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Walking across the steamy tarmac, I look up at the big red letters emblazoned across the front of the tiny airport terminal. “Welcome to the Conch Republic,” they announce, and I have a moment of panic thinking that I forgot my passport. That’s when I remember that I’m still in the United States.
Key West, the southernmost point of the continental U.S., feels like a different country — or at least like a unique place in our own.
In an era of homogenized travel experiences, the island remains refreshingly idiosyncratic, full of independent thinkers like those who inspired Key West’s short-lived attempt to secede from the union in 1982. Though its debauchery has been the stuff of legend since rumrunners established Prohibition-era speakeasies (and the island’s most famous resident, Ernest Hemingway, wrote in a letter to a friend, “Got tight last night on absinthe. Did knife tricks”), lately it sports a fresh, dapper persona that places culture, environmental stewardship and a hyper-local culinary scene in the spotlight.
Key West celebrates its 200th anniversary as a permanent settlement in 2022. Although the bulk of the festivities revolved around the official March 25 bicentennial, events commemorating the island’s history and culture will happen throughout the year and include film screenings, architecture tours, lectures and special exhibitions.
Note that while Key West can get packed with visitors in winter, the peak month for tourism is March, when the drive down U.S. 1 can be a bear — so if you want some breathing room, choose another time of year to visit. You can find lower hotel rates during the rather steamy summer months. Late spring and early fall are often ideal, considering crowd levels and temperature, but keep in mind that hurricane season peaks August through October.
Getting there
If they don’t come by cruise ship (the port receives about 900,000 passengers a year), many visitors arrive by car. Key West is 100 miles from the mainland (and 165 miles from Miami) along the keys down famed U.S. 1. Road trippers, be sure to stop at the Old Seven Mile Bridge near mile marker 47 on the Overseas Highway. Nicknamed “Old Seven,” the bridge was constructed as part of Henry Flagler’s Florida Overseas Railroad in 1912. After almost five years of restoration work, a 2.2-mile section of the bridge reopened in January as a linear park. A passenger tram connecting Marathon to Pigeon Key, a five-acre island and historic site, which once housed railroad workers, is due to launch this spring.
Parking can be extremely difficult in often-crowded Key West, so you may opt to go by bus; buses leave from convenient locations, including downtown Miami and the major airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. You can also catch direct flights from major cities such as New York, Chicago and Atlanta to Key West International Airport.
Audubon House & Tropical Gardens
Jeff Greenberg/Alamy Stock Photo
Things to do
Celebrate the Bicentennial
Take a deep dive into Key West’s colorful backstory at the Custom House Museum. Through Dec. 11, the Key West Art and Historical Society presents “Key West 200,” a special exhibit that shares the saga of the many people who helped to shape this resilient island community into what it is today. A collection of carefully curated artifacts takes visitors on a journey through Key West’s history, spotlighting pivotal moments in the island’s commerce, culture, industry, migration and transportation. Afterward, spend some time perusing the museum’s permanent collections and exhibitions — “Overseas to the Keys: Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railway” is especially captivating.
