If you’re visiting Miami, or if you live in Miami, you owe it to yourself to take a day trip to Key West.
Just about 150 miles southwest of Miami, off the southwest tip of Florida’s coast, Key West can make a great day-long trip (or even weekend overnight sojourn).
Visit the southernmost tip of the Continental U.S. in Key West (it’s not really the southernmost tip, but it’s the most southern part of the U.S. that the public can visit, but who’s quibbling…), Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home (plus the descendants of his original six-toed cats), eat great seafood (perhaps even go out and catch it yourself), shop and sunbathe and just enjoy the fun and quirky “vibe” that is Key West.
Several tour groups offer guided tours to Key West. A typical tour includes the ride via air-conditioned tour bus (which will see you crossing more than 42 bridges along the way, including the Seven Mile Bridge, over open water), dropping you off in the heart of Key West to enjoy about six hours or so there.
Many tour groups also offer you the chance to purchase different activities once you arrive in Key West, such as a glass-bottom boat ride, a hop-on-hop-off trolley tour of Key West, a ride on the Conch Train around Old Town Key West, a cruise on a catamaran to go snorkeling near a coral reef, or a parasailing excursion!
Once in Key West you can enjoy outdoor restaurants and cafes, purchase art and crafts from street artists. Visit the Earnest Hemingway House & Museum as well as Mallory Square (right by the waterfront, itself a historical destination).
Once your day in Key West is over, you’ll return to Miami via your tour guide’s comfortable bus—plenty of time to see the beautiful landscape that is Florida as you go by!
If you’d rather drive to Key West on your own, it’s about a three-hour drive along U.S. Highway 1. You can stop in Islamorada and feed tarpons by hand, then go on to Grassy Key to watch dolphins, take a short hop to Key Colony Beach. And be sure to drive the aforementioned Seven Mile Bridge while singing at the top of your lungs (even better if you can do in a convertible).
If you leave early enough from Miami, you can stay for six hours or more in Key West. If you’d prefer to stay overnight, we recommend that you plan at least a bit ahead and make a hotel reservation – Key West can get crowded at almost any time of the year, so it’s best to know that you have a place to lay your head before you head on down.
