Question for the folks in Florida

olcoon

Well-known member
We arrived in your fair state today, & are staying in the Keys. Thought I would go crazy in the Miami traffic & stopping every time we turned around to pay a toll on the FL Turnpike. We'll be here until the 8th, then we'll be going to Punta Gorda, then to Dunedin, then on to Leesburg, after that, back to Missouri cold weather. Is there a route you could recommend to avoid traffic & tolls that would be on good roads?

Thanks in advance!
 

hoefler

Well-known member
We just came home from the keys a week ago to SW Mo. We purchased a Florida Sun Pass for $4.99. When you activate it, on line or by phone, you receive a $4.99 credit. You charge it like a gift card, then you take the Sun Pass lane and never stop, a couple of the toll gates you had to slow down to 25 mph, but you kept rolling. Also, you get a discount on the tolls by using the pass. Here is thier link; https://www.sunpass.com/index
 

floridarandy

Well-known member
ditto sunpass. for the destinations you listed after the keys you're going to find yourself on I-75 from miami west to naples and up the west coast. after the everglades no tolls until you get to the skyway bridge across tampa bay on your way to dunedin. only real traffic "jams" will be as you pass by fort myers and sarasota. once across the skyway your're in congested traffic in pinellas county (dunedin) and hillsborough county (tampa) until you leave and make it north of tampa. then pretty easy driving (barring accidents) until you're out of florida.

make a point of visiting fort desoto while in pinellas county. its just across the skway bridge on the pinellas county side. you'll want to camp here on a return trip. beautiful park. beautiful beaches. interesting fort. great waterfront camping.

have fun in florida and spend liberally...we need tghe revenue :).

randy in florida
 

rumaco

US Army Retired (CW4)
Kind of like bumper cars except everyone is over 90. "I think I hit something!" , "WHERE?" , "I can't remember!"
 

DougS

Doug S
Welcome to Florida.

When I come home from the Keys or the Homestead race, I pass through the small town of Homestead on 997/Krome Ave. I then take US 41 to Naples and then jump onto I 75. US 41 is a nice scenic drive and there are several National campgrounds to stay in. Just make sure you have plenty of fuel, there are few if any gas stations while heading west. Just north of Homestead is where I fuel up and that gets me home to the Punta Gorda area.
I take this way because I hate tolls and traffic. It may take slightly longer because of the lower speeds, but the ride is worth it.
 

olcoon

Well-known member
Thanks for the replys! We had considered the Sunpass, but wanted to avoid tolls all toghther (too cheap), and avoid like rumaco stated "bumper cars" - all the traffic. I think DougS came up with the best solution for us. We considered that route on the way here, but decided to stay with the interstate highways, as we knew that route would be best in an unfamilar area pulling a 5er. Besides, it'll give us some different scenery! We've been enjoying our stay here, but unfortunately we must have brought cold weather with us. But at 65 degrees, it's still better than the 20's they are having in Missouri!!!
 

olcoon

Well-known member
That's what we did, Alligator Alley. Road wasn't too bad & we saw some alligators. Just wish we'd have had more time to stop & be a real tourist! Maybe next trip!
 
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