Cat jumping through flaming hoop during the nightly Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square

The Custom House, home to the Key West Art & Historical Society museum

View of the entrance to the Hemingway House, home to one of Key West's famous resident writers

Seaplane at the beach of Dry Tortugas National Park

View of charming Key West cottages, painted in pasted colors

View of entrance to Blue Heaven, one of Key West's most iconic restaurants

View of the aqua-blue ocean that surrounds the island of Key West

Artist at work painting a large mural of historic maritime scenery

Fresh seafood, like lobster and shrimp, are plentiful in Key West

View of the New Year's Eve party on Duval Street with famed drag queen

Key West Travel Guide

Key West, Florida

The Southernmost buoy, a favorite place for a memorable Key West photoLaid back, free-spirited, artistic, quirky, and scenic, Key West is one of the most unique places in the United States. Known for its live-and-let-live attitude, tropical climate, and seemingly continuous happy hour, this tiny Florida Keys island has been welcoming visitors seeking a vacation from the normal for two centuries.

Since its earliest days, people have come to the end of the Florida Keys island chain to fish, write, carouse, and rejuvenate. From the famous, including Ernest Hemingway, John J Audubon, and Tennessee Williams – to infamous, Key West has always been a place where you can be yourself, find yourself, or re-invent yourself.

Key West Travel Guide is an extensive, up-to-date guide packed with local information and concierge advice.

Learn from the local experts about restaurants, hotels, nightlife, boat cruises, attractions, and other fun things to do in Key West.

Best Wishes from Key West,
-Gordon & Dave

Quick facts about Key West

  • Date first explored: 1521,
    Ponce de Leon visits Dry Tortugas
  • Date as a U.S. territory: 1822
  • Size: 2 x 4 miles
  • Population: 24,909
  • Average hi/lo temperature, winter (F): 76°/66°
  • Average hi/lo temperature, summer (F): 89°/80°
  • Sunny or partly-sunny days per year: 259
  • Area code: 305
  • Zip code: 33040
  • Distance from Miami: 160 miles
  • Distance from Cuba: 90 miles
  • Geographic fact: Southernmost point in the U.S.
  • Official motto: “All people are equal members of One Human Family”

 

Recommendations for Fun Things to Do in Key West

Ultimate Watersports Package

  3.5-hour trip includes light snacks, beverages, sailing, parasailing, jetskis, and big water toys Want

Waverunner Jet Ski Tours

  Have an absolute BLAST zooming across the water…all the way around the island of

Sunset Cruise – Glass Bottom Boat

  A great view – above and below deck. Air-conditioned comfort on this Key West

Sunset Sail – Wind & Wine

  An upscale sunset cruise aboard a traditional working schooner – serving premium wine, beer,

Sunset Sails – Schooners & Tall Ships

  Hoist the sails – if you’d like to lend a hand – aboard the

Sunset Sail – Booze Cruise

  Boat trip to see the Key West sunset  – with beverages and an island

Sunset Booze Cruise Concert

  Trop-rock into the sunset on a sailboat! Includes free-flowing beer, wine, margaritas, and snacks

SNUBA

  Like snorkeling, but you can breath underwater thanks to scuba air tanks floating on

Traditional Sailboat Snorkel

  Smaller group, impressive mono-hull sailboat, offering relaxed snorkel trips to the reef This elegant

Private Snorkeling Charters

  Have the boat and Captain to yourself, allowing for custom trips to suit your

Catamaran Snorkeling Trips

  Large and stable sailboats provide comfortable and affordable reef snorkeling trips in Key West

Backcountry Snorkel, Kayak, Sail

  This trip visits the Gulf of Mexico side of Key West where you’ll snorkel

Parasailing in Key West

  Tethered by parachute to a boat, it’s an exciting way to get a bird’s-eye

Glass-Bottom Boat Tour

  Explore the coral reefs, located six miles offshore of Key West, aboard an air-conditioned,

Kayak Tours

  Easy and rewarding kayaking trips that explore offshore mangrove islands and seagrass habitat There

Dry Tortugas Camping

  Information for camping in Dry Tortugas National Park, including campsite map, regulations, and advice.

Seaplane to Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas

Fly from Key West to the Dry Tortugas islands, land on the water, and hop

Dolphin Encounters

  See local Key West dolphins in the wild & up close. Swim and snorkel

Key West News & Stories

Ban Sunscreens that Harm Coral Reefs

Key West should ban sunscreens that harm the coral reef. We support reef-safe sunscreen legislation.

5 Tourist Traps to Avoid on Your Key West Vacation

Avoid these 5 tourist traps to keep your Key West vacation relaxing and enjoyable Key

We Just LOVE These Tiny Key West Houses by Artist Ronny Bailey

Local fine folk artist skillfully builds tiny replicas of old Key West buildings from found

Key West Album Art

Albums and records from recording artists using the name Key West While searching the history

Dry Tortugas National Park Fee to Increase. Again.

Just three years since the last increase, entrance fees are again rising, from $10 to

19 Florida Keys Environmental Regulations You Should Know

The beautiful ecosystem of the Florida Key is fragile and protected by state and federal

Key West Race Week Organizer Discusses Event Cancellation

Contributing factors include declining participation, a changing sport, sponsors and costs For thirty years, sailboat

What You Get in 2016 Key West – $799,000

Price comparison of houses currently for sale in the Key West area What will $799,000

MTV’s The Real World – Key West, 10 Years Later

MTV reality show had cast members living outside of Key West in pricey house Ten

Some Basics: Florida Keys Geography & Early History

Learn about the Florida Keys vast history and unique geography The “keys” are a chain

Dry Tortugas Entrance Fee Doubles, Camping Fees Changed

First fee increase in 18 years affects daily visitors and overnight campers. Visiting one of

Track of Hurricane Irma: Center Narrowly Misses Key West

Despite news reports, Key West was not wrecked; the storm’s eyewall passed just 20 miles

Pictures of Key West Five Months After Hurricane Irma

Five months after a major hurricane narrowly missed Key West, the island has no major

Key West’s For-Profit Hospital & Reported Price Gouging by its Owner, Community Health Systems

Study shows Florida’s for-profit hospitals are charging the highest markups for services. The numbers are

Pigeons “Smuggled” Cigars from Cuba to Key West

Artist Duke Riley, in a 2013 statement about Cuba-US relations, used homing pigeons to fly

Pac-Man on the Streets of Key West

For a limited time, Google Maps lets you play the retro game in Key West