The things to do in Key West that we could check are the Hemingway Home, the Key West Lighthouse, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, the free sunset show at Mallory Square, Duval Street, the Southernmost Point and a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. Plan 2 nights in Old Town, and a third day if you go to the Dry Tortugas. We read each official page on 14 October 2026.
The sights, with address, hours and price
Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
Address: 907 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040 (Hemingway Home website, contact page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Open every day, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tours start every 15 minutes, with the first at 9:15 a.m. (Hemingway Home website, rates page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Price: Adult $19, ages 6 to 12 $7, ages 5 and under free. A 3% fee applies to card and mobile payments (same page; the page has no date)
The grounds have cats. The home's site says some of them are descendants of a six-toed cat called Snow White that a ship's captain gave to Hemingway.
Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters
Address: 938 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040. Phone 305-294-0012 (Key West Art and Historical Society, lighthouse page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Last admission 4:30 p.m. (same page)
Price: Adult $17 ($15.50 online). Senior, local, college ID or retired military $13 ($11.50 online). Youth 7 to 18 $9 ($7.50 online). Under 7 and active military free (same page)
The tower has 88 steps, says the society. It sits across the street from the Hemingway Home, so you can do both on one walk.
Southernmost Point buoy
Address: Corner of South Street and Whitehead Street (Wikipedia, Southernmost Point Buoy, read 14 Oct 2026)
Note: Wikipedia says a copy of the buoy was put at the end of Duval Street on 4 September 2025 while the seawall at the old site was repaired (same entry)
Address: Temporary buoy: 1499 Duval Street, at the south end of Duval Street, since 4 September 2025, "while seawall and roadway repairs are underway" (City of Key West, Southernmost Buoy facility page, read 15 Oct 2026)
The city page gives no date for the buoy's return to the old corner, so check before you walk there.
The buoy says it marks the southernmost point of the continental United States. Wikipedia says it is neither the true southernmost point of the country nor of the island.
Mallory Square Sunset Celebration
Address: Mallory Square Dock and Plaza, on the north-west waterfront near the foot of Duval Street (Sunset Celebration, visitor info page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Every night. It starts about two hours before sunset and ends soon after. The organizer's monthly table lists 5:15 p.m. for October and says to arrive about an hour after the start, when the crowd has grown (same page)
Price: Free. Performers are paid in tips. The lot at the square costs $4 an hour, and the organizer says to park on the street and walk (same page)
Duval Street
Duval Street is the main street of Old Town. It has shops, bars and live music, and the tourism board names it for live music. It has no entry fee and no set hours. Each shop and bar sets its own. The Mallory Square waterfront is close to its foot.
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
Address: 601 Howard England Way, Key West, FL 33040. The fort is reached at the end of Southard Street through Truman Annex (City of Key West, facilities page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Park 8:00 a.m. to sundown, 365 days a year. Fort 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (same page)
Price: $6 a vehicle for up to eight people, plus a Monroe County charge of 50 cents a person. $4.50 for a car with one person or a motorcycle. $2.50 for a walker, a cyclist or an extra passenger. The last two include the county charge (Florida State Parks, Fort Zachary Taylor hours and fees page, Internet Archive copy of 24 Dec 2024, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: The park's main page still shows "$6 per vehicle" and the same hours (Florida State Parks, Fort Zachary Taylor park page, Internet Archive copy of 21 Sep 2026, read 15 Oct 2026). The live state site blocked our reader, so the per-person extras are from the older copy
The city page says the beach at the south end of the park is used for picnics, swimming, snorkeling and fishing.
Harry S. Truman Little White House
Address: 111 Front Street, Key West, in Truman Annex. Phone 305-294-9911 (Truman Little White House website, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Museum open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (same site)
Price: Museum tour from $24. The ticket page shows only a "from" price, with no adult or child split (same site, tickets page)
The site sells entry as a museum tour. It does not give the tour length, and we did not confirm it.
Dry Tortugas National Park
The park is about 70 miles west of Key West. There are no roads. The National Park Service says you can only reach it by ferry, seaplane, private boat or a permitted charter.
Getting there: Yankee Freedom ferry, day trip: check-in 7:00 a.m. at the ferry terminal, 100 Grinnell Street. Boarding 7:30 a.m., departs 8:00 a.m., arrives at Fort Jefferson about 10:15 a.m., leaves the island 3:00 p.m. The home page says it is back in Key West at 5:15 p.m. and the FAQ says 5:30 p.m. The FAQ puts the ride at about 2 hours 15 minutes each way. Times can change with the weather (drytortugas.com, home page and FAQ, read 14 Oct 2026)
Price: Day trips from $260. It includes the park entrance fee, a breakfast snack, a box lunch, snorkel gear and a narrated 45-minute fort tour (same site, rates page and FAQ)
Price: Seaplane, Key West Seaplane Adventures, 3471 South Roosevelt Blvd. Half day $527 an adult, full day $910, about 40 minutes each way. Add the $15 park fee, which they collect at check-in. They say they typically sell out about 14 days ahead and up to 3 months ahead at peak times (keywestseaplanecharters.com, rates and FAQ pages, read 14 Oct 2026)
Price: Park entrance fee $15 a person, good for 7 days in a row. Ages 15 and under are free. An America the Beautiful pass covers it. The ferry ticket includes the fee, but not camping fees. The page says to plan to go cashless (NPS, fees page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Fort Jefferson is open from sunrise to sunset, says the NPS hours page. The ferry FAQ says there are no restaurants on the island, and the seaplane operator says there is no cell service or wifi.
Day visitors on the ferry or seaplane need no separate park booking, the seaplane operator says. Regular campsites on Garden Key are first come, first served, for up to 6 people a site, and groups of 10 to 20 must book with the park. The NPS says ferry seats sell out months ahead, and the seaplane does not carry campers.
Can you see Cuba from Key West?
No. The Southernmost Point buoy is painted "90 Miles to Cuba." You cannot see that far from a beach, because the Earth curves and hides the far coast. Wikipedia puts Cuba's closest point at 94 statute miles due south, citing the National Weather Service office in Key West (Wikipedia, Southernmost Point Buoy, read 15 Oct 2026). We did not test the view ourselves.
Where to stay in Key West
We did not check any hotel's rate or room list for this page, so we give no prices. Rates in Key West change a lot by season, so look up your own dates.
| Area | What it is near |
|---|---|
| Old Town | Duval Street, Mallory Square, the Hemingway Home, the Lighthouse |
| Truman Annex | Fort Zachary Taylor, the Little White House |
| New Town | The airport, where the Greyhound bus stops |
Old Town suits a first visit, because you can walk to most sights. The tourism board says Key West is one of the easiest places in the Keys to explore without a car, especially Old Town, and lists walking, biking, pedicabs, taxis and rideshare as popular. Truman Annex puts you next to the park and its beach. From New Town you will need a bike, taxi or bus to reach Old Town.
How many days do you need?
Two nights works for Old Town. Day one covers Mallory Square and Duval Street. Day two covers Whitehead Street (the Hemingway Home, the Lighthouse and the Southernmost Point) and Fort Zachary Taylor. Add one day for the Dry Tortugas. The ferry day runs from 7:00 a.m. check-in to about 5:30 p.m., so it uses a whole day. This is our own advice. No source gives a number of days.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 15 October 2026: Internet Archive copies of the Florida State Parks pages for Fort Zachary Taylor (the park page of 21 Sep 2026 and the hours and fees page of 24 Dec 2024). Read on 14 October 2026: the Hemingway Home website (rates page and contact page), the Key West Art and Historical Society's lighthouse page, the Sunset Celebration visitor info page, the City of Key West's Fort Zachary Taylor facilities page, the Truman Little White House home and ticket pages, Wikipedia's Southernmost Point Buoy entry, the National Park Service's Dry Tortugas fees, directions, hours and camping pages, drytortugas.com (home page, rates page and FAQ), Key West Seaplane Adventures' rates and FAQ pages, and the Florida Keys tourism board's "how to get here" page. Also read on 15 October 2026: the City of Key West's Southernmost Buoy page and Wikipedia's Southernmost Point Buoy entry again.
Not confirmed: the Fort Zachary Taylor per-person extras on the live state site, the Truman Little White House tour length and child price, when the Southernmost Point buoy returns to its old corner, adult and child ferry prices, the ferry's refund rules, and any hotel rate. Prices and hours change, so check the operator's page for your date. We did not visit Key West for this page.
