Many people who visit Key West do so in the winter as they leave the U.S’ northern and colder states for some much-needed sun and warmth. Winter, therefore, tends to be pretty crowded with non-residents January-March (and even December and April).
It rarely rains in Key West in winter – just another reason the season is a great time to visit.
Average high/low temperatures are:
• December: 76/67 degrees F
• January: 75/65 degrees F
• February: 75/66 degrees F
• March: 79/69 degrees F
Water temperatures in winter are:
• December: 72 degrees F
• January: 69 degrees F
• February: 70 degrees F
• March: 75 degrees F
It’s no wonder so many people visit Key West during the winter!
As for things to do, possibly the top items on your Key West to-do list are: rest, relax, swim, sun, repeat.
Seriously. Relax.
But if you’re looking for activities, here are just a few of our favorite things to do in Key West in the winter (or anytime, really):
- Take a ferry to Dry Tortugas National Park (about 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico). While there, take a tour of Fort Jefferson. Go snorkeling. Sunbathe on the beach. Try some birdwatching.
- Try hang gliding (you’ll ride tandem with an experienced pilot).
- Take a sunset cruise. Several companies offer sunset dinner, cocktail or even champagne cruisers at sunset on large power boats or sailboats.
- Try your luck at standup paddleboarding.
- Go fishing, either from a pier/dock or with a fishing charter.
- Visit the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, where the author wrote several of his most famous short stories, including “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and his novel To Have And Have Not.
- Take an eco-tour. Swim with dolphins.
- Visit the “Little White House,” so beloved by President Harry Truman (he spent 175 days of his presidency there between the years of 1946-1952).
- Eat great seafood.
- Enjoy the local “color” (and the colorful locals) at just about pub or tavern in or near the waterfront.
Be sure to pack your sunscreen – you don’t want to come back too burned and/or tan and thereby incur the wrath, mixed with envy, of your friends, family and co-workers!
