

While food is available onboard, it’s definitely nothing to tell your friends about. You will need to provide your own crate or carrier, and make a reservation in advance. Pets are accepted on the Key West Express for $15 each way on a space-available basis. There are occasionally special deals, and sometimes the hotel concierge can get you a discount also. Travel time from Fort Myers Beach to Key West is about 3 1/2 hours once underway.įares listed below are published fares, and calling them directly at 88 usually results in a discount being offered unless they are completely full.Departure from Key West is 5 pm, ticketing begins at 5 pm.Departure from Fort Myers Beach is 8:30 am, ticketing begins at 7 am.The Key West Express ferry boat to Key West leaves Fort Myers Beach on a daily basis during peak season, and Wednesdays through Sundays during the summer months. With this in mind, make sure you don’t bring firearms, knives and other similar items which may be subject to confiscation. As such, you and your luggage for the return portion of your trip will be inspected in a similar manner as at the airport. When leaving Fort Myers Beach, the Key West Express leaves from a private dock, and is not required to screen passengers in the same manner as when they leave from Key West, a government operated port facility. There is no additional charge for either parking or the ticket price to return on another day, although their website doesn’t really advertise that you can return on another day. I highly recommend an overnight stay in Key West, as there is so much to do and a day trip will only give you 4-5 hours to explore – hardly enough for Key West as you don’t even get to experience one night in town.

You can even take your bike on the ferry if you desire, although at $34 round trip it only makes sense if you plan to stay a few days and really need it for getting around. The ferry dock is only a few blocks from famous Duvall St, making it easy to get from the ferry to everything else. Key West is bustling with restaurants, bars, shopping, quaint hotels and generally just very active. If you’ve come a long way to Florida, a trip to Key West would be a shame to leave for another time. One great part about a visit to Fort Myers Beach is that you can easily add on a trip to Key West for a very reasonable price, most of the time cheaper than even driving.
