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Things to do guide

The best things to do in the Florida Keys

Updated 7 October 2026 · 15 things to do

Pictured: Cheeca Lodge & Spa

The Florida Keys are a road trip that happens to be at sea. A single highway hops from island to island for more than a hundred miles, with the Atlantic on one side, the Gulf of Mexico on the other and water the colour of a swimming pool under every bridge. The further you drive, the less the rest of America seems to matter.

What you do along the way is mostly wet. Snorkel the coral reef off Key Largo, fish at Islamorada, swim at Bahia Honda, then roll into Key West for sunset, a slice of lime pie and a bar that has been open since before you were born. Slow down. That is the whole point.

Don't miss

  1. 1The Overseas Highway
  2. 2John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
  3. 3Bahia Honda State Park
  4. 4Mallory Square at sunset
  5. 5Dry Tortugas National Park

The drive

The road is the first sight, and for many people the best one.

  1. The Overseas Highway

    Landmark

    The Overseas Highway crossing the water near Duck Key
    Photo: Ryan Sholin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The last stretch of US Route 1 runs from the Florida mainland to Key West over 42 bridges, following the line of a railway that a hurricane wrecked in 1935. It is one of the great American drives: low islands, mangroves, bait shops, and long causeways where there is nothing either side of you but sea and sky.

    Addresses along it are given by mile marker, counting down to zero in Key West, which makes navigation delightfully simple. Don't rush it. The pleasure is in the stops.

    Tip: There is one road in and out, so traffic can crawl at weekends. Set off early and build in time for lunch on the way.

  2. Seven Mile Bridge

    Landmark

    Aerial view of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys
    Photo: United States Department of Transportation, Public domain

    Just beyond Marathon the highway launches itself across open water for seven uninterrupted miles, the most dramatic moment of the whole drive. Alongside runs the old bridge, built for the railway and now retired.

    A restored section of that old bridge is open to walkers and cyclists and leads out to tiny Pigeon Key, once a camp for the railway's builders. Go at sunset, when pelicans cruise past at eye level.

Reef, beaches and wildlife

  1. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

    Nature

    The first undersea park in the United States, at Key Largo, protects a slice of the only living coral barrier reef off the continental US. You don't have to dive to see it: snorkelling trips and glass-bottom boats head out daily, and the shallows are thick with parrotfish, angelfish and the odd barracuda.

    The famous sight nearby is Christ of the Abyss, a bronze statue standing arms-raised on the seabed. Back on land there are mangrove trails to kayak and small beaches for a rinse-off swim.

    Tip: Boat trips depend on the wind. If the forecast is calm, go that day rather than waiting.

  2. Bahia Honda State Park

    Beach

    The beach at Bahia Honda State Park
    Photo: Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0

    The Keys are short on proper beaches, which makes Bahia Honda, in the Lower Keys, all the more precious: soft pale sand, shallow water so clear you can count your toes, and palms for shade. It is the best place on the islands to simply lie down.

    A broken span of the old railway bridge stands at the western end. Climb the path up to it for a view over both the Atlantic and the Gulf.

  3. National Key Deer Refuge

    Wildlife

    A Key deer on Big Pine Key
    Photo: EdoDodo, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Big Pine Key is home to the Key deer, a miniature relative of the white-tailed deer found nowhere else, and not much taller than a Labrador. They wander the pinewoods and quiet back roads of the refuge, most often around dawn and dusk.

    It is a gentle stop rather than a big attraction, and a lovely one for children.

    Tip: Drive slowly on Big Pine Key and never feed the deer. They are endangered and far too trusting of cars.

  4. The Turtle Hospital

    Wildlife

    In a converted motel in Marathon, vets treat sick and injured sea turtles and return as many as they can to the ocean. Guided visits explain how the turtles are rescued and what goes wrong for them at sea, then take you round the recovery tanks to meet the current patients.

Key West

The end of the road: small, eccentric and proudly its own place.

  1. Mallory Square at sunset

    Landmark

    Sunset over the water from Mallory Square in Key West
    Photo: andrea.anzi, CC BY 3.0

    Every evening Key West gathers on its waterfront square to watch the sun slide into the Gulf of Mexico. It is part ritual, part circus: jugglers, tightrope walkers, musicians and fortune-tellers work the crowd while sailing boats tack across the light.

    Touristy? Entirely. Do it anyway, at least once, with something cold in your hand.

    Tip: Arrive a good half hour before sunset to find a spot on the sea wall.

  2. Duval Street

    Nightlife

    Old buildings on the corner of Front and Duval Street in Key West
    Photo: Julian Lupyan, CC0

    Key West's main drag runs the width of the island, from the Gulf to the Atlantic, and it is where the town does its drinking. Old bars with open shutters and live bands line the northern end, among them places that trade on their links to Ernest Hemingway.

    By day it is all souvenir shops and galleries. For the prettier Key West, step a block or two either side into lanes of wooden houses, tin roofs and wandering roosters.

  3. Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

    Museum

    The Ernest Hemingway House in Key West
    Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Hemingway lived in this handsome Spanish colonial house through the 1930s and wrote some of his best-known work in the studio above the garden. The rooms are still furnished with his things, and guides tell the stories with relish.

    The real stars, though, are the cats: dozens of them, many with six toes, lounging on the beds and the garden walls as if they hold the deeds.

  4. Southernmost Point

    Landmark

    The Southernmost Point buoy in Key West
    Photo: Radomianin, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A fat concrete buoy, painted red, black and yellow, marks the southernmost point of the continental United States, with Cuba roughly ninety miles across the water. There is nothing to do here except take the photograph, and everybody does.

    Tip: Go first thing in the morning, before the queue for photos forms.

  5. Fort Zachary Taylor

    Beach

    The brick walls of Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West
    Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0

    At the south-western tip of Key West, a brick fort from the Civil War era shares a state park with the island's best beach. The water is clear and good for snorkelling around the rocks, pine trees give real shade, and it is far calmer than the town a few streets away.

    Tip: The shore is rocky rather than sandy underfoot, so pack water shoes.

Eat and drink

  1. Key lime pie

    Food

    A slice of Key lime pie
    Photo: The original uploader was Averette at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 1.0

    The official pie of Florida was born on these islands: a sharp, creamy filling made with the juice of small, yellowish Key limes, set in a biscuit-crumb crust. Topping is a matter of local dispute, whipped cream or meringue, and a proper one is pale yellow, never green.

    You'll find it on almost every menu from Key Largo to Key West. Try several. Call it research.

  2. Conch fritters

    Food

    Conch fritters served in Key West
    Photo: inazakira, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Conch, a large sea snail, is so tied up with island identity that people born in Key West call themselves Conchs. It turns up chopped into chowder and salads, but the classic is the fritter: deep-fried balls of spiced batter served hot with a dipping sauce, ideally at a dockside table with your feet nearly in the water.

On the water

  1. Dry Tortugas National Park

    Day trip

    Fort Jefferson surrounded by clear shallow water in Dry Tortugas National Park
    Photo: U.S. National Park Service, Public domain

    About seventy miles west of Key West, a huge six-sided brick fortress rises straight out of the sea on a speck of sand. This is Fort Jefferson, the centrepiece of one of the most remote national parks in America, reached only by ferry or seaplane.

    Walk the ramparts, then snorkel off the beach beside the moat wall, where the coral and fish are some of the healthiest in the Keys. It takes a whole day and is worth every hour.

    Tip: Places on the ferry and the seaplanes are limited and sell out well ahead. Book before you travel.

  2. Fishing at Islamorada

    Activity

    Islamorada calls itself the sport-fishing capital of the world, and its marinas are packed with charter boats to prove it. Offshore crews chase sailfish and mahi-mahi in the deep blue; guides in flat-bottomed skiffs pole across the shallows of Florida Bay after bonefish and tarpon.

    Even if you never pick up a rod, the docks at the end of the afternoon, when the boats come back in, are a good show.

Where to stay in Florida Keys

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in the Florida Keys →

Getting around

You need a car for the Keys as a whole: the Overseas Highway is the only road and the stops are spread along it. Key West itself is the exception. It is small, flat and awkward for parking, so leave the car at the hotel and walk or hire a bicycle.

When to go

Winter and early spring are the dry season, warm and sunny, and the busiest time of year. Summer and autumn are hot, humid and quieter, with the Atlantic hurricane season running from June to November, so keep an eye on forecasts then.

Questions about visiting Florida Keys

What are the Florida Keys best known for?
The Overseas Highway, the long island-hopping road to Key West; snorkelling and diving on the coral reef; sport fishing; and Key West itself, with its sunsets at Mallory Square, Hemingway connections and Key lime pie.
Are the Florida Keys worth visiting?
Yes. The drive alone is one of the most memorable in the United States, and the mix of clear water, reef, laid-back island towns and Key West nightlife is unlike anywhere else in Florida.
What is there to do in the Florida Keys with kids?
Snorkelling or a glass-bottom boat at John Pennekamp, the calm shallow beach at Bahia Honda, the Turtle Hospital in Marathon and spotting tiny Key deer on Big Pine Key all work well for families.
How many days do you need in the Florida Keys?
Allow at least three or four days: one or two for the drive down with stops in Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon, and two in Key West. Add a day for Dry Tortugas.
Do you need a car in the Florida Keys?
Yes, to travel between the islands. Once you are in Key West you can manage happily on foot or by bicycle.

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