Florida Keys Road Trip Itinerary for Families
Planning a Road Trip through the Florida Keys with Kids
Whenever people ask me for the best places to visit in the United States, I always recommend the Florida Keys. The Keys are a chain of small islands off the southern coast of Florida, and each island has its own style and culture.
It's often overlooked as a vacation destination for families since most people associate Key West with wild partying. And while, yes, you might want to avoid certain areas of Key West at night, you should not use that as a reason to skip the Keys. It's the only place in the continental United States where you can snorkel a coral reef, and even if you don't want to snorkel with your kids, the waters are teeming with marine life you can see on a boat tour! There's delicious seafood, lots of interesting history, Key Lime pie, water sports, beautiful beaches, and some of the most amazing sunsets you'll see anywhere in the world.
With that in mind, I never hesitate to recommend the Florida Keys for a family vacation! We just got back from our second trip there over spring break and spent 1 week there. For this trip, we flew in from Wisconsin and rented a car.
Our first visit took place over Thanksgiving break when we lived in Florida, and we drove all the way from our home in Palm Coast down to the Florida Keys.
Between those two experiences, I wanted to share the experiences I think would make the perfect 1-week itinerary for road-tripping through the Florida Keys.
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Getting to the Florida Keys
You have several airport options to choose from if you want to visit the Florida Keys.
Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) - less than a 4-hour drive from Key West. This was the airport we flew into since we found a great deal on Southwest Airlines from our home airport of Milwaukee.
Miami International Airport (MIA) - just under a 3-hour drive from Key West. Miami is such a fun city to visit with kids, too, so you could easily spend some time exploring here.
Key West International Airport - yes, you can fly directly into Key West, especially if you plan on spending most of your time in Key West. If you want the experience of road-tripping through the Keys, maybe choose FLL or MIA instead.
From FLL or MIA, you can rent a car and make your way down to Key West as slowly or as quickly as you prefer!
We stayed at the Best Western Ft. Lauderdale I-95 Inn since our flight arrived after 9 p.m. We knew we would just want a place to lay our heads that also offered free breakfast. We booked a 2 Queen Beds Suite, and it was plenty of space to sleep for 1 night. The hotel was nothing fancy, but it was exactly what we needed.
Itinerary Overview
Here's a quick overview of my recommended itinerary for road-tripping the Florida Keys. Remember, these are just my suggestions based on our family's travel preferences and the ages of our kids. If your kids are a little older or more experienced with things like snorkeling or water sports, you might prefer to spend more time in places like Key Largo and Islamorada. Feel free to adjust the itinerary accordingly!
Day 1: Drive from Miami to Islamorada.
Day 2: Drive from Islamorada to Key West
Day 3: Stay and explore Key West
Day 4: Day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park
Day 5: Explore Key West
Day 6: Drive from Key West to Miami
Day 7: Enjoy Miami or Travel Day
1-Week Florida Keys With Kids Itinerary Details
Day 1: Explore the Upper Keys
If you're starting your road trip in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, I would suggest getting started first thing in the morning. Yes, your hotel is probably only 2 hours away, but there are plenty of things to see and experience on your way there.
If you want to make a few stops in Miami, one of my personal favorite spots is Little Havana. You can visit Calle Ocho, try some Cuban coffee, visit a market, or even take a walking tour to learn about local cuisine and the history and culture of Little Havana.
On your way out of Miami, stop at a grocery store to pick up some fruit, breakfast foods, and sandwich fixings. Make sure to pick up a styrofoam cooler for the items you need to keep cold or bring one from home that packs flat (for example, this pop-up cooler would do the trick). We stopped at the ALDI in Doral, simply because ALDI is super cheap, and we shop there at home, so we know exactly what to get.
On the way down to the Keys you can make a pit stop at a place called Coral Castle in Homestead. It's a very quirky stone sculpture garden built by one man, a Latvian immigrant named Ed Leedskalnin. What he accomplished by himself is actually quite a feat! If you have an appreciation for roadside attractions, a good story, or the slightly weird, this is a fun stop.
The first place we stopped was a restaurant called Alabama Jacks in Key Largo famous for its conch fritters. It's a very laid-back, open-air restaurant with license plates on the wall and a roll of paper towels on the table. The conch fritters were amazing! And don't worry - they do have a kids' menu if your kids are not adventurous eaters yet.
Another optional stop in Key Largo would be John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where you can take a snorkeling tour to see the coral reefs or a glass bottom boat tour. You could also canoe or kayak in the park, which is the first underwater park in the United States. We've always had babies and toddlers with us, so we have never felt like this was a great fit for our family. (Although we did love our dolphin and snorkeling tour in Costa Rica with all 4 kids!).
We booked a 1-night stay at Hadley House in Islamorada only a month or so before our trip. We realized we needed to fill one more night between our Fort Lauderdale stay and our Key West Stay, and this place fit the bill because it actually fit our entire family of 6. Originally we booked a 2 Queen Beds Deluxe Suite and were surprised and delighted to be upgraded to a 2 Bedroom Ocean View Suite. They offer free breakfast and free SUP and kayak rentals.
Tiki Bar at Postcard Inn in Islamorada where we got rum runners!
Hadley House is right down the road from Postcard Inn, so we headed to the Tiki Bar for dinner, and had to try the rum runner since it was invented there! The sun was setting just as we finished our meal, so we enjoyed a walk along the pier before heading back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.
Day 2: Explore Islamorada, the Middle and Lower Keys, and end in Key West
Since we had an ocean-view room at Hadley House, I decided to wake up for sunrise. Luckily for me, all of my kids decided to sleep in, so I made myself a coffee and sat on our huge balcony enjoying the sunrise. When I came back inside the kids were beginning to stir, so we got dressed and headed over to the lobby for our free breakfast.
Shortly after that, we decided to check out and hit the road to experience more of the middle and lower keys. We headed straight for Robbie's Marina of Islamorada. Robbie's is famous for the chance to feed the giant tarpon, but you can also shop for souvenirs, eat at the restaurant, or grab a drink at the bar. It's an iconic Florida Keys destination, and we stopped on both our 2018 visit and our 2023 visit. We only fed the tarpon our first time.
Florida Keys Brewing Company is also located in Islamorada and is a great place to stop for a flight of beers and a game of cornhole. It's kid-friendly, so hang out in the beer garden and enjoy the sunshine before heading further down the keys.
After Robbie's, we hit the overseas highway until we got to Marathon Key Turtle Hospital. Once we arrived, we realized you needed a reservation to tour the facility, so we decided to either stop there on our way back or skip it. We ended up not coming back, but I've heard great things about it! At the Turtle Hospital, they rehab injured sea turtles before releasing them back into the wild.
We were disappointed about not being able to see the sea turtles at the Turtle Hospital, but quickly got over it when we decided to try the fried key lime pie at Burdines, which is also located on Marathon Key. The place was super busy, and it would have been at least a half-hour wait to eat inside the restaurant, but we grabbed a picnic table along the marina, and my husband went inside to get some key lime pie to go. It was well worth the stop!
The final leg of our trip was from Marathon Key to Key West. Yes, there are plenty of parks and beaches to check out in the middle keys and lower keys (like Big Pine Key), but at that point, we were ready to check into our hotel room.
We stayed at the Margaritaville Beach House Key West since they had a 2 bedroom suite that fit our family of 6. Our room had a king bed, while the kids' room had bunkbeds with a queen bed on the bottom and a full bed on top. All 4 of them were able to sleep comfortably in the bunk beds, plus we had a living room and kitchenette in between the two rooms. It was more than enough space for our family!
If you have some time left in the day, head to Publix for a hot dinner and any extra groceries you'll want for your time in Key West. We ended our day at Smathers Beach for sunset since it's right across the street from Margaritaville.
Day 3: Key West
Spend Day 3 exploring the best things to do in Key West. We started our morning with breakfast in our hotel room and a swim in our pool at Margaritaville. We then crossed the street for a few hours at Smathers Beach to look for seashells and splash in the Atlantic Ocean. Smathers Beach is one of the best beaches in Key West with clean sand, calm shallow waters, and picture-perfect palm trees everywhere you look!
We ate lunch in our room, showered, and rested for about an hour before heading out into Old Town Key West to do some exploring!
We started at the Key West Butterfly Nature Conservatory since we didn't get a chance to visit this spot back in 2018. It's the perfect place to visit with kids. You walk through the conservatory and are immediately surrounded by butterflies. There are also exotic birds, tropical plants, and 2 flamingoes to see. It's so peaceful, and the kids were in heaven! They had so much fun trying to capture photos of the butterflies.
Ernest Hemingway Home is another popular place to visit in Key West. He was one of my favorite authors in high school and college, so we made sure to take the guided tour on our first visit to Key West. I loved seeing his office and my daughter loved finding the six-toed cats. This tour might be better for older kids, but you are welcome to bring the whole family.
Next, stop at the Southernmost Point Buoy where you can take a picture commemorating your visit to the Southernmost Point in the continental United States. There's usually a line to get a picture, but it moves quickly.
You can also visit Key West Aquarium. We did this in 2018, but it's a very small aquarium, and there's not a lot to see. I would skip this one in favor of other activities.
Day 4: Dry Tortugas National Park
Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the most remote national parks in the United States, and, in my opinion, a bucket list destination. You either have to take a seaplane or a ferry to get there, since it's located 68 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park is made up of several small islands and is home to the historic Fort Jefferson.
In addition to taking guided tours of the Fort (or exploring it on your own), you can snorkel in the crystal clear water around the island to see coral reefs and tropical fish. If you take the Yankee Freedom ferry, your ticket comes with free use of snorkeling gear, including gear for kids! The water is also super calm, so we even brought a pool float for our toddler and he was able to float peacefully in the water.
We went with friends, so we were able to take turns snorkeling and watching the kids. Plus, children ages 0-3 are free to take on the ferry, so it's another case to go while they're young!
Your excursion to Dry Tortugas National Park will get you back around 5 p.m., and we were so exhausted from the day that we just headed back to our hotel and crashed.
I have so much more information about visiting Dry Tortugas National Park with kids here!
Day 5: Key West
This will be your last full day in Key West, so make the most of it!
Start the day at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. First, you can visit the historical fort and learn all about what life at the fort was like. Then drive over to the beach and enjoy some relaxation. There's a cafe where you can grab lunch and beach chairs for rent. We liked this beach, but not as much as Smathers Beach. The large stones near the water make it difficult to get in and out of the water even if you're wearing water shoes, but I will say that the kids really liked stacking the rocks and playing with them!
You can go back to the hotel for lunch and a rest before making your way back to Old Town Key West. Instead of paying a ton of money for dinner at a restaurant, we decided to stop at the Key Lime Pie Bakery which claims to be the Birthplace of Key Lime Pie. We split a few pieces of pie as an appetizer, then walked over to Mallory Square to get ready for the Sunset Celebration. The Sunset Celebration features live music, performers, food vendors, and, of course, the incredible sunset.
We walked around for a bit and found a hot dog vendor, and we knew that was something the kids would eat, so we grabbed a few of those for dinner and found one of the many street performers to watch. He was so entertaining, and the kids still talk about that as one of the highlights of the trip. The night ended with popcorn from a vendor while watching the sun sink over the horizon.
Day 6: Drive from Key West to Fort Lauderdale (Or Miami)
This will be your last morning in Key West
Start your morning by getting Cuban Coffee at Cuban Coffee Queen (there are several locations in Key West). I prefer iced Cuban coffee! It's the perfect thing to sip on while you shop for souvenirs on and around Duval Street.
Next, you'll want to grab brunch at The Breakfast Club, Too. We don't go out to restaurants a lot when we travel with the kids, but we definitely had to stop here because they serve a pancake charcuterie board! It was such a fun experience for the kids, and I knew everyone would actually eat it. The board comes with 14 pancakes and all kinds of toppings including Nutella, peanut butter, whipped cream, jam, and maple syrup, along with tons of fresh fruit like pineapple, strawberry, and blueberries. I shared the board with 4 of my kids, and we all felt so full when we were done! My husband got his own omelet.
Now it's time to say goodbye to Key West and drive through the keys. You can stop anywhere you feel like you missed on your drive down, like Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key.
We drove all the way back up to Fort Lauderdale, which took a bit longer than 4 hours due to traffic. We had reserved an Airbnb and had one more day to spend in Fort Lauderdale before our flight out.
Day 7: Fort Lauderdale
I did end up feeling like this day was unnecessary. We walked around the Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale for a bit on our 7th day but spent most of our time at the Airbnb relaxing and doing laundry.
If you need a day of recovery before flying back, then this might be a good option. You could use the extra day and tack on a second night in Islamorada at the front end of your trip to really maximize your time in the Keys.
You could go to the beach in Fort Lauderdale, but I think the best option would be to reserve 2 nights at a fun hotel before you head home. In the past, we've stayed at The Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida, which is just south of Fort Lauderdale. It has an incredible pool, beach toys for kids, and a reserved area on the beach for guests, several restaurants and cafes on the property, and they are so welcoming to kids!
I actually have a whole blog post reviewing why we love this hotel so much, and you can read that here.
Cost of Road Tripping Through the Florida Keys
The Florida Keys is definitely not a budget destination. Especially with a family our size, finding accommodations that fit a family of 6 definitely increases the cost! Let me give you an idea of what to expect when it comes to budgeting for a family road trip through the Keys.
Family-Friendly Hotels in the Florida Keys
We really enjoyed Hadley House in Islamorada and loved that the cost of the hotel included breakfast. Rates vary depending on how many family members you have and the time of year you're visiting. To give you an idea, we paid $391 for a 2 Queen Bed Deluxe Suite during the month of March, plus taxes and a resort fee. You can check here to see what the current rates are for your dates!
In Key West, we absolutely loved the 2 Bedroom Suite at Margaritaville Beach House Key West! As I mentioned, the bunk beds were a huge hit with my kids, the pool was never too crowded, and the location across the street from Smathers Beach was perfect. Plus you can't beat a free margarita upon check-in!
Room rates also vary wildly here depending on the time of year and which room you're booking. We booked during a Black Friday special. We also booked part of our stay on travel reward points in the Chase Reward Portal thanks to a signup bonus and points accumulated from just our monthly spending. (I mean, have you seen the price of groceries and gas lately? And we have 4 kids to feed!). This is my absolutely FAVORITE travel reward credit card for beginners, and while this may not have been the BEST way to redeem our points (Hyatt hotels get GREAT reward redemptions, and you can transfer the points right from the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal), it was the perfect hotel for us, and our points really helped offset the cost!
With the Black Friday deal and booking part of our stay on points, we ended up spending about $850 total for 3 nights in a 2 Bedroom Suite. One-bedroom suites seem to start at $800/night during spring break next year, so using points really helped us save a TON on that room! Check current rates here!
Cost of Food in the Florida Keys
Eating out with 4 kids adds up, so we stopped for groceries in Miami before our road trip. You can also Instacart some groceries to your hotel to save yourself the hassle of grocery shopping. By the way - Instacart is another perk of using the Chase Sapphire Preferred!
We ate as cheaply as possible, doing desserts like ice cream or Key Lime Pie when we were out and about, then supplementing with fruit, vegetables, and sandwiches in our hotel room. We grabbed a hot meal from Publix on one of the evenings during our visit, ate hot dogs from a street vendor in Mallory Square, and just kind of snacked our way through our trip.
For the meals we did eat at restaurants (and we picked affordable ones), you can expect to pay a minimum of $20 a person. We got around that by sharing meals, and doing breakfast or lunch instead of dinner.
Excursions
You could easily spend your whole trip at the pool and beach, and wander around Old Town Key West if you want to keep things free and cheap.
I think part of the draw of the Florida Keys, though, is to spend time in and on the water, so consider budgeting for one or two excursions during your visit, whether that's a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park or book a snorkeling tour or dolphin tour.
Road Trip Tips
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Emily Krause is a Wisconsin-based travel blogger who writes about exploring the world with kids. On A Mom Explores you’ll find best family travel destinations, Disney World tips, and how to make travel with babies and toddlers a little easier.
Emily believes that exploring starts in our own backyards, and adventure can happen anywhere with the right mindset.
