Key West Tours- Conch Tour Train — Local services in Key West

Ten Seats on the Conch Tour Train

Dear Historic Tours,

Seven Sisters, all but one in their 70s plus three Nieces to help out, took a 4 day Celebrity Cruise on The Reflection. Shan McLemore, was our Travel Agent and the one who saw how perfect the Conch Tour Train would be for us. It turned out better than we imagined.

Seven 70 year olds, three of which drove scooters, arrived at the station. A young lady (maybe Veronica) led the scooters to a great parking area, and we all waited on the platform and in the shop for the next train. Daniel, made sure we kept our group together with our toes always behind the yellow line. We appreciated Daniel’s attentiveness to our safety.

Wonderful side story; While waiting we became aware of some electronic sounds coming through the loud speaker. Some of us commented to each other that the speaker needs to be repaired, and we continued talking over the sound it was making. My Sisters and I became aware of three smartly dressed men (matching shirts and slacks) moving closer around us. They were smiling and very friendly. Then one of them asked if we had any electronic devices with us that might be the reason for the noise coming from the loud speaker directly above our heads.

Yes, it was us. We had some six Motorola Walkie Talkies with us for constant cruise ship contact purposes and one or so were still ‘on’ at the Conch Train Station. Your Engineers were very knowledgeable, nice, and joined us all in a good laugh about being the source of the noise.

Our guide was wonderful. She spoke as if she was an eyewitness to the Historical past and currently involved in the present. Why I think she may know some of the chickens personally who crossed the street to show that they have the right of way. The sound system on the Train was excellent, good and strong no matter where your seat was. (Likely the work of the same three engineers we met at the station) We loved it. Doris...

The ticket price for this narrated open air tram tour of Key West was definitely worth it. The tour takes around 70 minutes to complete the full loop if you don't get off at any of the stops. The driver did a nice job telling about the history of Key West and also highlighted nearby attractions that could be accessed around each of the four or so stops.

It got very rainy in the afternoon on the day that we were in Key West and the tram staff provided everyone with free disposable rain ponchos which was a nice touch.

You can buy tickets in a few different locations and board the tram at any of its nearby stops, but the beginning of the tour actually starts near Mallory Square. The second stop is just a few blocks past the southernmost point, and it is also a couple blocks away from the Key West lighthouse and the Ernest Hemingway house, so we got off at that stop and then boarded another tram at that location after visiting the nearby attractions.

Passengers are given a map showing the route, the stops, and the nearby attractions. We saw a lot of interesting architecture and learned a lot about the history of the area. There was plenty of beautiful scenery, but it was a little tricky to take pictures from a moving tram. Luckily my pictures came out better than I expected.

You can ride the loop as many times as you want, so some people ride the entire loop one time and then on the second loop they get on and off at the different stops. All in all, this felt like money well spent because it saved a lot of walking and we learned a lot of history and got to do plenty of sightseeing in a short...

We had a good time on the train and figured out how to navigate getting on and off at the different stops thanks to the train driver. The train was packed to capacity because there was a cruise ship that came into port and a lot of them wanted to take tours obviously. We were in town for a week and I wish we would've known so we could've chosen another day. Demand for seating was first come first serve and it was overwhelming because the cruise passengers had to get back to port at a certain time so they were pushy. Also, a lot of prejudiced passengers and tourists that come down from the other southern states. So my brown and black people, be prepared. Obviously most people are friendly, but some passengers were outright rude.The seating is as expected for a streetcar train but can get tight quickly when seated next to strangers. If you're over 5.9ft, it may be a little uncomfortable, not much leg room. Drivers were very knowledgeable, funny and friendly. Another downside, is that if you're in the back of the train, you can't hear the tour narrative as well. I would recommend that the train staff take the lead and encourage passengers to share seating when the train is packed because some passengers were reluctant to move over and wanted to hog multiple seats. Other than that, we had a wonderful time. Also, make sure not to get off the train until it stops for good and the train driver gets up! Some people got off at red lights or street corners and that's a big no-no! You only get off at the Conch stations! I believe...