Santa Barbara to LA to Key West Tiki Crawl - Need info

The misses and I are heading to Key West next Wednesday and I am looking for advice. Starting from Santa Barbara, we've got about four hours to hit LA on the way to LAX for the red-eye to Miami. Will start at Tiki Ti then where??? Damons? Tonga Hut?

Flying to Miami then it's the 120 mile drive from Miami to Key West. Any Tiki on the way? I checked out Key West on the web and it seems overly Pirate and not so much Tiki. Anything there worth checking out?

DC

Scott, is that Wednesday in a week and a half, or Wednesday the day after tomorrow? I am back home now and will be at the Ti both times, most likely. I go early, around 6:30, and often have dinner at the old Mexican place next door, which in your case might make the most sense, having to catch a flight and all. Damon's is within reasonable driving range, yet it takes you further away from LAX, and the Tonga Hut even more so (no food there either).

Don't know about the Miami part, always wanted to do that drive to the Keys, sounds great. My Witco research took me UP the coast, down there I hear it's more generic tropical, maybe with some Cuban touches, which is not a bad thing, just not Tiki.

Sven,

Will be at Tiki Ti this Wednesday October 8, arriving around 6:00 (traffic willing). Would love to see you there. I'll buy you a drink and you can sign my copy of Tiki Modern! I'm thinking that I can hit Damon's on the way out, Google maps says it's about 12 minutes from Tiki Ti and a half hour from there to LAX.

Scott

If you are coming to Miami MAKE TIME to drive north to the Mai Kai!! Especially, if you have never been! There are several places to stop and see some tikis but only one that is worth spending any time. Here are some of my favorite stops along the way:

Coral Castle
Alabama Jacks - grouper sandwich
Raintree - artists village // go across the street for more
Dolphin encounter - swim with dolphins
Tiki Bar - Islmarada tradition - tikis but not tiki, get a Rumrunner
Capt Mike's - roadside dock to feed the 100lb tarpon
Bahia Honda State Park - snorkeling
After Bahia Honda the keys are very generic and not overly interesting. Big Pine Key has the Key Deer and there are several Bird Recovery places that are cool. The drive from Miami is 4 hours and by the time you get past Marathon you're ready to be there. Once in Key West check out the Kino Sandal Factory.

Have a Pirate Punch for me at Capt. Tony's

AlohaStation,

Thanks for the advice, will definitely try a Pirate Punch at Captain Tony's. That's the original Hemingway Sloppy Joes right? The Tarpon dock sound intriguing.

The Tiki Bar in Islamorada looks like it is worth a stop as well. Here is a pic from the website.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2008-10-07 17:18 ]

Damn, is that it looks like! Most of the times I have been there - we are coming in on a boat or waverunner and in no condition to notice. If you have time rent a waverunner and shoot out to Sandbar (you'll see it when you get there). At the Tiki Bar always order your drinks with the extra shot. Its the only way to tell if the drinks have alcohol in them. While in the Keys, if you don't spend at least half of your time in the water then you have wasted your trip. Water temps in the 80's and crystal clear!!

Dusty,

Coming to this thread a little late, you're probably in Key West right now. Hope you're having a great time. Unfortunately, there's really no Tiki south of Ft Lauderdale. Driving through the Keys is an experience to remember, but it's not exactly a Tiki experience. I found my vacation in the Keys a few years ago to be geographically beautiful but everything else was a letdown. Lots of drunk college kids, terrible music and awful drinks. But I do hope you walked though the Harry Truman Little White House area, as well as the Hemingway house. Those are the places that are worth visiting.

As Tom (Alohastation) said, I do hope you took time to visit the Mai-Kai. Even with some areas needing improvement, I believe it's the best Tiki experience to be had anywhere in the U.S., and I've visited many of them.

Rob