Key Largo, the first and northernmost of the Florida Keys, is an hour’s drive from South Florida’s two major airports, and a world away. Home to tropical hardwoods, winding creeks, two state parks, a national park and a portion of a national marine sanctuary, Key Largo boasts some of the most fascinating botanical scenery in the state. Accommodations from small family-owned properties to vacation homes and condominiums or large resorts are available for all tastes.

Visitors can enjoy Key Largo’s ties to the sea including scuba diving, snorkelling, an underwater hotel, sport fishing, eco-tours, beaches and dolphin encounter programs. The island also offers numerous on-shore attractions including nature trails and a rehabilitation centre for wild birds.

Things to do in Key Largo

Underwater Delights

Explore Key Largo’s John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park and all the underwater delights of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Several eco-tourism and dive-snorkel services are ready to help you discover Key Largo’s natural wonders.

The island also is known around the globe for its dolphin therapy programs. Children and adults from several continents have sought out dolphin therapy through Dolphins Plus and the not-for-profit Island Dolphin Care.

The Keys’ longest island gained fame when the 1947 movie classic “Key Largo,” featuring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, hit the silver screen. A local bar, the Caribbean Club, provided the locale for some of the movie’s scenes.

Bogie’s presence is apparent even today in Key Largo. The century-old steam-powered vessel from another of his epic films, “The African Queen,” is available for canal and dinner cruises.

It’s not just Hollywood producers who are drawn to the area. Even Fantasy Fest revelers relax in Key Largo before, during or after Key West’s famously outlandish costume festival.

Most Popular Key Largo Hotels

Playa Largo Resort & Spa

Baker's Cay

Resort

Key Largo Marriott Bay

Ocean Point Suites

East and West

Key Largo is flanked by the Everglades National Park to the west, a premier destination for kayakers, birders and other eco-tourists.

To the east is the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef, and Key Largo has earned the moniker of Diving Capital of the World. Six miles offshore in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is the Spiegel Grove shipwreck, a 510-foot former US Navy ship intentionally scuttled in 2002.

Fish Stories

Key Largo is also famous as a sport-fishing destination. Partner with the world’s best charter captains and fishing guides for offshore or backcountry excursions for bonefish along the Atlantic shallows, or redfish and tarpon in Florida Bay.