Rent an RV for the Keys trip you are taking
Reviewed by Ben Kiser, RV rental operator and fleet consultant.
A winter on Keys time, a week in Key West, a first trip, a fishing run, a quiet September. Each asks something different of the RV. On every one, the RV is the easy half. Book the site, the slot or the slip first, then pick the RV to suit it.
What to book before the RV, trip by trip
Compiled from Florida State Parks, the City of Key West, Monroe County and each campground's own pages. Where a park publishes nothing, the row says so.
| Trip | Book this first |
|---|---|
| Snowbird RV Rental in the Florida Keys | The campsite, in calendar order: a state park 10 months out (11 for Florida residents), Leo's the day after April 1, a private park's monthly site as soon as its office will take it. Then the RV. |
| Key West RV Trip | A site on Stock Island or the keys just north of it, and a plan for getting into town without the RV: your own tow vehicle, or a car beside the motorhome. Then ask any delivering host whether the per-mile fee is one way or both. |
| First-Time RV Rental in the Florida Keys | The site, then the answer to one question: will you drive the RV during the stay? If not, a delivered towable. If so, a drivable RV, a park that lets you move it, and a pickup time that beats the park's check-in cutoff. |
| Fishing Trip RV Rental in the Florida Keys | Where the boat goes: a slip, a ramp or trailer parking at the park. Curry Hammock has none of the three, and Pennekamp has reduced trailer parking. Then the site, then the RV. |
| Hurricane Season RV Rental in the Florida Keys | The cancellation terms, on both halves. A host with a flexible policy, and a park that publishes what it refunds if a mandatory evacuation is ordered. |
| Monthly RV rental in the Florida Keys | Budget a Keys month at the private park's monthly rate plus 12.5%, and if the stay will run past six months, sign the written agreement before arrival, because that is the route that avoids the tax from the first night. |
| Weekly RV rental in the Florida Keys | In season, find the campground's minimum stay for your dates first and book the RV to that length, and book the site as a week rather than as seven nights where the park offers a weekly rate. |
| RV rental for the Florida Keys state parks | Rent an RV that can move itself, or one whose host agrees in writing to move it every 14 nights, keep it at 40 ft or under, and book each of the 12 reservations on the day its window opens, 10 months ahead if you live outside Florida. |
Pick the trip
Each page carries the one fact that decides that trip, what it costs to miss it, and where the sources go quiet.
Snowbird RV Rental in the Florida Keys
A winter in the Keys in a rented RV, somewhere warm from December to April. The RV is the easy part. The sites open on their own calendars, months apart, and the order you book in decides whether the winter happens.
Key West RV Trip
Key West by RV: a site on Stock Island or just up the road, Duval Street by evening. The RV stays at the campground, so the choice is a towable whose tow vehicle drives you into town, or a motorhome plus a car. The towable is cheaper only if you tow it yourself.
First-Time RV Rental in the Florida Keys
Your first RV trip, and it's the Keys. Two ways to do it: have a trailer delivered and set up on your site, or collect a motorhome near Homestead and drive it down US-1 yourself. Both work. Whether you want to drive the RV once you arrive decides which.
Fishing Trip RV Rental in the Florida Keys
A fishing trip in the Keys with the RV as your base and the boat behind it. Pick the campground for the boat first, because the state parks are the hardest place to bring one.
Hurricane Season RV Rental in the Florida Keys
Summer and early autumn in the Keys by RV: quieter parks and lower rates. The season is also hurricane season, so pick the host and the park by what happens to your money if you are told to leave.
Monthly RV rental in the Florida Keys
Budget a Keys month at the private park's monthly rate plus 12.5%, and if the stay will run past six months, sign the written agreement before arrival, because that is the route that avoids the tax from the first night.
Weekly RV rental in the Florida Keys
In season, find the campground's minimum stay for your dates first and book the RV to that length, and book the site as a week rather than as seven nights where the park offers a weekly rate.
RV rental for the Florida Keys state parks
Rent an RV that can move itself, or one whose host agrees in writing to move it every 14 nights, keep it at 40 ft or under, and book each of the 12 reservations on the day its window opens, 10 months ahead if you live outside Florida.
Book the fixed half, then pick the RV
The site, the check-in time, the slip and the storm terms belong to someone else's calendar. The RV fits around them.