The Florida Keys is a 125-mile-long chain of islands that begins just south of Miami. The coral and limestone islands are linked by 42 bridges — one almost seven miles long — over the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Keys are divided into five regions: Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine and Lower Keys, and Key West.
Key Largo is known as the Dive Capital of the World and is home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first underwater preserve in the U.S.
Islamorada is known as the Sport Fishing Capital of the world and is famous for its backcountry sport fishing and saltwater fly fishing.
The Seven Mile Bridge at Marathon is one of the longest segmented bridges in the world.
In the Lower Keys, Big Pine Key is home to a national refuge that protects the miniature endangered Key deer, which has made an astonishing comeback from near extinction.
Key West, famed as the beloved home of writers Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams (and home to a warm and welcoming LGBTQ+ scene), is closer to Cuba (90 miles) than it is to Miami (159 miles). The island — just two by four miles in size — is home to a vibrant historic district, an international airport, and the southernmost point in the continental United States.
The only road linking the islands — the Florida Keys Overseas Highway — is the southernmost leg of U.S. Highway 1 and is sometimes called the Highway That Goes to Sea. Its green mile marker signs begin at mile marker 113 at the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line and descend to marker 0 at the corner of Fleming and Whitehead streets in Key West (a popular photo opportunity). It's common for hotels, restaurants, and other sites to peg the locations to the closest mile marker (MM). The drive from Miami to Key West generally takes four hours.
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