How many things could 4.2 square miles of island have to offer? Key West may be small, but it sure is a mighty tourist destination. From pirates and treasure, to drag shows and brunch, to dolphin cruises and secluded island getaways, there are plenty of things to do in Key West, Florida. Keep reading for our list of things to do in Key West, complete with prices and a recommendation guide.
A Note About Our Recommendations
We recommend (or don’t) things based on how awesome they were, how much time they take and how much money they cost. High cost and time commitment will earn lower levels of recommendations and high fun will earn higher levels of recommendation. As always, these opinions are our own.
Note: While the opinions are our own, the links are not. This post contains affiliate links (even for the things we don’t highly recommend). If you like reading this post, please book through these links. We receive a small commission for booking through the links at no additional cost to you! Read our Terms and Conditions here.
Best Things To Do In Key West, Florida
Visit Mallory Square
Cost: FREE | Time: 15 minutes | Recommendation: Must-Visit
Mallory Square is best visited at sunset. Besides being on the water, you can’t get a better Key West sunset than from the docks of Mallory Square. There are plenty of great restaurants and bars. If you’d like to get a front row of the sunset from one of the waterside bars, plan on snagging a table an hour before sunset. In addition to the sunset, there are plenty of street vendors and street performers that visit the square making it a lively place to visit at any time of day.
Walk Duval Street
Cost: FREE | Time: A bit here and there | Recommendation: Must-Visit
It’s hard to visit Key West and not walk at least a portion of Duval Street. This is the street that runs down the center of “old Key West” and plenty of things to do in Key West have the coveted Duval Street address. Take a walk and people watch. The streets are full of all types of visitors, from families to bachelorette parties (seriously lots of bachelorette parties!). You’ll find tons of generic tourist t-shirt shops next to entirely unique bars that have been open since prohibition. You can see drag shows, high end art, or butterflies. You gotta enjoy the pure tourism and diversity that is Duval Street.
Explore Ernest Hemingway’s House
Cost: $18/adult | Time: 1:15 | Recommendation: Must-Visit
This was the best “old house” we visited, also making it one of our favorite things to do in Key West. There are plenty of historic houses ripe for a good tour but no one does it better than the folks running the Ernest Hemingway Home. The guided tour includes some Hemingway, Key West and literary history. The guides are fantastic and they know their stuff. Additionally, this is where you’ll see all of the 6+ toed cats that you always hear about. If you do one historic home tour in Key West, this should be it.
Climb The Key West Lighthouse
Cost: $17 | Time: 45 minutes | Recommendation: For Multi-day Visits
The only landlocked lighthouse we’ve ever seen, the Key West Lighthouse was an interesting bit of history. The small cottage provides visitors with a look at life as a lighthouse keeper. This position was held by a woman for many years, which was very uncommon at the time. Additionally, there is a lot of history about the wrecks in the Florida Keys and how salvagers made a living cleaning up the debris. While the lighthouse tower isn’t the tallest, it is the tallest building in Key West and gives you a great view looking out over the entire city.
Go Dolphin Spotting
Cost: $90+/person | Time: 2 hours | Recommendation: For Multi-day Visits
Would it really be a visit to Florida if you don’t see a dolphin? Maybe, but why risk it. Dolphin watching tours are a really popular thing to do in Key West, as in any other seaside destination in Florida.
Take A Sunset Cruise
Cost: $80/person | Time: 2 hours | Recommendation: For Multi-day Visits
If you want an even better view of the Key West sunset, and we did, the best way to get that is on a sunset cruise. We did this on a super windy day and our amazing captain still managed to find smooth sailing for the group. Most sunset sails include drinks onboard. Our tour included drinks and really tasty snacks.
Walk Through Butterflies
Cost: $17/adult | Time: 45 minutes | Recommendation: Must Visit
We think this is the best thing to do in Key West for families. During our family trip to Key West, the 6 year old enjoyed this just as much as the 63 year old. The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory is a great stop! The self guided tour starts in an educational room where you can see all the stages of butterfly metamorphosis happening at once along with tons of preserved specimens of butterflies from around the world. In the greenhouse, the butterflies flap about free as can be. The blue morphos really liked to catch rides on people’s shirts and hats. Don’t miss the nursery of pupae on the way out of the greenhouse. You may even see some butterflies emerging.
Additionally, there are lots of fun and exotic birds flapping around. We visited during flamingo mating season. Rhett (the flamingo) is probably still try to get with Scarlett (the flamingo) – unsuccessfully and true to his literary name as always.
See The Little White House
Cost: $23/adult | Time: 45 minutes | Recommendation: For multi-day trips
This is the only presidential museum in Florida. The house was the winter home of President Truman. It’s a nice old house that has been visited by other presidents, as well. Admission includes a tour that runs every 20 minutes.
See Sunken Treasure
Cost: $17.50/adult | Time: 1 hour | Recommendation: For multi-day trips
The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is home to the most valuable treasure ever recovered from a shipwreck. It also does a great job of highlighting the decades Mel Fisher and his family spent searching for this treasure, the time when the Florida government tried to take it all away (spoiler alert: Mel kept the treasure), and their shipwreck searching techniques. It was a fascinating bit of history! Also, there are a ton of gold and silver trinkets, coins and jewelry to look at.
Another place to see sunken treasure is the Key West Shipwreck Treasure Museum. This museum focuses more on the history of Key West wrecks and salvaging, than a specific treasure. Additionally, the museum has a lookout tower, where you can check for wrecks – or see a great view of Mallory Square.
See Sharks and Sea Turtles
Cost: $21/adult | Time: 1 hour | Recommendation: Must Visit
The Key West Aquarium is the only stop that guarantees you a chance to see sharks, sea turtles and more. The aquarium is older but it is reasonably priced and has quality exhibits. In fact, the historic charm also adds a little something in our opinion. This is a great thing to do in Key West for families. There are lots of interactive exhibits that are popular with the littles or the little at hearts.
Swim On The Beach
Cost: FREE+ | Time: whatever | Recommendation: Skip
While you may have seen beautiful sandy beaches in pictures of the Florida Keys, it is likely not Key West. Most Key West beaches are rocky and small. However, if you don’t have the opportunity of exploring the rest of the Florida Keys like we did and need to get in the water, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and Smathers Beach are popular spots for swimming in Key West. Higgs Beach is also a popular spot due to it’s convenient location, though the beach is much smaller.
Visit A Historic Fort
Cost: $6/vehicle | Time: 3 hours | Recommendation: For multi-day visits
Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, in addition to having a great beach, is also a well maintained pre-Civil War fort that houses a lot of Civil War era weapons. You can explore the fort on your own and imagine how life in the fort would have been for soldiers. There are also re-enactments and guided tours available. Check the website for more information on special events.
Eat Key Lime Pie!
Cost: $6-ish/slice | Time: 10 minutes | Recommendation: If you didn’t eat Key Lime Pie You Weren’t In Key West
We really had a fun challenge of finding the best Key Lime Pie in the Florida Keys. Spoiler alert it was not in Key West. However, eating Key Lime Pie is one of the most popular things to do in Key West for good reason. And that’s because key lime pie is good! We tried several versions: classic, on a stick, with meringue, cream cheese. Really, there wasn’t a bad one among the lot. Some popular ones to try in Key West are Kermit’s, Blue Heaven and Key West Key Lime Pie Co. We liked Kermit’s best.
Snap A Selfie At The Southernmost Point
Cost: FREE | Time: 30 minutes (there is a line) | Recommendation: For multi-day visits
This is the most touristy thing to do in Key West and there is always a line. However, if you’re in town for a few days, wait in the fast moving line to take your selfie in front of the Southernmost Point of the continental United States. Key west, specifically this marker, is the farthest south you can get in the U.S. without flying to Hawai’i. In fact, this marker is closer to Cuba than it is to Miami.
Get To The End Of The Road
Cost: FREE | Time: 5 minutes | Recommendation: If you’re going to be near it
Speaking of touristy things to do in Key West, you’ll also find the end of the Overseas Highway. Highway 1 stretches thousands of miles from just south of Canada all the way to Key West. Mile Marker 0 is an unassuming little sign, so unassuming we walked right by it and didn’t realize it. So keep your eyes out for this sign.
Visit The Audubon House
Cost: $16/adult | Time: 1 hour | Recommendation: For Multi-day visits
So I have long been obsessed with the Audubon books (read a bit about them here). But basically, they are the first bird books. And as self-proclaimed amateur ornithological enthusiasts, we enjoyed a visit to the house that had only a fleeting connection to Mr. Audubon but is still filled with portraits of the birds of Key West. We’d skip this if you’re visiting Key West with kids. However, if you like birds, this is a must-see.
Get Spooky
Cost: $30+/adult | Time: 1 hour | Recommendation: For Multi-day visits
Key West is supposed to be one of the most haunted destinations in the U.S. So if you like a little fright in your life, consider taking an evening ghost tour or going to see Robert the Doll. We did not partake in this adventure as “we” are scared of ghosts.
Go Snorkeling
Cost: $40+/person | Time: 3 hours | Recommendation: Skip it
Okay folks, I am obsessed with snorkeling! Seriously, this obsession is recently emerged after a recent trip to St. John. But I’m gonna have to say that snorkeling in Key West is a skip for me. This is because there are such amazing snorkeling destination in the northern most keys. So if you are going to do a snorkel trip, we’d recommend doing it elsewhere in the Florida Keys. However, if snorkeling is a thing you want to do in Key West, check out some of these tours. There are still amazing sections of the Florida reef in this area that you can get to. And, hey, some snorkeling is better than no snorkeling.
Day Trip To Dry Tortugas
Cost: $220+/person | Time: Full Day | Recommendation: For Multi-day Visits
While the high price tag may be intimidating, we do think it is worth it. For this high price, you’ll get a full day tour of a tiny island that is even farther west than Key West (methinks it’s a misnomer). This island is home to the historic Fort Jefferson as well as some of the most untouched beaches and reefs in Florida. If you are interested in history, beaches or snorkeling, Dry Tortugas National Park is a better destination than Key West.
Is Key West Kid Friendly?
There are plenty of family friendly things to do in Key West. However, there are also a lot of bachelor/bachelorette parties roaming the streets so be prepared to hear some things that may lead to questions. While you can definitely steer yourselves away from the bar and nightlife scene, there is no avoiding it in downtown Key West. Additionally, all of the child friendly things to do in Key West seemed to come with a high price tag. While the child among our group did enjoy these activities, there were cheaper activities in higher Keys that they enjoyed more. We’d recommend limiting your time in Key West and instead focusing on other Florida Keys if you are planning a family vacation with young children.
How Much Does A Day In Key West Cost?
There are so many things to do in Key West that come with a price tag. Looking at these cost individually, it doesn’t seem so bad. However, when you see it all on your credit card statement, after the fact, it definitely adds up. We think a good estimate for activities is $60/day for adults, less for kids and seniors.
Additionally food and drinks tend to be expensive. You’ll want to budget $18/drink and $30/meal for sit down restaurants. The food here was amazing so we think it was worth splurging on, rather than trying to find cheap and boring eats. There were a few days where we just had pie for dinner, so that saved us some money. We think a good daily budget for food would be $75/adult.
So an adult should budget $135/day for Key West.
What Should I Bring To Key West?
We refuse to pay for water – I mean come on, we’re from the Midwest, our water is more delightful than bottled water and free. So anywhere we go we bring a water bottle. These collapsible water bottles are the best for exploring cities as they can be folder up and stored in pockets when they are empty.
Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you have a rain jacket. Pop-up rain storms are frequent on Key West, especially in summer and fall. I like this neat rain jacket that stuffs in a sack when not in use. It’s great for travel.
When it is not raining, it is sunny. However, because you’re so close to one of the largest and healthiest corals in the world, make sure you are using reef safe sunscreen or mineral sunscreen. If any active ingredients start with an O, avoid them. Here is our favorite brand. PS: this is especially important if you are going into the water at any point.
Don’t worry about bringing cash to Key West. Everywhere we went took cards.
How Do You Get Around Key West?
You do not need a car to get around Key West. In fact if you have one, you’ll wind up paying $40/day for parking. This includes parking golf carts or mopeds as well! Our recommendation would be to take a ride share into the old town area of Key West and then walking everywhere.
However, if you have a hard time getting around, you can rely on ride shares. Or you can get trolley tickets. The hop-on-hop-off trolley or the Conch Train (a train shaped trolley) is a great way to get around while also learning a bit about Key West. It is a popular thing to do in Key West in its own right. However, we should let you know that this trolley does not get to magically avoid the traffic in Key West. Depending on the time of day, you can often walk from stop to stop faster than the trolley travels.
We hope this has given you a good idea for planning your own Key West vacation. If you’re visiting Key West as part of a larger Florida vacation, check out our other Florida posts here, including more detailed posts on visiting Dry Tortugas and the Everglades. If you have any questions or comments on your own Key West vacation, please leave them in the comments section below and we’ll be happy to get back to you.
