Boat Rental Key West — 2027 Guide: Coral Reef, Sunset from the Water and Fishing

Key West is the southernmost city in the continental United States and the last island the road through the Florida Keys reaches. On one side lie the Atlantic and the band of coral reef, on the other the shallow Gulf of Mexico with mangroves and sandbars. That is exactly why Key West is best experienced from the water: in a few hours you can fish the reef, swim in the shallows and be back for sunset. This guide explains where boats go from Key West, which rules apply on the reef, when the season is and what a private trip in our listings costs.

Getting to Key West

• The Overseas Highway (US 1) runs from the mainland south of Miami across the islands and bridges of the Florida Keys all the way to Key West. The drive is about 260 km (160 miles) and takes about four hours, and its best-known stretch is the Seven Mile Bridge, about 11 km long over open water.
• Key West International Airport has direct flights from several US cities, so you can also reach the island without the drive.
• If your trip starts in Miami, see also our Miami boat rental guide for Biscayne Bay and its sandbars.

What you see from the water

• The coral reef. South of Key West, a few nautical miles offshore, runs part of the only living coral reef along the continental United States. The best-known snorkelling spot is Sand Key, a shallow patch with an old lighthouse on the edge of the reef. The water is clear, and in many places only a few metres deep.
• Flats and sandbars (the back country). North and west of the island the sea is shallow, turquoise and full of mangrove islets. At low tide sandbars appear where boats anchor for a swim. You move slowly and need to know the bottom, because it is easy to run aground.
• Marquesas Keys. A ring of uninhabited mangrove islets about 30 km (20 miles) west of Key West. The area is protected as a wildlife refuge, so landing on some of the islets is not allowed.
• Sunset at Mallory Square. Every evening people gather on Mallory Square by the harbour to watch the sunset, while schooners, catamarans and smaller boats sail on the water in front of the square. From a boat you see both the sunset and the town's waterfront lit by the last sun.
• Dry Tortugas. A national park about 110 km (about 60 nautical miles) west of Key West, with 19th-century Fort Jefferson and the reefs around it. People usually go there by ferry or seaplane; by private boat it is a full day of open-sea passage, possible only in calm weather.

Rules on the reef

All the waters around the Florida Keys, Key West included, are part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The basic rules are simple:

• do not touch coral, do not stand on it and do not anchor on it; well-known snorkelling sites have mooring buoys;
• in some zones fishing and taking anything from the sea is prohibited;
• snorkellers must be marked with a divers-down flag, and boats near such a flag go slowly and keep their distance.

Fishing from Key West

Key West is one of the best-known fishing spots in Florida because flats, reef, wrecks and the deep water of the Florida Straits are all close together.

• Reef and wrecks: kingfish, grouper, snapper and other bottom species.
• Offshore: mahi-mahi, tuna and sailfish, which are most common in winter.
• Flats: tarpon, especially in spring.
• Lobster: the lobster season in Florida runs from early August to the end of March.

Our listing in Key West

Compass Rose – Sea Hunter 37 is a fishing boat almost 12 metres (39 ft) long and more than 3 metres (10 ft) wide, with twin 350 hp engines. You charter the whole boat with a captain, for up to 6 people:

• 4 hours: from €905 (USD 1,050)
• 6 hours: from €1,080 (USD 1,250)
• 8 hours: from €1,335 (USD 1,550)
• lobstering: USD 1,100 for 4 hours, USD 1,400 for 6 hours, USD 1,700 for a full day

Bait, fishing licences, coolers and ice are included in the price. Fishing is on the reef, wrecks, flats and offshore. Edible fish of legal size and limit are yours to keep, and the rest are released. Prices are set in US dollars, so the euro amounts are approximate. If the weather does not allow the trip, it is cancelled and you get a full refund.

Booking works like this: you send us an enquiry with your date, trip length and number of people, we check availability with the captain, you pay us the booking fee, and you pay the rest to the captain on the day of the trip.

Season and weather

• December to April is the dry season: lower humidity, pleasant temperatures and the most visitors. Cold fronts from the north sometimes bring strong wind and choppy seas for a day or two.
• May to October is the hot, humid period. The sea is often calm in the morning, and short thunderstorms arrive in the afternoon, so trips are planned earlier.
• June to November is hurricane season. Most days are normal, but when a storm approaches, trips are cancelled and county authorities can order visitors to leave the Keys.
• The sea is about 23 °C in winter and about 30 °C in summer.

Boat rental in Key West with Crystalium Booker

See the listings on the Key West location page or send us your date and number of people through the contact page. Do you rent out a boat or run trips in Key West or elsewhere in Florida? List with us.