The drive from Miami to Key West is the rare American road trip where the road itself is the destination. For about 113 miles, U.S. 1 — the Overseas Highway — hops from island to island across 42 bridges, with open water on both sides. This guide covers the honest drive time, the stops that fit in one day, what Key West gives you in a few hours, and whether to stay the night — plus the bus, the flight, and the ferry that does not exist.
How far is Key West from Miami, really?
Key West sits about 160 miles from downtown Miami, and the drive takes about three and a half to four hours without stops. Plan around that number. The Overseas Highway itself — U.S. 1 from Florida City to Key West — is about 113 miles, and the rest is the drive from Miami down to Florida City. Mile markers count down from 127 at Florida City to 0 at Key West, and every park, marina and restaurant gives its address as a mile marker.
The road is mostly two lanes, one each way, with a 45 to 55 mph speed limit, and no tolls. But a slow truck or a line of cars turning into a marina can hold you up for miles — and on a Friday or a holiday weekend, the same drive can take five hours or more.
The drive: the Overseas Highway in one day
Leave Miami by 6 or 7 in the morning: an early start puts you past the Miami traffic, gets you to Key Largo while the light is still soft, and leaves you the whole afternoon in Key West. The highway follows the route of Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad, finished in 1912 and wrecked by the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which is why so much of it runs straight across the water.
A realistic timeline: leave Miami at 6:30 AM, reach Key Largo around 8:00, spend an hour there, cross the middle Keys with one short stop, and arrive in Key West around 1:00 PM. That leaves four or five hours in town before the drive back, putting you in Miami around 9 or 10 at night — about seven to eight hours of driving. Gas stations, restaurants and shops line U.S. 1 through every town — the only stretch without services is the Seven Mile Bridge itself.
Key Largo: the first stop that earns it
Key Largo is the first and largest island in the Keys, and the only early stop worth making: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park at mile marker 102.5, America’s first undersea park. Its glass-bottom boat tours let you see the living coral reef offshore without getting wet — the right choice when your day has no room for a snorkel trip. The park also has a small aquarium, mangrove trails, and Cannon Beach.
Entry is $8 per vehicle (for two to eight people), plus $0.50 per person; a single-occupant vehicle pays $4.50, and pedestrians and cyclists pay $2. The park is open from 8 AM to sunset, 365 days a year. Boat tour prices vary by season, so check the park’s own site or the concession stand on the day. Without a boat, an hour is enough: the trails, the aquarium, Cannon Beach.
Islamorada and Marathon: the middle Keys
Islamorada calls itself the Village of Islands and the Sportfishing Capital of the World — a claim the boats in every marina back up. On a day trip, the one stop here is Robbie’s Marina at mile marker 77.5, where huge tarpon gather at the dock and visitors feed them by hand. It takes twenty minutes, not two hours.
Marathon, the next town down, holds the Turtle Hospital at mile marker 48.5, rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles since 1986 — around 100 a year — with guided tours through the tanks and treatment rooms. Admission is $38 for adults and $19 for children ages 4 to 12; children under 4 go in free. Tours run every 30 minutes from 9 AM to 4 PM, last 70 to 90 minutes, and reservations are recommended — call 305-743-2552.
Between Marathon and the Seven Mile Bridge sits Bahia Honda State Park at mile marker 37, the best beach stop on the drive, with three beaches — Sandspur, Loggerhead and Calusa — and the old bridge, which you can walk for the view. Entry is $8 per vehicle, $4.50 for a single occupant, and $2.50 for pedestrians and cyclists; the park is open from 8 AM to sundown, 365 days a year.
The Seven Mile Bridge: the drive’s best hour
The Seven Mile Bridge is the reason the drive exists. At 6.79 miles long, it is the longest bridge on the Overseas Highway, and for about ten minutes you are driving across open sea with water on both sides and no land in sight. The modern bridge opened in 1982; beside it runs the old bridge, built for Flagler’s railway and carrying cars from 1938 until the new bridge replaced it. The restored 2.2-mile section of the old bridge, from Marathon to Pigeon Key, reopened to walkers and cyclists in January 2022. It is free and flat; the walk out and back is about 4.4 miles — too long for a day trip.
There is no stopping on the new bridge, and there should not be: it is a two-lane highway with no shoulder and nowhere safe to pull over. Drive it slowly, windows down. If you want a photograph, use the pull-offs at either end. If you are driving back after dark, take it steady — the road is narrow, the lighting is sparse, and the drive back is always slower than the drive down. Slow down through Big Pine Key after dark, too: endangered Key deer cross the highway there.
Key West in a few hours: what fits
Key West is the southernmost city in the continental United States, a small island town where the pace drops the moment you arrive. With four or five hours, you can see the essentials — but only on foot. Start on Duval Street, the main street, which runs about a mile from the Gulf side to the Atlantic side.
Then walk two blocks to the Ernest Hemingway Home at 907 Whitehead Street, where the writer lived from 1931 to 1939. The house is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, 365 days a year, with guided tours every 15 minutes from 9:15 AM, taking 20 to 30 minutes. Admission is $19 for adults and $7 for children ages 6 to 12; children under 6 go in free. The house is famous for its roughly 60 polydactyl cats — cats with extra toes.
From there, walk to the Southernmost Point buoy at the corner of South and Whitehead Streets — a big striped concrete buoy, free, with almost always a line for a photograph. Finish the afternoon at Mallory Square for the Sunset Celebration, a free nightly gathering of street performers and musicians around sunset.
Stay overnight or drive back? The honest answer
Yes, the drive can be done in one day — but it is a very long day, and the honest answer depends on what you want from Key West. A day trip gives you the drive, one or two stops, and an afternoon in Old Town. It does not give you the sunset at Mallory Square and a slow evening on Duval Street, because the sunset is when you need to be heading back north — or the Turtle Hospital tour and Bahia Honda and a proper swim, because those stops do not fit alongside four hours in town.
Stay overnight and the trip changes completely: the sunset, the evening on Duval Street, a morning in town before the day-trippers arrive, and time for the stops you skipped on the way down. If you can only do one day, do the day trip and enjoy it for what it is. If you can spare the night, spare it: the drive is the same, but the trip is twice as good.
The alternatives: bus, flight and the ferry that isn’t there
Greyhound (with FlixBus) runs from Miami to Key West three times a day — first departure 5:00 AM, last 11:00 AM — from the Miami Intermodal Center at the airport to Key West. The ride takes about 4 hours and 30 minutes, and tickets start from $26.98. The bus is slower than driving and skips every stop in this guide.
Flying is the fast option: American Airlines runs nonstop flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Key West International Airport (EYW) several times a day, and the flight takes about an hour. Key West airport is only about three miles east of Old Town. The catch is the price, which swings widely by season — and flying skips the Overseas Highway entirely.
The ferry is the option that does not exist: there is no ferry from Miami to Key West, and there has not been one for years. The Key West Express catamaran does run to Key West, but it departs from Fort Myers Beach on the Gulf coast, not from Miami — the crossing takes about three and a half to four hours, with a morning departure and an evening return. Getting to Fort Myers Beach from Miami is itself a two-and-a-half-hour drive, so the ferry only makes sense if you are already on the Gulf coast.
What to pack and what the drive costs
Pack for a day that is mostly outdoors: sunscreen and a hat, water and snacks for the car, a swimsuit and a towel for a beach stop, bug spray for the mangrove trails, a phone charger and a downloaded map — the signal drops on the long bridges — and a light layer for the evening.
The drive itself is cheap: no tolls, and the only costs are the ones you choose. The verified figures, as of November 2026, are:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park entry | $8 per vehicle (+ $0.50 per person) |
| Bahia Honda State Park entry | $8 per vehicle |
| Turtle Hospital tour | $38 adult / $19 child (4–12) / under 4 free |
| Ernest Hemingway Home | $19 adult / $7 child (6–12) / under 6 free |
| Greyhound / FlixBus Miami–Key West | From $26.98 one way |
| Mallory Square Sunset Celebration | Free |
| Southernmost Point buoy | Free |
| Old Seven Mile Bridge walk | Free |
As a worked example: two adults driving their own car, stopping at Pennekamp ($8) and taking the Turtle Hospital tour ($76) and the Hemingway Home tour ($38), spend $122 before gas and food. Gas is the only real variable: the round trip is about 330 miles, about 11 gallons at 30 miles per gallon.
FAQ
How long is the drive from Miami to Key West?
About 160 miles, three and a half to four hours without stops. With one or two stops, plan on five to six hours each way — more on a Friday or a holiday weekend.
Can you do Key West in one day from Miami?
Yes — thousands of people do it every week. Leave by 6 or 7 AM, keep your stops to one or two, and expect to be back in Miami around 9 or 10 at night. You will see the drive and the best of Old Town.
Is there a ferry from Miami to Key West?
No — there is no ferry service between Miami and Key West. The Key West Express catamaran sails from Fort Myers Beach on the Gulf coast, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Miami.
What is the best way to get to Key West without a car?
The Greyhound bus from the Miami Intermodal Center at the airport runs three times a day, takes about four and a half hours, and costs from $26.98. Or fly: American Airlines runs nonstop flights from Miami to Key West several times a day, taking about an hour.
What is the best time of year to drive to Key West?
December to April is the driest and most comfortable season, with cooler air and the lowest chance of rain. Summer is hotter and more humid, with afternoon storms most days. Hurricane season runs from June through November, so check the forecast before a summer or autumn trip.
The Short Version
The Miami to Key West drive is about 160 miles and three and a half to four hours each way, on a toll-free two-lane highway crossing 42 bridges. Leave by 6 or 7 AM, stop at Pennekamp in Key Largo and Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada, drive the Seven Mile Bridge slowly, and spend the afternoon walking Old Town Key West — Duval Street, the Hemingway Home, the Southernmost Point buoy, and the sunset at Mallory Square if you stay. It works as a day trip, it is better overnight, and there is no ferry from Miami.