Guides & tips

Plan your trip like a local

Honest answers to the questions travellers ask us most.

Two passengers at the rail of an excursion boat, seen from behind, looking out over calm green-blue water with a single sailboat on the horizon

The Best Time to Visit Key West: Winter, Spring and an Honest Word About Hurricane Season

Temperature is not what decides a Key West trip – wind is, because almost everything here happens on a boat. What cold fronts do in January, why September is cheap, and the ten days in October when the island is full and expensive.

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A crew member holds a pole with bait over the side of the boat, a shark snapping at it with its mouth open, several more sharks circling in the green shallow water alongside

Sharks and Wildlife by Catamaran: the Backcountry Safari, and the Thing the Listing Does Not Emphasise

Two hours, €86.91, 4.8 stars from 275 people – and nobody gets in the water. How the sharks are brought to the boat, why the listing still says it is unsuitable for non-swimmers, and who should book something else.

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The red, black and yellow concrete buoy lettered 90 Miles to Cuba and Southernmost Point Continental U.S.A., standing on its tiled waterfront plaza with the open Atlantic and a wrought-iron railing behind it

Hemingway's House and the Southernmost Point: What Is Worth Seeing, and What You Cannot Book

Admission to the Hemingway house is $19 and sold at the gate only – no online ticket exists. And the famous buoy is currently a replica a block up Duval Street. Two facts that change how you plan the day.

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View forward from the bow of a turquoise kayak in a narrow mangrove tunnel, two more kayaks ahead on dark still water between arching roots and branches

Mangrove Kayaking in Key West: the Backcountry Tour, and Where It Actually Leaves From

The cheapest paddling trip on the island, at €57.06 for two hours – but the dock is not in Old Town, and one of the best-rated options leaves from another island entirely. Weight limits, what is not included, and who should skip it.

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Passengers sitting on the bow of a boat on flat turquoise water, two dolphin fins breaking the surface in the middle distance

Dolphins and Snorkeling from Key West: Which Boat, Which Time of Day

The dolphin trips snorkel the backcountry, not the reef – that one fact decides which tour you want. Boat sizes, morning against sunset, the 50-yard rule, and who should not book.

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A family of four standing outside a striped awning entrance, two of them touching the mounted body of a hammerhead shark on a display stand

Key West with Children: the Aquarium, the Boats, and What Actually Holds Their Attention

Feeding times at 11, 1, 3 and 4.30, a two-hour kayak tour with toilets at the dock, and the boats that say 14 and under need a chaperone. What works with children here and what to leave alone.

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An orange and green trolley bus with open sides and seated passengers, parked beside a cream-coloured building under palm fronds

The Old Town Trolley in Key West: 13 Stops, and When It Is the Wrong Ticket

First tour 9am, last departure from Mallory Square 4:30pm, 90 minutes for the full loop. What that timetable does to a cruise-ship day, and how the Conch Train and a €10.53 audio tour compare.

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Two snorkellers holding hands just below the surface above a coral garden, a spotted trunkfish and a yellow-striped grunt in the foreground

Reef Snorkeling off Key West: Beginners, the Two-Stop Trip, and What You Actually See

The reef sites off Key West are protected zones with mooring buoys and rules you are part of. What a three-hour trip really contains, when the two-stop version is worth it, and the option for people who will not get in.

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A woman kneeling on a stand-up paddleboard in a narrow mangrove channel, two kayakers following behind her between the green branches

Sandbar Trips from Key West: Tiki Boat, Kayak and Lunch in Waist-Deep Water

The most expensive category on the island after private charters, and the one people understand least. What a sandbar afternoon contains, which boat suits which group, and why one of them is adults-only.

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A white sailing catamaran with a red-lettered mainsail on orange-lit water, a line of anchored boats behind it under a burning sky

Sunset in Key West: Sailboat, Schooner or Mallory Square

Sunset moves by almost three hours across the year, and everything else follows it. What the free celebration at Mallory Square actually is, and which of the 23 sunset boats suits which evening.

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Key West tours from €43.39 · available today

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