5 best day trips from Key West

Day trips compared

The day trips

110 km · About 2 hours 15 minutes by ferry, 40 minutes by seaplane

1.Dry Tortugas National Park

Seven remote islands in turquoise water, dominated by Fort Jefferson, a vast unfinished 19th-century brick fort on Garden Key. Visitors tour the fort and snorkel around its moat wall and coral heads; there are no shops or fresh water on the islands.

Getting there

Official ferry or seaplane from Key West

Best for

First-timers, Families, Couples

60 km · About 50 minutes by car

2.Bahia Honda State Park

A state park in the Lower Keys with sandy beaches unusual for the Keys, clear shallow water and a section of the old Overseas Railroad bridge to walk on for views of both sea and gulf.

Getting there

Car on US-1

Best for

Beach, Families, Quiet stays

50 km · About 45 minutes by car

3.Big Pine Key and the National Key Deer Refuge

Big Pine Key is home to the endangered Key deer, a dog-sized subspecies of white-tailed deer, seen along quiet roads and at the Blue Hole, a former quarry where alligators and turtles live.

Getting there

Car on US-1

Best for

Families, Quiet stays

45 km · About 40 minutes by car plus a 30-minute boat ride

4.Looe Key reef

A spur-and-groove coral reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, often considered one of the best snorkelling and diving sites in the Lower Keys, with shallow coral and abundant fish.

Getting there

Car to Ramrod or Big Pine Key, then snorkel boat

Best for

Families, Couples

80 km · About 1 hour 15 minutes by car

5.Marathon and the Seven Mile Bridge

Drive over the Seven Mile Bridge to Marathon, home to the Turtle Hospital, which rehabilitates injured sea turtles, and to Pigeon Key, a former railroad workers' camp reached by ferry.

Getting there

Car on US-1, or the Lower Keys bus

Best for

Families, First-timers

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• Key West Transit runs the free Duval Loop around Old Town and the Historic Seaport, plus city routes to New Town and a Lower Keys shuttle towards Marathon.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask