Miami to Orlando through Kennedy Space

[GirlMouse]

Hi all, searching for tips on going from Miami to Orlando, or actually more on going from Miami to the Kennedy Space center (from there to Orlando it is pretty clear...)

We will start early Saturday morning from Miami International, and go to Miami Beach for few hours. Then we should start heading north towards Kennedy Space. Any recommendations on where to stay for the night (planning on staying one night somewhere prior to heading to Kennedy Space on Sunday). Should we stay in Fort Lauderdale or somewhere more north?

What is the best route (more scenic) to take from Miami to Kennedy Space Center? I have understood that the route closer to the east beach is much slower than the freeway, but is it worth it to get off the freeway for some parts to drive in the coastal highway a while?

Thanks in advance for any tips...

Ps. also looking for tips on best routes from Orlando to Key West through the Florida west coast. Is it a long drive, probably should stay somewhere for a night, maybe Naples?

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The stretch of coast between Miami and Titusville (Kennedy Space Center) is one of the most heavily developed pieces of real estate in the world. Driving is going to be slow going and finding pristine beaches will be difficult but not impossible. If you really plan to spend half a day at Miami Beach on Saturday, and half a day touring KSC on Sunday, and want to take some time to take a scenic drive, you're going to have to get considerably farther north than Fort Lauderdale on Saturday evening. After you finish at Miami Beach, I'd suggest that you just get on I-95 and boogie north to around Port St Lucie or so. If you get that far and still have some daylight, then nearby Fort Pierce Inlet and Pepper Beach will provide you with a quiet evening on the seashore. Then on Sunday you can take a more relaxed drive north on US-1 (still, it will be built up with traffic and lights) and take advantage of some of the less developed sections of beach along A1A between say Indian River Shores and Melbourne. When I've stayed near the KSC, I've usually used one of the many motels near the junction of I-59, FL-50, and FL-405. They provide good access to the center. By the way, the larger tours of KSC sell out in the summer, I hope you've made reservations. If not you should do so soon. As for getting to Key West from Orlando, you will have to go back nearly to Miami, but if you want to see something different, try US-27 through central Florida, then use FL-29/FL-80 to Fort Myers, US-41 southeast along the northern edge of the Everglades, and FL-997 to bypass Miami.

AZBuck

[GirlMouse]

Thanks for the tips! I will reserve KSC but we are only going in November, so I guess I still have some time to make reservations.

Your suggestion from Orlando to Key West is interesting, so first go US27 and only drive in the west coast for Fort Myers-Naples. My only question is if we will miss the best parts of the west coast in doing so? From Tampa to Naples, what is the nicest area on the coast in your opinion? We will leave Orlando early wednesday morning, and would be happy if we were in Key West around midday on Thursday. So we can stay one night somewhere in the west coast, and I was thinkin Naples for this purpose...

[AZBuck]

While I have driven close to 1,000,000 miles, much of that has been on the same 'old' roads and there are (as the old Alamo add used to say) 4,000,000 miles of road in the US. I have not, in fact, driven every road in the US. And I have not driven the route I suggested from Orlando to Key West. What I have learned, though, is how to 'read between the lines' of maps and get a feel for what sort of terrain a given road will traverse. As I see it the problem with the southern Gulf Coast of Florida is twofold. First, it's relatively built up with lots of fair sized cities. Second, it has lots of bays and inlets meaning that you won't simply be able to drive along the coast. Look, for example, at how far inland you'll be between Venice and Naples. I'm just not sure that you're going to find what you think you will. For your other segments you were looking for scenic. For my money, I think that the route I suggested would at least be 'interesting' and you could still overnight in Naples and explore the 'west coast' in the evening (be there for sunset!).

AZBuck