Miami To Key West : The Classic American Drive

Driving Miami to Key West is usually on the lists of most beautiful drives in the world. The 150-mile drive from Miami to Key West is one of the classic American road trips, zooming you off the mainland and through the fabled Florida Keys to an island city that has been a refuge to writers and presidents. The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands known for their laid-back vibe and as a perfect holiday destination for fishing, boating, and water sports.

The breathtaking scenery of just you and the water surrounding for miles induces sensory overload. A 4-hour drive on Overseas Highway leading to US-1 awes you in its own right as an engineering marvel. Its concrete stretches across impossible expanses of water, the Atlantic spreading out to the left, the Gulf to the right leaves you spellbound!

I drove to Key West along with my husband during Independence day weekend of this month and completed the long awaited drive on my bucket list. As I went to Miami several times before but never got time to visit the Florida Keys!

It was a beautiful Saturday morning with a cool gentle breeze. We started around 7 AM. I had always thought about renting the convertible, wind-in-the-hair, epic playlist adventure through the Florida Keys for years.  But after looking at the weather forecast of scorching heat, humidity and showers of rain in the afternoons, we decided to go by our own car.

I was glad of our decision going by own car as it was extremely hot with the temperature above the 80’s. I tried to open the window of our car for less than few seconds but couldn’t resist the heat.  And therefore we didn’t go for the wind-in-the-hair but cool-air-inside-the-car with an epic playlist of our favorite artists!

The 4-hours drive took us 6-hours to reach Key West due to heavy traffic but it was totally worth it as we got more time to admire the breathtaking scenic view around! We took only 1 stop at the gas station near Islamorada during our classic drive.

Driving for miles over the water stretching to the Atlantic ocean to the left and the Gulf of Mexico to the right is an ultimate experience in itself. Let the below pictures speak for themselves!

We stopped at our final destination — the Southernmost Point, one of an iconic spot and most visited tourist attractions in Key West located at the corner of South Street and Whitehead Street. The Southernmost Point Buoy is an anchored concrete buoy marking one of the extreme points of the United States as well as the continent of the North America. No trip to Key West is complete without clicking your picture at this point! I had to stand for almost 30 minutes to get my picture clicked here as the spot is always crowded with people. But I bet, you would definitely like to capture this memory forever!

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We had a wonderful time on our epic drive on Overseas Highway.  Do check out the video to get the glimpse of our drive from Miami to Key West? And I bet that this will definitely entice you for this dream road trip!

If you’ve more time on your vacation, try to explore the Florida Keys breathtaking water life and adventure. The Florida Keys has some secluded islands, historic shipwrecks and some of the best fishing holes in the country. It’s the home of turtles, dolphins, North America’s smallest species of deer and most unique flora and fauna.

Do share your experience if you ever drove from Miami to Key West in the comments below? If not, which was your last epic road trip that you enjoyed most?

Happy Traveling!
Ana