How many days in Key West?

The headline things to do in Key West

From the Key West guide — these are the items that anchor a 1-day visit. For the full breakdown, read the Key West travel guide.

1. Duval Street — The Famous Mile — Old Town, central Key West

   The 1.25-mile spine of Old Town Key West runs north-south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, lined with bars, T-shirt shops, art galleries, restaurants, and the kind of street life that has earned Duval its reputation as "the longest bar in America" (sometimes counted as 50+ drinking establishments). Walk it once during the day for the architecture and shops, then again after sunset when it transforms into a parade. Sloppy Joe's, Hemingway's old hangout, is at the corner of Duval and Greene.

2. Hemingway Home and Museum — 907 Whitehead St, Old Town

   Ernest Hemingway's 1851 Spanish Colonial home on Whitehead Street, where he lived for nine of his most productive years. The house is preserved with much of his furniture, his Royal typewriter in the writing studio above the carriage house, and the in-ground pool he installed in 1938 (the most expensive thing on the island at the time). The 60-odd descendants of his six-toed cat Snow White roam freely. Tours are guided and excellent. 9:00–17:00 daily.

3. Mallory Square Sunset Celebration — Mallory Square, end of Duval Street

   The nightly ritual that defines Key West — every evening, two hours before sunset, street performers set up at the seawall: sword swallowers, fire jugglers, tightrope walkers, escape artists, tarot card readers, and a man whose entire act is a trained cat that jumps through hoops. The crowd applauds when the sun touches the horizon. Free, anarchic, and irreplaceable.

4. Southernmost Point Buoy — Whitehead & South Sts, Old Town

   The painted concrete buoy at Whitehead and South Streets marking "Southernmost Point in the Continental USA — 90 Miles to Cuba" is the most photographed object in Key West and possibly all of Florida. Expect a 20-30 minute queue for your photo. Go at sunrise (before 7 AM) or after dinner (after 8 PM) to skip the line. Hurricane Irma damaged the buoy in 2017; the repaired version is the one you see now.

5. Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park — End of Southard Street through Truman Annex

   A 19th-century coastal fort with the best beach on the island — actual sand (most Key West "beaches" are not), clear water for snorkelling, and shaded picnic areas in the Australian pines. The fort itself was completed in 1866 and was active through WWII. State park entry $8/car. Snorkel rental on-site. Far less crowded than Smathers Beach.

6. Key West Cemetery — Margaret & Angela Streets, Old Town

   A 19-acre above-ground cemetery (water table is too high for traditional burial) in the heart of Old Town with grave markers ranging from 1840s wooden crosses to elaborate Victorian mausoleums to legendary Conch wisecracks ("I told you I was sick" being the most famous). Free self-guided tour map available at the sexton's office. Quiet, atmospheric, and uniquely Key West.

7. Dry Tortugas National Park — 70 miles west by ferry/seaplane

   70 miles west of Key West, a remote cluster of seven small islands centred on the massive 19th-century Fort Jefferson — the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere, built of 16 million bricks on a coral reef in the middle of the Gulf. Reachable only by ferry (Yankee Freedom, 2.5 hr each way, ~$220 round trip including lunch and snorkel gear) or seaplane (~$435). Day trip is doable but tight; campers can stay overnight. The snorkelling is among the best in Florida.

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