Key Largo: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Key Largo has almost no beaches, because a living coral reef runs parallel to the shore a few kilometres out and breaks the waves before they can pile up sand. The reef is the reason to come, and this route is built around it: the park, the statue, two wrecks of very different kinds and a museum of how people learned to go down there. A day, with one boat trip; book the boat the day before, and go in the morning when the wind is lightest.
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A short history of Key Largo
Key Largo, the largest of the Florida Keys, was isolated until Henry Flagler's railway crossed it on the way to Key West, which it reached in 1912. The 1948 film 'Key Largo', starring Humphrey Bogart, made the name famous, and the residents later even changed the name of the settlement of Rock Harbor to this name. In 1963 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park opened off its coast, the first underwater park in the United States, protecting part of the coral reef.
The ten best sights in Key Largo
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1History of Diving Museum
Diving helmets and suits from many countries, in Islamorada; an easy hour
2Florida Keys MemorialA small roadside monument to the 1935 hurricane; a five-minute stop
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3Coral Castle Museum
A strange garden of carved coral-rock blocks in Homestead, on the way in or out
4John Pennekamp Coral Reef State ParkBook a snorkel or glass-bottom boat at the visitor centre; the reef is 30-40 minutes out
5Christ of the AbyssA bronze statue in shallow water on the reef, reached on the park's snorkel trips
6Spiegel GroveA huge sunken navy ship for experienced divers; currents can be strong
7African QueenThe steamboat from the film runs short canal cruises from the marina
8Jules' Undersea LodgeA small hotel under a lagoon; you must dive down to check in
9Dolphins Plus BaysideSwim-with-dolphin programmes on the bay side; book ahead
10Laura Quinn Wild Bird SanctuaryInjured pelicans, herons and hawks recovering on a boardwalk; donation entry
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Key Largo →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Key Largo:
Free walking tours in Key Largo
The reef offshore
Key Largo has almost no beaches, because a living coral reef runs parallel to the shore a few kilometres out and breaks the waves before they can pile up sand. The reef is the reason to come, and this route is built around it: the park, the statue, two wrecks of very different kinds and a museum of how people learned to go down there. A day, with one boat trip; book the boat the day before, and go in the morning when the wind is lightest.
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park · Opened in 1963, it was the first undersea park in the United States. It is named after John Pennekamp, a Miami newspaper editor who had also campaigned for the creation of Everglades National Park.
- Christ of the Abyss · The bronze is a casting from the same mould as Il Cristo degli Abissi, the statue sunk off San Fruttuoso in Italy in 1954. It was placed on Key Largo Dry Rocks in 1965, in about 8 metres of water, with its arms raised toward the surface.
- Spiegel Grove · The navy landing ship was sunk in 2002 as an artificial reef, but it went down early and settled upside down. Three years later the surge of Hurricane Dennis rolled it upright onto its keel.
- Jules' Undersea Lodge · The lodge began as La Chalupa, an underwater research laboratory, and opened as a hotel in 1986. It sits on the floor of a lagoon, and guests scuba-dive about 6 metres down to a hatch in its base.
- African Queen · This is the actual boat Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn sailed in the 1951 film The African Queen. It was built in England in 1912 for service in Africa, and after years of neglect it was restored and runs again under steam.
- History of Diving Museum · The museum grew from the private collection of two doctors who gathered diving equipment from around the world for decades. It shows the hard-hat helmets of sponge and salvage divers alongside the early scuba gear that made reefs like this one open to everyone.
Railway and hurricane
The road you drive south was once a railway: Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad reached Key West in 1912, and the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 destroyed it in the islands just south of Key Largo. This route follows US-1 for 35 km to Islamorada, past the quarry that fed the railway and the monument to the storm. Half a day, all by car with short stops; mile markers on the roadside are how everyone gives directions here.
- Key Lime Pie Factory · Key limes are small, yellow-green and sour, and the classic pie mixes their juice with sweetened condensed milk, which keeps without refrigeration. In 2006 Florida made Key lime pie its official state pie.
- Islamorada Founders Park and Public Boat Ramp · Islamorada calls itself the sport-fishing capital of the world, and its charter fleet hunts sailfish, tarpon and bonefish. The name is usually traced to the Spanish for purple island.
- Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park · The Keys are the tops of ancient coral reefs, and Flagler's workers quarried this one for stone to build the railway. The cut walls show brain coral and other fossils from a reef about 125,000 years old, and the stone, sold as keystone, still decorates buildings across Florida.
- Theater of the Sea · The park opened in 1946 in a quarry pit dug for the railway, which had flooded with seawater. It is one of the oldest marine parks in the world.
- Florida Keys Memorial · The 1935 Labor Day hurricane was the strongest ever to strike the United States, and it killed more than 400 people, many of them First World War veterans working on a road project. The monument, put up in 1937, holds the ashes of many of the dead in a crypt beneath it.
- Robbie's · Tarpon, silver fish that can grow longer than a person, gather under the dock because people have fed them here for decades. They leap for the bait, so hold the fish high and expect a splash.
The edge of the Everglades
Key Largo is the first island of the chain, and at its north end the wild land runs straight on to the mainland: forest, mangrove and the shallow waters of Florida Bay, where crocodiles and alligators both live. This route goes north from the island's forest to the Everglades and back by the old back road. A full day, about 150 km by car; bring water, insect spray and a hat, and avoid midday in summer.
- Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park · In the 1970s this forest was cleared for a planned resort called Port Bougainville, which was never finished. Local activists led by Dagny Johnson fought to save the rest, and it is now one of the largest stretches of tropical hardwood hammock in the United States.
- Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge · South Florida is the only place in the world where American crocodiles and alligators live side by side. The refuge protects crocodile nesting grounds and is mostly closed to visitors, but the butterfly garden at its edge is open.
- Robert is Here Fruit Stand · In 1959 six-year-old Robert Moehling sat at this roadside selling his father's cucumbers, and nobody stopped until a sign was painted saying Robert is here. The stand now sells mangoes, lychees and fruit milkshakes, and Robert still runs it.
- Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center · Ernest Coe, a landscape architect, began campaigning in the 1920s for the Everglades to become a national park, and is called the father of the park. It was established in 1947, the same year Marjory Stoneman Douglas published The Everglades: River of Grass.
- Anhinga Trail · The boardwalk is named after the anhinga, a bird that swims underwater to spear fish and then hangs its wings out to dry because its feathers are not waterproof. Alligators lie along the banks within a few metres of the path.
- Alabama Jack's · An open-air bar on stilts over the water on Card Sound Road, far from any town. The road crosses miles of mangrove wilderness and a high toll bridge over Card Sound, and is the only alternative to US-1 for reaching Key Largo by car.
Getting to Key Largo and getting around
- Jewfish Creek Bridge · US-1 rises over this bridge onto Key Largo; it is the only highway in, so traffic stalls on Friday afternoons
- Card Sound Road · The quieter back road to the mainland, with a small toll; good when US-1 is jammed
- Florida City · The last town on the mainland, 35 minutes north; Miami's airport is about an hour beyond
Cheap eats in Key Largo
The upper Keys eat from the reef and the bay: grouper, snapper and mahi-mahi fried in sandwiches, conch fritters, stone crab claws in winter, and Key lime pie for dessert. Most kitchens are casual, open-air and on the water. Prices are tourist prices, but a fish sandwich at a counter is the cheap way to eat well.
- Key Largo Conch House · Breakfast and conch fritters on a porch, about $12-20
- Mrs. Mac's Kitchen · Diner with license plates on the walls, about $12-20
- Hobo's Café · Fish sandwiches and burgers by the park, about $12-18
- Doc's Diner · Breakfast all morning, about $10-15
- Key Lime Pie Factory · A slice of Key lime pie about $6-8
- The Fish House · The catch of the day fried or grilled, about $15-25
- Robert is Here Fruit Stand · Fresh fruit milkshakes, about $8-10
- Alabama Jack's · Conch fritters and a beer over the water, about $12-18
Museums in Key Largo
- History of Diving Museum · Helmets, suits and diving history; good on a windy day
- Florida Keys Memorial · The 1935 hurricane monument by the highway
- Coral Castle Museum · A one-man monument in carved coral rock
- Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park · Walk the quarry walls full of fossil coral
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park · Visitor centre aquarium and reef exhibits
Nature and day trips near Key Largo
- John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park · Snorkel, kayak the mangroves or take a glass-bottom boat
- Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park · Tropical forest trails, quiet and shady
- Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge · Crocodile habitat, mostly closed; the butterfly garden is open
- Anhinga Trail · Alligators and wading birds from a short boardwalk
- Harry Harris County Beach and Park · Calm swimming lagoon and picnic shade
Things to do in Key Largo with kids
- Theater of the Sea · Dolphin and sea lion shows, plus a lagoon beach
- Robbie's · Feed the tarpon from the dock
- Dolphins Plus Bayside · Meet and swim with dolphins; minimum ages apply
- Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary · Pelican feeding in the afternoon on the boardwalk
- African Queen · A short steamboat ride from a famous film
Where to eat in Key Largo
- Sundowners · Dinner on the bay side facing the sunset; book a terrace table
- Snappers Oceanfront Restaurant & Bar · Seafood on the ocean side with live music
- Bayside Grille · Small grill on the bay for sunset
- Pilot House · Seafood at a marina in the canals
- Tiki Bar - Gilbert's Resort · Waterfront bar and grill by Jewfish Creek
- Islamorada Fish Company · Big open-air seafood place on the bay in Islamorada
- Lorelei Restaurant and Cabana Bar · Beach bar with sunset over the bay
Frequently asked questions about Key Largo
What is there to see in Key Largo?
The top sights in Key Largo are History of Diving Museum, Florida Keys Memorial and Coral Castle Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Key Largo?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Key Largo without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Key Largo?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Key Largo, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The reef offshore.
How do you get to Key Largo and get around?
The main ways are Jewfish Creek Bridge, Card Sound Road and Florida City. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Key Largo, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Key Largo that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Key Largo for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.