Getting Here and Around

Getting Here and Around

About 500,000 passengers use the Key West International Airport (EYW) (305/296-7223. www.keywestinternationalairport.com) each year. Up to 100 commercial flights are scheduled daily, but flights are frequently canceled because of fuel costs and low passenger counts. So driving via the 110-mi Overseas Highway (A.K.A. U.S. 1) is generally preferred. Besides Key West International Airport, many visitors to the region fly into Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and others on the mainland.

By car, from MIA, follow signs to Coral Gables and Key West, which puts you on Lejeune Road, then Route 836 west. Take the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike south (toll road), which ends at Florida City and connects to U.S. 1. Tolls from the airport run approximately $2.25. The alternative from Florida City is Card Sound Road (Route 905A), which has a bridge toll of $1. Continue to the only stop sign and turn right on Route 905, which rejoins U.S. 1 31 mi south of Florida City. The best Keys road map, published by the Homestead-Florida City Chamber of Commerce, can be obtained for $5.50 from the Tropical Everglades Visitor Center (305/245-9180 or 800/388-9669. www.tropicaleverglades.com).

Those unwilling to tackle the route's 43 bridges and peak-time traffic can take Greyhound's (800/231-2222 www.greyhound.com) Keys Shuttle, which has multiple daily departures from Miami International Airport. The Conch Republic also can be approached by cruise ship (it welcomes 660,000 passengers per year), or by high-speed catamaran (866/593-3779 www.seakeywestexpress.com) from Fort Meyers and Marco Island through Key West Express.

Boaters can travel to and along the Keys either along the Intracoastal Waterway through Card, Barnes, and Blackwater sounds and into Florida Bay or along the deeper Atlantic Ocean route through Hawk Channel. The Keys are full of marinas that welcome transient visitors, but there aren't enough slips for all the boats heading to these waters. Make reservations far in advance and ask about channel and dockage depth—many marinas are quite shallow.