The Florida Keys combines the wonders of a Caribbean destination with the convenience of a well-developed American destination. You’ll find lazy beaches with overly expensive cocktails, luxury sunset sails with shrimp cocktails, and rustic hiking through swamps. So whether you want a relaxing beach vacation or an active ocean adventure, this Florida Keys itinerary has something for you.
Consistently rated as one of the best road trips in the United States, possibly the world, the Overseas Highway stretches from the Everglades to Key West through multiple small islands. This Florida Keys itinerary takes you across the 165 mile highway, all the way to Key West.
7 Day Florida Keys Itinerary
In this guide, we’ll go through three different Florida Keys itineraries.
The first is a 7-day Florida Keys itinerary that covers all the basics of the Florida Keys and Miami. This is a great itinerary for families and it is what our family did with young children and seniors – so it’s great for all ages.
The second is a 10-day Florida Keys itinerary that includes three National Parks: Dry Tortugas, Biscayne and the Everglades. This becomes a very pricy vacation as Biscayne and Dry Tortugas both require guided tours to see the parks. So if you do decide to go on this Florida Keys itinerary, be aware that there isn’t a way to see these destinations without spending quite a bit of money. This is great for active couples.
The last is a shortened version of a Florida Keys itinerary that covers the highlights of the Keys in five days. This is great for folks on a budget or a short trip with friends.
Where To Stay In The Florida Keys
Because a LOT of vacation rentals have minimum stays in the Florida Keys, we’d recommend picking a “base camp” for your Florida Keys road trip. We stayed in Marathon as it was a good central location. Sure, we drove an hour to get places on some days but we didn’t have to pack our bags each day and move all of our things. Additionally, this was a great strategy for us as we could easily re-order destinations each day based on the weather without throwing off our overnight bookings.
Here are a few options for stays in Marathon:
- Canal front house with pool and tiki bar – sleeps 6, in Marathon
- Large house with pool near the beach – sleeps 8, in Marathon
- Private bungalow with pool – sleeps 8, in Key West historic district
The other option is to book a different hotel each night as you make your way south.
Day 1 – Miami
First, arrive in Miami as early as you can, evening the night before if possible. We’ve been able to arrive before lunch each time we’ve flown to Miami. Grab your rental car and head straight to Little Havana. This is our absolute favorite place to visit in the Miami area. If your flight arrives in time, try a Little Havana food tour for lunch. By booking the tour we took with this link, we’ll earn a small commission at no extra charge to you.
After lunch/food tour, spend the afternoon wandering Miami Beach. While the beach here is great, make sure to also wander the art deco building of the main street.
For the evening, visit downtown Miami and consider taking a sunset cruise to see celebrity homes. It was a wildly fun tour!
Day 2 – Key Largo
Spend your first day in the Florida Keys exploring what makes them so special – their underwater world. The Florida Reef, which runs along the length of the Keys and southern Florida is the 3rd largest coral reef in the world.
First, drive to Theater of the Sea. This is an animal attraction destination. There are rescued sea turtles, tropical bird shows and dolphin shows and interactions.
Next, head back to Key Largo and visit John Pennekamp State Park. On your way, stop at the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary if you have extra time for a quick peak at some Florida birds. Once you arrive at John Pennekamp, go on a snorkel tour.
On your way back to the Marathon area, consider stopping at Robbie’s in Islamorada to feed the tarpons. This is a quick and cheap thing to do that is super fun.
You can eat at Robbies or continue south to our favorite Florida Keys Restaurant, the SS Wreck & Galley Grill – which also happens to have the best key lime pie in Florida!
Day 3 – Marathon
Spend the morning kayaking the mangroves of Curry Hammock State Park. You’ll need to rent kayaks to bring here or get this company to drop the kayaks off at the park for you.
Next, head to the Turtle Hospital for an educational experience with rescued sea turtles. You get to spend the one hour tour seeing turtles in various states of repair. Then you end with feeding the sea turtles that call the hospital home.
Next, grab a lunch to go and then head to Sombrero Beach for the afternoon. This is the most beautiful beach in the Florida Keys.
Day 4 – State Parks
Spend the morning hunting for Key Deer on Deer Key. This includes a bit of hiking in the National Key Deer Refuge but more driving through neighborhoods trying to spot them in yards (which technically isn’t allowed in some neighborhoods).
Whatever you do, do not go to No Name Bar for lunch. Every blog out there recommends No Name Bar as one of the best places to eat in the Florida Keys. However, the food was garbage and the service was worse – so don’t go out of your way to find this average bar in the middle of no where.
However, do find somewhere else delicious for lunch.
Next, head to Bahia Honda State Park for the afternoon on the beach. There is a nice hike to the top of the old bridge for views of the Overseas Highway.
Before heading back to Marathon, stop at the 7 Mile Bridge Vista Point for great views of the bridge.
Day 5 & 6 – Key West
Spend two days exploring Key West. Key West has tons of things to do that you could easily spend longer here.
We spent the first day in Key West exploring the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Mallory Square, the Key West Aquarium and taking a dolphin watching sunset sail.
On the second day in Key West, we visited the Truman Little White House, explored Duval Street, visited the Hemingway Home, climbed the Key West Lighthouse, visited the Southernmost Point and saw butterflies at the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.
Day 7 – Miami and Home
On your final day, head back to Miami to catch your flight home. If you have extra time, consider exploring more of Miami in the morning. A tour of Vizcaya would be a great thing to do if you have a few hours in the morning.
Florida Keys 10-Day Itinerary
Where To Stay In The Florida Keys
Like the 7-day Florida Keys itinerary above, we think it’s best to pick two “base camps” for this 10-day Florida Keys itinerary.
For days 1-4, staying near Homestead makes the most sense.
For days 5-9, staying in a key close to Key West is the best option.
Options in Homestead:
- Tiny Cottage – sleeps 2, budget friendly
- Family Home – sleeps 8, with pool
- Fairway Inn – budget friendly, great breakfast
Options in Key West:
- Old Town Cottage – sleeps 3, great location
- Large House with pool – sleeps 8
- Mansion on the Sea – Southernmost Inn, breakfast included
Staying a little north of Key West will save you a lot of money and some time in traffic.
**On the evening of day 9, we stayed in a hotel just outside of Miami so we were close to the airport and the fun activities in Miami.
Day 1 – Miami
Arrive early in the morning and spend the rest of the day in Miami – refer to Day 1 above. Make sure to grab food in Little Havana at least once before heading to the Keys.
Day 2 – Everglades
With one day in Everglades National Park, you can visit both the Shark Valley and Flamingo area of the park.
First start in the Flamingo section of the park. Here, you’ll drive south through the park, stopping at trails like Anhinga or Mahogany Hammock Trails, along the way. In Flamingo, spot manatees from the dock before turning around and heading for Shark Valley.
Make sure to pack lunch for the park as vendors in the park are limited.
Next, in the afternoon, visit the Shark Valley section of the park. This was our favorite section of the park. The top two things to do in this section of the park are the airboat rides that are available just outside of the park and the Train Tour inside the park. The train tour has been one of our all time favorite tours that we’ve taken in a National Park! It is our must-visit for Everglades.
On your way back to Homestead, stop at Everglades Gator Grill for a sampling of alligator tail. If that doesn’t appeal to you, Shiver’s, in Homestead is a great place for southern BBQ.
Day 3 – Biscayne National Park
Spend the day exploring Biscayne National Park with the full day tour of Biscayne National Park. This is the tour that we would recommend. It includes a tour of the park along with a snorkel/paddle tour and stops at multiple islands. If you don’t want to spend the whole day on the water, you could do this half day tour. You should book your tours well in advance if you are visiting in the spring season as tours are full.
Whichever tour you choose, you should have plenty of time in the evening to head in to Homestead for dinner. We loved Havana Spice!
Day 4 – Key Largo
Spend the day exploring John Pennekamp State Park and Theater of the Sea – see Day 2 above. Head back to Homestead at the end of the evening after having dinner in Key Largo.
Day 5 – Marathon
Wake up early, pack up and get checked out of your Homestead accommodations.
Spend the day visiting Curry Hammock State Park, Sombrero Beach and the Turtle Hospital – see day 3 above.
Check in to your lower keys accommodations in the evening.
Day 6 – State Parks
Next, explore the National Key Deer Refuge and Bahia Honda State Park for the day – see day 4 above.
Day 7-8 – Key West
Spend two days wandering old Key West – see days 5 and 6 above.
Day 9 – Dry Tortugas
Spend a full day at Dry Tortugas exploring the fort and snorkeling on the beautiful natural beach. This is a very remote park that is hard to visit. You must visit on a tour by ferry or seaplane.
Day 10 – Miami and Home
Drive the full overseas highway to get back to Miami for your flight home. If you have time explore more of Miami.
Florida Keys 5-Day Itinerary
Where To Stay
For this 5-day Florida Keys itinerary, you’ll want to stay in a Lower Key (this means a southern one). This will allow you to minimize your drive time.
Day 1 – Key Largo
Arrive in Miami as early as possible.
Next, head to John Pennekamp State Park to do a snorkel tour.
Stop in at Robbie’s to feed the tarpons on the way to whatever lower key you decide to stay at.
Day 2 – Water Wonders
Spend the morning at the Turtle Hospital learning about sea turtles.
Spend the mid-day hours lounging on Sombrero Beach.
In the afternoon, hit up a late tour of the Dolphin Research Center for a dolphin show.
Day 3 & 4 – Key West
Spend two days exploring Key West.
Day 5 – Overseas Highway
Take a leisurely trip back along the Overseas Highway. Make sure to stop at Bahia Honda State Park for a stretch of the legs and a bit of beach time before climbing back in the car to head out. Catch a late in the day flight home.
What To Budget For Key West
Key West is one of the most expensive vacation destinations in the United States. It feels like every activity in the Keys costs money, the food is overpriced and the hotels are outrageous. Here are some typical prices:
- Food: $10/person for take away and $30/person for sit-down
- Hotels and Home Rentals: $300/night, Key West is more like $500/night
- Transportation: $80/day for a rental car. Gas seems to be around the U.S. average.
- Activities: $50/person/day
We hope this post has helped you to plan your own perfect Key West itinerary. If you have any questions or recommendations from your own trip, please leave them in the comments below. Or check out all of our Florida posts here.
