The MUST of
Key West.

Almost nowhere for free. City lots (Simonton Beach, Mallory Square garage, Park-N-Ride at Stock Island) charge $4-6/hr. Street meters are $4/hr with a 2-hr max. Locals rent a golf cart or park at Park-N-Ride and take the shuttle. If you're staying in Old Town, ask if your hotel has parking — most don't, or charge $30-50/day.

No — Old Town is 4×4 blocks, walkable end-to-end. Between Old Town and Smathers Beach, a bike or golf cart is faster than a car and cheaper than parking. Rent a car only if you're day-tripping up the Keys or bringing a lot of gear.

Boarding usually starts 30 minutes before departure and the boat leaves on time — captains don't wait. Add 15 min for Old Town traffic and finding your dock. Historic Seaport has 4 different marinas; your booking will name the exact one.

Every operator we recommend either reschedules for free or refunds in full for weather cancellations. The cancellation and refund policy appears on the FareHarbor booking page before you check out. If seas are choppy but the captain still runs, that's not a weather cancellation — take Bonine an hour before.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are peak cruise days when 3-5 ships can be in port at once. Duval Street gets shoulder-to-shoulder from 10am to 4pm. Monday and Friday are quieter; Sunday is the calmest. Boat tours are less affected because they leave the dock.

Yes for the most part — it's crowded, well-lit, and there's a heavy police presence. The lower blocks (1–6) can get rowdy after midnight. Petty theft (bike, wallet, phone) is the most common issue — not violence. Stay on lit streets, don't walk alone drunk, and lock your rental bike/cart.

Two hours before sunset is when the buskers start setting up — that's when it's fun to walk the whole square. One hour before sunset gets you a spot on the wall but it's shoulder-to-shoulder. During cruise ship days, arrive earlier or watch sunset from a boat instead.

Yes — it's a real optical effect where the last bit of sun turns green for about a second as it sets. You need a clear ocean horizon with no clouds, which happens maybe 1 in 4 sunsets in Key West. Best odds: Fort Zachary Taylor or a boat, when the sky is clear all the way to the water.

15–20% of the trip price is standard for a good tour, split among the crew (usually captain + 1-2 mates). Cash is preferred and often collected at the end. If they were exceptional — helped a nervous swimmer, spotted extra wildlife, made your kid's day — tip more. If they were phoning it in, tip less; nobody expects 20% for bad service.

Most snorkel and sunset sails don't allow dogs. Private charters usually will — you have to ask specifically, and pay a small pet fee. Salty Bottom and a few Sebago private trips accept well-behaved dogs. Fort Zachary Taylor has a small designated dog beach.

Yes, and Key West enforces it. Since 2021, sunscreens with oxybenzone or octinoxate are banned island-wide. Any reef-safe mineral sunscreen (zinc or titanium base) is fine. Boats usually don't sell it, so bring your own — the touristy shops near the seaport charge triple.

Almost never — USCG rules and the operator's insurance forbid outside alcohol on for-hire trips. Most operators include beer/wine/champagne, or have a cash bar. Private charters have more flexibility; ask when you book.

The reef (7 miles out) and the Dry Tortugas (70 miles) are the roughest — open water, real swell. Sandbar trips inside the reef are calm; Old Town harbor sails are calmest. Take Bonine or a scopolamine patch the night before, not the morning of. Ginger chews help. Sit low, mid-ship, on the deck — not in the cabin.

Real Key Lime Pie is pale, almost off-white — never yellow. Yellow means food coloring or the wrong lime. The filling should be tart, not sweet, made with condensed milk and Key lime juice (which is smaller and more sour than a regular lime). Best on the island: Blue Heaven, Kermit's, Old Town Bakery, and Key West Key Lime Pie Company.

Yes — 907 Whitehead Street, open daily 9am-5pm, $17 adults. Guided tours run every 30 min and are worth it. Yes, there are 60+ six-toed cats, and yes, they're descendants of Hemingway's cat Snow White. Photos allowed. Duval Street is 1 block away.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, no question. Clear water, actual sand (Smathers is coarser), shade under the pines, showers, and a $6 entry that keeps the crowd manageable. Smathers is bigger and free-parking-adjacent but has spring-break energy in season. Higgs Beach is quiet and family-friendly but the water's murkier.

Three ways: Yankee Freedom ferry (about 2.5 hrs each way, includes snorkel gear and lunch, ~$220), seaplane (Key West Seaplane Adventures, 40 min each way, half or full day, ~$400-700), or private charter (fastest, most flexible, 6-hr day trip on a Freeman or similar). All three depart from the Historic Seaport.

Yes — Conch Carts and every reputable rental in Key West runs street-legal, DOT-plated carts. You can drive them on any Old Town street under 35 mph (which is every Old Town street). You cannot take them on US-1 across Cow Key Bridge. You need a valid driver's license. Seat belts required.

Bahia Honda State Park (MM 37) for the beach and the old railroad bridge — about 45 min drive. Big Pine Key (MM 30) for the endangered Key deer at dawn or dusk. Robbie's at Islamorada (MM 77) for feeding the tarpons. Any of them are easier by rental car than by tour bus. Leave Key West by 8am if you want to be back for sunset.