[Yugo]

Will be heading down with the family from Richmond, VA to Atlanta, GA for a couple of days. Plan on visiting coke factory and eating lots of good southern food. Then off to Marco Island, FL, Miami and the Keys for a full week and one night in Savannah and back home. Any recommendations on things to do and see on any of those locations or nearby?

[Lysol]

A few food recommendations in ATL: Ponce City market for good variety, sight seeing (easily a full afternoon activity); Original Shanes Rib Shack (a bit south of Atlanta)...one of my favorite spots for Ribs (I'm sure some may protest).

[sspade]

Go to Lazy Days in Islamorada. Order your favorite catch "Lazy Style."

[F30lolz]

Check out Robbie’s in Islamorada on your way to Key West. Good food and you can feed tarpons. In Miami, my favorite restaurant is El Chalan which IMO is the greatest Peruvian food around. Taking the subject off of food for a second, you can check out a M1 just sitting in a showroom across the street from Braman BMW in Miami to drool over. Stay away from South Beach as it’s a tourist trap. Really nothing special except the building from the chainsaw scene in Scarface is now a damn CVS!

The Wharf near Brickell (In Miami) is one of the largest outdoor bars around with great drink specials and food trucks. Kids and pets are welcomed until 6PM. Savannah? I love that place and everywhere I’ve eaten has been delicious.

[Darth One]

Try to spend as much time in the water as possible during the FL leg. It's hot af here now

[RickFLM4]

Bring or buy sunblock and insect repellent. If you have time and interest, try deep sea fishing and / or backwater fishing in FL. Plan morning and evening activities and expect rain most afternoons. Marco Island / Miami / Keys is a lot in a week, especially if planning on going all the way to Key West. Have fun!

[Yugo]

Thanks for the input guys. In FL most of the time will be spent on Marco Island 5 nights in total, then Miami will be just a stop on the way to Marathon where we will be spending 2 nights. While there we planned some activities for the kids and will also drive down to the Key West for half a day. On the way back up we will stop in Miami again and head back up north via Savannah where we'll stay one night. Honestly originally we just planned going to Marco Island, but since that far south might as well extend the vacation couple of extra days and see Miami and the Keys.

[RickFLM4]

If you are driving from Marco Island to Marathon you’d probably be driving through the western part of Dade County (Miami), going down either I-75 and FL Turnpike after getting across Alligator Alley or down Krome Ave if crossing via Tamiami Trail. Other than maybe Metro Zoo, I can’t think of much to see in a quick stop out west. If you plan to go to the eastern part of the county / downtown / Miami Beach but not stay overnight, you’ll need plenty of time for the ride from Marco Island, Miami activities (and traffic) and then the drive to Marathon. Try to avoid driving through Miami during rush hour.

[Yugo]

Correct, we will be coming that way. We plan on being in Miami around noon on both occasions. Any good food places to check out in the western part dade area? For that part of the day would it be wise to venture into downtown area?

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Yugo

Correct, we will be coming that way. We plan on being in Miami around noon on both occasions. Any good food places to check out in the western part dade area? For that part of the day would it be wise to venture into downtown area?

Hmmm. If coming down the Turnpike, there are some good restaurants out in the Doral Area (NW 41 St. exit), which isn’t much of a diversion, but also doesn’t offer up much else to see if looking for sights. There is a newer CityPlace Doral complex but I haven’t been there.

There are a lot of places east with restaurants and things to see - Brickell, Coconut Grove, Little Havana, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Midtown. It will be difficult to take in all the sights in a few hours though, and you need to be sure of where you are heading. Some of those places border on / blend into other places you are better off not wandering into.

[EDWYER]

El Siboney restaurant, Key West.

[sspade]

When are you heading down? Just got back from the keys today... next week is lobster mini-season and traffic will be INSANE!!!

As always, stopped at my spot for fresh catch and cold beer.

[Yugo]

Originally Posted by sspade

When are you heading down? Just got back from the keys today... next week is lobster mini-season and traffic will be INSANE!!!

As always, stopped at my spot for fresh catch and cold beer.

That's awesome! I am currently in marco island. Heading to Miami and the Keys on Wed. Will try to check lazy days out. Thanks for the tip!

Atlanta experience was great despite the rainy weather. We stayed in the midtown area and ate a lot of good southern food pretty much walking distance away. Wish we could have tried some places in Decatur but kids didn't cooperate.

So again for those from Miami or familiar with it, I ll be coming into Miami via rt 41 straight into downtown and perhaps grab some lunch there or at Miami beach. Any areas along thrre to avoid w 3 kids under 5?

[sspade]

Originally Posted by Yugo

That's awesome! I am currently in marco island. Heading to Miami and the Keys on Wed. Will try to check lazy days out. Thanks for the tip!

Atlanta experience was great despite the rainy weather. We stayed in the midtown area and ate a lot of good southern food pretty much walking distance away. Wish we could have tried some places in Decatur but kids didn't cooperate.

So again for those from Miami or familiar with it, I ll be coming into Miami via rt 41 straight into downtown and perhaps grab some lunch there or at Miami beach. Any areas along thrre to avoid w 3 kids under 5?

Believe it or not Im actually headed back to Miami tonight on the red eye out of Sacramento...

I will be in the Keys (and Lazy Days) tomorrow afternoon/evening for dinner and drinks...

In no way do I want to interrupt your family vacation but if you happen to be around - I would love to buy you a beer. They have a few locals on tap that are pretty tasty. For real... PM me tomorrow afternoon and we'll see if we can hook up!!!!

[430409M2]

Tail of the dragon, north Georgia and South Carolina. It's a must have memory.

[hooligan_G01]

Originally Posted by 430409M2

Tail of the dragon, north Georgia and South Carolina. It's a must have memory.

The Tail of the Dragon spans TN/NC, not GA/SC.

Either way, it's awesome but probably not "on the way" to anyplace the OP is going.

OP, take one of the carriage ride tours of Savannah - there is a ton of history and it's easily worth the time. The "ghost tour pub crawls" are fun, too. Savannah is allegedly one of the most haunted cities in America.

The Grey in Savannah is awesome. Excellent food, two bars, and built in an old Greyhound bus station.

Enjoy it!

[Yugo]

Thanks everyone for great input! Overall our ten day trip was great. Driven 2,700 miles in total and enjoyed every one of our destinations from Atlanta to Key West.

One little damper in the trip was that someone attempted to break into our Pilot while parked in Miami (see pic). $50 later in parts and about 45min of my time and it's all fixed.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Yugo

Thanks everyone for great input! Overall our ten day trip was great. Driven 2,700 miles in total and enjoyed every one of our destinations from Atlanta to Key West.

One little damper in the trip was that someone attempted to break into our Pilot while parked in Miami (see pic). $50 later in parts and about 45min of my time and it's all fixed.

Sorry to hear about the break in but good news on rest of trip. Where in Miami did that happen.

[Yugo]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Sorry to hear about the break in but good news on rest of trip. Where in Miami did that happen.

Miami Beach area, 900 block Pennsylvania St...got my taste of Miami I guess

Wasn't too upset about it, considering it could have been much much worse have they actually broken into the car, as all of our luggage was in it including camera, kids tablets, laptop etc...

Regardless trip was amazing!