How do I get from the airport to Key West?

Key West International Airport (EYW) is one of the smallest commercial airports in the United States, and that works in your favor. The terminal has one baggage carousel. You walk off the plane onto the tarmac, and the warm salt air hits you at 80% humidity before you've crossed 50 feet of pavement to the building. The airport sits on South Roosevelt Boulevard, about 2 miles east of Duval Street. From the curb to most Old Town hotels, you're looking at 10 minutes in a taxi or rideshare. Unlike Miami International or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, there's no rail system, no express bus, no complicated transit grid. A rideshare or taxi is the only transfer worth considering.

Your best option is Uber or Lyft. Open the app while you wait at baggage claim. Fares from EYW to Old Town typically run $12-18, and the ride takes about 10 minutes along South Roosevelt Boulevard past Smathers Beach, where you'll get your first look at that flat turquoise water. Taxis wait outside the terminal and charge $15-25 to most addresses on the island. The price gap is small enough that either works fine. One thing to know if you're landing after 10pm. Key West has a limited driver pool, and rideshare wait times can stretch to 15-20 minutes late at night. In that window, the taxi line outside arrivals is the more reliable choice. A handful of larger hotels along North Roosevelt Boulevard run complimentary airport shuttles, but confirm with your property before you fly since most smaller guesthouses on Fleming Street and Eaton Street don't offer pickup.

Here's the advice that will save you real money. Skip the rental car counter. Old Town's streets are narrow, many are one-way, and metered street parking near Duval Street costs $4-5 per hour with enforcement officers who seem to enjoy their work. The city garage at Grinnell and Caroline Streets runs $4 per hour or $32 per day. Hotels that have parking charge $25-40 per night, and many of the smaller guesthouses have no lot at all. The island measures 2 miles by 4 miles. A bicycle from one of the rental shops on Truman Avenue costs $15-20 per day and gets you everywhere worth going, including Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, which has the clearest water and the best snorkeling beach in Key West. Scooters run $40-60 per day from outfits on North Roosevelt Boulevard if pedaling in the heat sounds like punishment.

September in Key West is the deep off-season, and that cuts both ways. Temperatures sit near 28°C with humidity around 80%, and the air feels closer to 32°C on your skin. The heat sticks to you before you've reached the terminal door. That's the trade-off for room rates that drop 30-40% from the December-March peak and a Duval Street that feels less packed. The Southernmost Point buoy on Whitehead Street, which draws a 20-minute photo queue in high season, might have 3 people in front of you. Dinner at places like Santiago's Bodega in Bahama Village, normally a 2-week reservation in February, becomes a walk-in on a weeknight. The catch is hurricane season, which runs through November 30. Check the National Hurricane Center forecasts before you book, and know that Monroe County evacuation orders cover the entire Keys chain, not individual islands.