it and then hit the Green Parrot and Captain Tony's like I posted earlier around the back and down a block or two . . .

There - Key West in a nutshell . . . . you miss Smather's Beach (overrated), Southernmost Point (locals p*** on it - not worth it . . . trust me, I lived there for awhile) and Fort Zachory which is cool but hey, you only have so much time.

This is a good idea, plus gottagofishin's idea of BO's...the best fish sandwich anywhere ! One time on a cruise that landed in Key West, we rented one of those cute little golf cart that look like VW's. It rained for a short while and we were covered (all the other tourists got wet) . And we zipped around up and down the streets, saw a LOT of stuff. Turned it in and walked up and down Duval shopping and drinking until time to head back to the ship. Or rent scooters.
ok now I can't wait to get back to Key West.

citcat wrote:

drunkpirate66 wrote:

Karacal wrote:Thanks so much everybody! Since it is a cruise we will be in Key West from 7am to 3pm. I wanted to take in as much Buffett stuff as possible. The info posted here will be very helpful. Looking forward to my first time in Key West and know it won't be the last.

If you only have that little then I wouldn't do the tour . . . find Caroline Street (not hard) and walk up it until you hit Pepe's (not far) and grab beer . . . look accross Caroline and you will see an old beat up bar or two (one of them is the Schooner Warf) and a beat up white shack somewhere adajacent to it in the parking lot . . . that is Shrimp Boat where Jimmy sometimes records . . . get in a taxi (not alot of money) and tell him/ her to floor it down Simonton (Duval has too many tourists and will take too long) and around the corner to Louie's Back Yard and next door to that great establishment (or a couple houses down I forget) is Jimmy's old pad . . . one of the locals will show it to you . . . you don't need to spend money to see it.

Then race back up Duval and stop in Margaritaville if you must - I don't recommend it and then hit the Green Parrot and Captain Tony's like I posted earlier around the back and down a block or two . . .

There - Key West in a nutshell . . . . you miss Smather's Beach (overrated), Southernmost Point (locals p*** on it - not worth it . . . trust me, I lived there for awhile) and Fort Zachory which is cool but hey, you only have so much time.

This is a good idea, plus gottagofishin's idea of BO's...the best fish sandwich anywhere ! One time on a cruise that landed in Key West, we rented one of those cute little golf cart that look like VW's. It rained for a short while and we were covered (all the other tourists got wet) . And we zipped around up and down the streets, saw a LOT of stuff. Turned it in and walked up and down Duval shopping and drinking until time to head back to the ship. Or rent scooters.
ok now I can't wait to get back to Key West.

I hate the scooters but only because I lived there. That noise does get to you after awile . . . but they are a necessary survival tool for tourists without much time.

If you want to get truly adventurous get a scooter swing by the cemetery and find the tombstone with the epitaph "Told You I Was Sick" on it . . . that s*** is cool.