Julie

Someone claims there is a car ferry from Tampa to Key West. I've never seen info on such a thing but I'd sure like to know about it, if there is one. Anyone know of such a thing?

grglnswsh

There isn't one.

ALF

There has not been one, there isn't one now, and it is doubtful that there will ever be one. While it would be convenient to west-coasters to arrive by car ferry, I can't imagine that such an enterprise would ever be cost-effective. Thats a huge distance to cover to get to a tiny place with not much potential passenger capacity. Moreover, unless you want to travel through the Keys, you wouldn't have much need for a car when you arrived in Key West.

Owen O'Neill

This is the second time this questionhas appeared in the last few days - perhaps the first thread disappeared. There is a "ferry" of sorts to Key West but it takes passengers only - no cars. I believe it departs from the Tampa area. As others have pointed out, it's almost pointless to have a car in Key West if you're there as a tourist.

xx

There will never be a car ferry because the powers that be do not want anymore car traffic on the island. The island couldn't handle much more.

xx

Why are you posting this again??? Do a text search and you will find your original post.

There is NO car ferry from Tampa to Key West. Repeat, no car ferry! Besides the added car traffic, Key West does not really want, it would take forever from Tampa.

The Key West Express is a PASSENGER ferry that runs between Marco Island and Key West. It takes about 3 1/2-4 hours and was around $90 one way. As you can see from Marco to Key West is 4 hours, add another 5 or so from Tampa if they had one.

Sal

There has been a lot of hyp recently about the new, high speed power boat service from the Sarasota area to the keys. Perhaps that's where the confusion is originating. It's a five- hour trip and arrival/departure is highly dependent on the seas, which can change in a heartbeat.

Chuck

I have been on one of those high speed catamaran type ferries and when the seas are rough they get bounced around a lot. They ride on top of the water and IMO, are not as stable and comfortable as a regular boat.

Ann

Probably the reason there is no car ferry is that you can DRIVE to Key West.

George

Actually Ann, they have batted the idea around about a car ferry from Miami to Key West and/or Marco. The Overseas Highway is 2 lanes in a lot of places and just can't handle the volume of cars that drive down there. And, the endangered Key Deer keep getting hit despite efforts to slow down drivers. It's also a nightmare to evacuate everyone from the Keys on the Overseas Highway during a hurricane warning. A car ferry from Miami or Ft. Myers/Marco sounds like a good idea to me...