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Photo by Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Key West
United States · North America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Key West
Tap a month for its page
- JanJKey West in January: good, busy
- FebFKey West in February: ok, busy
- MarMKey West in March: good, busy
- AprAKey West in April: sweet spot
- MayMKey West in May: sweet spot
- JunJKey West in June: sweet spot
- JulJKey West in July: sweet spot
- AugAKey West in August: good
- SepSKey West in September: good
- OctOKey West in October: ok
- NovNKey West in November: good
- DecDKey West in December: ok, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Plan this trip
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Where to stay
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Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
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Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
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Month by month
No fare history for this route yet, so this ranking is climate and crowds only — the price column will fill in as the scanner collects.
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23° | 3d | 78% | 9.4h | goodbusy | holidays: US: New Year's Day |
| Feb | 23° | 2d | 81% | 10.3h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Mar | 24° | 2d | 76% | 11.0h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Apr | 26° | 2d | 76% | 12.2h | sweet spot | 26C max, 2 rainy days |
| May | 27° | 5d | 77% | 12.1h | sweet spot | 27C max, 5 rainy days |
| Jun | 29° | 8d | 79% | 11.4h | sweet spot | 29C max, 8 rainy days |
| Jul | 30° | 6d | 76% | 12.0h | sweet spot | 30C max, 6 rainy days |
| Aug | 30° | 8d | 76% | 11.6h | good | 30C max, 8 rainy days |
| Sep | 29° | 11d | 77% | 10.4h | good | 29C max, 11 rainy days |
| Oct | 28° | 8d | 77% | 10.0h | ok | 28C max, 8 rainy days |
| Nov | 26° | 4d | 77% | 9.5h | good | 26C max, 4 rainy days |
| Dec | 24° | 4d | 79% | 9.4h | okbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
Key West's July days now average 29.8°C, 1.5°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 9 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 22.2° | 22.6° | 23.1° | 24.2° | 26.0° | 27.5° | 28.3° | 28.5° | 28.0° | 26.8° | 25.2° | 23.6° |
| 2017–26 | 22.5° | 23.3° | 24.3° | 25.7° | 27.4° | 28.9° | 29.8° | 30.0° | 29.4° | 28.0° | 25.8° | 23.9° |
| Change | +0.3° | +0.7° | +1.2° | +1.4° | +1.4° | +1.3° | +1.5° | +1.5° | +1.4° | +1.2° | +0.7° | +0.3° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far Key West is, and what it costs, depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Mexico City
- from New York
- from Chicago
- from Toronto
- from Boston
- from Bogota
- from Los Angeles
- from San Francisco
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Key West, flying or not.
Before you go
Type A and B plugs at 120 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the United states dollar. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise normal security precautions. Everything for United States: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay work almost everywhere, though a few small places take cash only. Keep some $1 and $5 notes for tips; Venmo and PayPal are for locals.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — Expected: 15–20% in sit-down restaurants (18–20% is standard in New York) and 10–20% for taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. Large groups may find it already on the bill.
Getting around Key West
- Apps — Rides: Lyft, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: Text messages (SMS), WhatsApp. In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and some other cities you can also book a driverless Waymo in its own app.
With many narrow and one-way streets, driving Key West is difficult and parking is expensive. Many visitors choose to rent motor scooters, bicycles, golf carts, explore on foot or use public transportation. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Key West, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — 911 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 5 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (34)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/getting-help
- omny.info
- omny.info/fares
- clippercard.com/contactless-payments
- clippercard.com/pay-with-phone
- mtc.ca.gov/news/starting-wednesday-bart-riders-can-tap-bank-cards
- sfcta.org/blogs/next-generation-clipper-tap-pay-here
- metro.net/fares/how-to-pay
- transitchicago.com/howto/pay-for-your-fare
- info.myorca.com/contactless
- miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1565197498854306
- mbta.com/fares/charlie/tap-ride
- holocard.net/for-visitors
- holocard.net/help
- sdmts.com/fares/pronto-ways-pay
- ridepronto.com
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/fares
- norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/lepass
- capmetro.org/fares
- wmata.com/fares
- wmata.com/pay/tap-ride-go.html
- muni.org/Departments/transit/PeopleMover/Pages/FaresandPasses.aspx
- uber.com/global/en/cities/new-york
- lyft.com/rider/cities/new-york-ny
- waymo.com/faq
- visittheusa.com/travel-trade/faq
- nyctourism.com/tipping-sales-tax
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/United_States
- infobip.com/blog/most-popular-messaging-apps-by-country
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
Key West in pictures
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Radomianin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Julian Lupyan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Julian Lupyan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Ianaré Sévi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The year in Key West
Key West has a warm climate, but be cautious during the hurricane season from June to November. The dry season from December to April is ideal for travel.
| Busiest |
mid Dec to mid Apr — This is the dry season with warm temperatures, making it the most attractive time for tourists.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
mid Apr to late Jun — Temperatures are warm and rainfall is low, offering good value before the storm season.
early Nov to mid Dec — This period sees moderate weather with fewer tourists, resulting in lower prices.
|
| Wet or stormy |
early Jun to late Nov — hurricane, moderate
|
| Watch out for | hurricane season |
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What Key West is like
Key West, in the Florida Keys, is a city and an island of the same name. It is the county seat of Monroe County and is considered the southernmost city in the continental United States. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Ernest Hemingway House, 907 Whitehead St. 9AM-5PM daily. Hemingway lived and wrote here for a decade. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Key West is not the greatest place to bring a family. There are beaches and a few small parks during the day... for those that are awake. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Key West International Airport (EYW IATA) is the major airport on 3491 S Roosevelt Blvd (FL-A1A) serving Key West and the lower keys located 3.9 mi (6.3 km) southeast of downtown. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Key West, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around Key West
Also in United States
- Anchorage best May, Jun, Jul
- Asheville best Apr, Jun, Sep
- Austin best Jun, Sep, Oct
- Boston best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Charleston best Mar, Apr, Oct
- Chicago best May, Jun, Jul
- Los Angeles best May, Jun, Sep
- Maui best Jul, Sep, Oct
- Miami best Feb, Apr, May
- New Orleans best Apr, May, Sep
- New York best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Oahu best May, Jun, Sep
- San Diego best May, Jun, Sep
- San Francisco best May, Jun, Sep
- Scottsdale best Apr, Oct, Dec
- Seattle best Jun, Jul, Aug
- The Grand Canyon best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Washington DC best Apr, Jun, Sep
- Yellowstone best Jul, Aug, Sep
- Yosemite best Jun, Jul, Sep
- Zion best Apr, Jun, Oct
Compare with
- Anchorage
- Asheville
- Austin
- Boston
- Charleston
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Maui
- Mexico City
- Miami
- New Orleans
- New York
- Oahu
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Scottsdale
- Seattle
- The Grand Canyon
- Toronto
- Vancouver
- Washington DC
- Yellowstone
- Yosemite
- Zion
Nearby
- Mexico City Mexico · 1,867 km
- Toronto Canada · 2,135 km
- Bogota Colombia · 2,354 km
- Lima Peru · 4,099 km
Kind of place
Key West is in United States, North America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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