Snowbird RV Rental in the Florida Keys
Reviewed by Ben Kiser, RV rental operator and fleet consultant.
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.
How this trip works
Winter is when everyone wants the Keys, so it is when the sites run out. The RV is the flexible half. 16 of the 81 RVs whose hosts can reach the Keys are flagged for long stays. A campsite for February is the scarce part.
Each kind of park opens on its own clock. Florida State Parks opens sites 11 months ahead for Florida residents and 10 months for everyone else, at 8 a.m. Eastern each day. Leo's in Key West takes new guests for its December 1 to April 1 season only after April 1, about eight months out. Boyd's on Stock Island may require weekly stays for some site types from October 15 to April 30. Most private parks publish no opening date at all.
A whole winter in state parks does not fit in one park. Leo's season is 121 nights. One reservation stops at 14 nights, and one park allows no more than 56 nights in six months. So a December to April run on state park sites needs at least 3 parks. Only three Keys state parks were found that take RVs: Pennekamp, Curry Hammock and Bahia Honda.
So the order is: state park windows first if you want them, Leo's just after April 1, a private park's monthly site whenever its office will take it, then the RV. Book the RV last and you are choosing from what is free. Book it first and you may hold an RV with nowhere to put it.
Worked out from the published rules
The fact that decides it
- What the source says
- Florida State Parks caps one reservation at 14 nights and one park at 56 nights in six months, and opens sites 10 months ahead for non-residents. Leo's opens its December 1 to April 1 season after April 1.
- What to do about it
- A 121-night winter on state park sites needs at least 3 parks, which is every Keys state park that takes RVs. Book the private park or the state park sequence before the RV.
- If you do not
- An RV booked for the winter with no site behind it. No source permits overnight RV parking outside a campground, so there is nothing to fall back on.
What the RV gets you here
- A month at one private park, at a published monthly rate: Jolly Roger lists winter months at $3,366 to $3,698, plus tax.
- A towable set on the site for the season, with your own car for the Overseas Highway.
- No packing up every 14 nights, once the winter is at a private park instead of a state park.
What to rent for this trip
Travel Trailer
A travel trailer is the RV most Keys renters never tow. The host brings it down US-1 to your site and takes it away again, and you keep your own car for the run into town. It is also the cheapest way to stay in an RV here, around $110 a night in the middle of the market.
Fifth Wheel
A fifth wheel is the big towable with a raised bedroom over the hitch, built for a family that wants room to spread out on one site for a week or more. In the Keys there is almost no choice: one is listed, at $160 a night.
Class A RV
A Class A is the bus-shaped motorhome, with a separate bedroom and a kitchen you can stand up in. It suits a group of six or more settling onto one full-hookup site. 17 can serve the Keys, the dearest class here at around $385 a night.
Before you book
- 1Non-residents: the state park window is 10 months, and the Curry Hammock and Bahia Honda pages only say 11. Count from 10.
- 2Leo's opens the coming season after April 1. Set a reminder for the morning of April 2.
- 3Jolly Roger's winter monthly takes a 50% deposit, refundable with 30 days notice. Grassy Key's monthly takes 50% too. Key Largo Kampground asks a one-month deposit on a two-month stay.
- 4Ask the host for long-stay terms in writing. Only 16 of 81 are flagged for long stays, and Outdoorsy does not say what unit the monthly discount field uses.
- 5December to April is under 6 months, so the campsite carries the full 12.5% tax for the whole winter.
Questions people ask
When should I book a winter RV site in the Florida Keys?
Earlier than the RV, and on each park's own calendar. Florida State Parks opens sites 11 months ahead for Florida residents and 10 months for non-residents. Leo's in Key West takes new guests for the December 1 to April 1 season after April 1. Most private parks publish no opening date, so ask each office when it starts taking winter bookings.
Can I spend the whole winter in a Florida state park?
Not in one. A reservation stops at 14 nights, with at least three nights between reservations, and one park allows no more than 56 nights in six months. A December to April season is 121 nights, so it would take at least 3 parks. For a full winter in one place, look at a private park's monthly rate.
Do snowbirds pay the 12.5% campsite tax?
On a December to April stay, yes, on every night. The 5% Monroe County tourist tax covers stays of 6 months or less, and the 6% state tax applies unless you hold a written agreement for more than 6 months entered into at the outset, or stay continuously longer than 6 months after paying the tax for the first 6. A four-month winter meets neither.
Will a host rent an RV for a whole winter?
Some will. 16 of the 81 RVs whose hosts can reach the Keys are flagged for long stays. Ask for the monthly price and the delivery terms in writing, because a monthly discount field exists but Outdoorsy does not document its unit.
Site booked? Now pick the RV
Choose from RVs whose hosts can reach the Keys. The rate, the delivery fee and the cancellation policy are on each listing.