The Florida Keys & Key West is giving visitors even more reasons to plan a summer getaway with an upgraded airport, more new flights, renovated resorts, new attractions and activities, and innovative sustainability offerings.
The modernization of Key West International Airport arrived in May with the opening of a new $118 million Concourse A, eight passenger boarding jet bridges, an upgraded baggage claim and new dining options.
Here’s what else is new in the Florida Keys & Key West:
New Airlift to Key West
At Key West International Airport (EYW), the 48,802-square-foot Concourse A has opened with eight air-conditioned glass jet bridges for sheltered boarding and deplaning. The concourse features a contemporary design with a 446-panel electrochromic glass curtain wall and an expanded security checkpoint with an upgraded baggage claim. A Gate 8 passenger boarding bridge is dedicated for Allegiant Air, currently with nonstop service from six cities. New EYW dining venues include Chili’s and Farm 2 Air Market. Airlines are also ramping up for more than 26 nonstop flights into EYW. These include Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, United and Silver—and as of mid-June, Breeze Airways. Extended TSA lanes are scheduled for completion in September, and additional improvements—a new pedestrian bridge, a modernized baggage claim with dual carousels, improved rental car counters and an expanded four-lane TSA checkpoint are slated for completion in summer 2026.
Breeze Airways is launching four new routes into EYW this summer and fall: nonstop from Tampa (TPA) and Orlando (MCO) international airports, beginning June 12; from Akron-Canton, OH (CAK) starting October 2; and from Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU) beginning October 3. Nonstop flights from TPA and MCO are scheduled four times weekly on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Flights from CAK are to operate Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Service from RDU is to operate Mondays and Fridays. Breeze offers both bundled and a la carte fare options.
Allegiant Air will add twice-weekly nonstop flights from Knoxville, TN’s McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) into Key West, beginning October 3. Flights will depart and arrive on Mondays and Fridays on Allegiant’s 156-passenger Airbus A319 aircraft. Allegiant Air has been serving Key West since June 2021, and provides nonstop service to Key West from six additional airports: Sanford, FL (SFB); Pittsburgh, PA (PIT); Asheville, NC, (AVL); Cincinnati, OH (CVG); Indianapolis, IN (IND); and St. Pete-Clearwater, FL (PIE).
Accommodations
In Key Largo, three new Stay Ombi bungalows are available for overnight stays in Buttonwood Sound. The floating bungalows feature floor-to-ceiling windows, plush king beds, fully equipped kitchens and contemporary baths with walk-in showers and deck with Adirondack chairs. Packages include a welcome basket, chilled drinking water and stocked beverages, flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, fridge, microwave, coffee maker, air conditioning, snorkel gear, paddleboard and kayak, breakfast and gourmet dinner for two, and daily roundtrip boat transfer. Overnight stay packages are priced from $850 per night for two. Guests meet at Snooks Bayside Restaurant & Grand Tiki Bar, located at mile marker 99.5 bayside or 99470 Overseas Highway.
In Islamorada, the four-acre beachfront boutique Pines & Palms Resort, offering a view of the historic offshore Alligator Reef Lighthouse, has completed its full renovation with 24 one-to three-bedroom suites with kitchens. The property’s redesign, unveiled in March, includes upgraded living and bathroom spaces, a remodeled office, pool and pool bar. Onsite cottages date back to the 1930s.The resort is to be featured this fall on an upcoming HGTV program, “Building Baeumler” hosted by Sarah and Bryan Baeumler and detailing the full renovation with behind-the-scenes activities.
The 15-acre, 214-room Three Waters Resort & Marina, Islamorada, a Tribute Portfolio Resort, has unveiled The Cove, a new adult-centric “resort within a resort.” Guests at The Cove have access to all Three Waters amenities. The new signature restaurant Kindler serves wood-fired fare. With 80,000 square feet of indoor and alfresco event spaces, Three Waters also offers nine total dining options and a rum library with daily rum tastings, a beachfront fitness center, two retail shops, water taxi and full-service marina. Activities include ocean adventures by Spray Watersports with a 26-mile personal backcountry watercraft tour, fly-casting, kayaking, offshore and backcountry fishing, diving and snorkeling. Three Waters is Marriott Bonvoy’s first Tribute Portfolio property in the Keys. Two sister Islamorada Resort Collection properties, the 110-room Amara Cay Resort and the 55-unit La Siesta Resort & Villas, are nearby.
In Marathon, Faro Blanco Resort & Yacht Club, Curio Collection by Hilton has opened its Ocean Spa for both guests and day visitors with treatments such as Swedish massages, facials and rejuvenating body therapies. The spa includes a steam room, indoor-outdoor relaxation lounge and pool with onsite dining. The resort, offering wellness memberships, also features wellness-designated king and queen rooms with amenities including a scent diffuser, sleep sound machine, personal gym kit, yoga mat, face masks, cleansing wipes, artisanal teas and Sleep & Revive water elixirs. With a recent $14 million renovation, the resort’s elevated amenities include two pools, private sand beach and expanded dining. Onsite are the Parrish House, a two-bedroom bungalow villa that’s one of Marathon’s oldest buildings, and the 65-foot Faro Blanco Lighthouse dating from the 1950s. The Faro Blanco Marina offers slips for vessels ranging from 35 to 140 feet, boat rentals, and snorkeling and fishing trips.
In Key West, the new 245-room Blue Flamingo Resort has transformed two properties. This July, The Gates and 24 North Hotels will turn into one resort and officially open its doors. Rooms and suites range from 300 to 575 square feet. Amenities include The Backyard Pool & Social Club with two pools, cabanas and lounge chairs, fire pits and two Tiki-style bar-restaurants, Rum Row and Toasted Coconut. Programming includes weekly wellness activities, evening outdoor yoga classes, a costume jubilee party, lawn games, bocce ball, corn hole and other activities. A retail shop offers branded lifestyle keepsakes, local Vacation Inc. goods and hand-rolled cigars. Flexible event spaces include two indoor meeting rooms for 30 to 40 guests and The Backyard, for up to 200.
Key West’s downtown 178-unit Opal Key Resort & Marina has unveiled transformations that include a revamped lobby, rooftop bar, an updated waterfront pool deck area and three new dining and cocktail experiences. New dining venues include the signature Lolita’s Coastal Cocina, with Latin-inspired flavors, a festive taco bar and creative cocktails; Elevate Skye Bar & Lounge, an open-air venue with small plates and cocktails; and Ka’Teen, with light poolside fare exclusively for hotel guests. A new grab-and-go station offers coffee and infused water. An onsite marina offers high-energy water sports.
Attractions
In Key Largo, Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) is showcasing its new $6 million REEF Ocean Exploration Center for Marine Conservation. The 4,000-square-foot, two-story facility features an ocean exploration gallery, science discovery classroom, program planning areas and a second-floor balcony. The center serves as a launch pad for inspiring future ocean stewards, pioneering research, fostering collaboration, transforming marine conservation and hosting meetings for small groups. REEF offers educational programs and experiences about fish identification, invasive lionfish and citizen science. REEF’s native plants and heritage trail, adjacent to the new facility, has details about local flora, fauna, history and culture.
On Grassy Key in the Middle Keys, Dolphin Research Center (DRC) is featuring a new, once-a-month 1.5-hour Sunset Celebration interactive experience where you can offer dolphins one of their favorite Jell-O treats, then toast the sunset with a glass of champagne. It’s priced from $249 per person for those five years and older and $199 per person for DRC members; a participating paying adult 18 and older must accompany a child aged 5 to 7. Founded in 1984, DRC promotes peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication among marine mammals, humans and the Keys’ environment. DRC, as a research and education center, provides a sanctuary and forever home to its dolphin and sea lions.
Also in the Middle Keys, the Florida Keys Watermans Co., at mile marker 58 on Grassy Key, offers water adventures in kiteboarding, wingfoiling, wakeboarding, e-foiling, sailing, paddling and outrigger canoeing with experiences including backcountry excursions and guided downwinder trips to Marathon’s Coco Plum or Curry Hammock State Park beaches. Two new “Learn to Wakeboard” camps are offered July 17–11 and July 14–18. Annual club memberships are priced from $2,000 annually for local individuals to $4,750 for non-local families.
The Key West Wildlife Center has unveiled its new elevated $2.4 million wildlife clinic and recovery aviary within the seven-acre Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park near Atlantic Boulevard. The state- and federally permitted facility operates a 24-hour wildlife rescue line for indigenous wildlife including birds, reptiles and small mammals. The center is open to the public Fridays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Greeters and volunteers share the organization’s mission, inviting visitors to enjoy green space that includes the aviary and turtle pond.
Events
Badges, tickets and hotel packages are available for the second annual Labor Day weekend “Just a Few Friends Key West” celebration Friday, August 29 through Monday, September 1. The event honors the music, life and legacy of the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who chronicled the island’s lifestyle with his “tropical rock” style after discovering the island city in the early 1970s. Events include the Cheeseburger Beach Battle & Tribute Concert at Southernmost Beach Resort; two Milagro Margarita Bar Strolls with two Duval Street and Historic Seaport routes; a Second Line Memorial Procession through Old Town, ending at Truman Waterfront Park with a party in the park; a Coconut Telegraph Trolley Tour; and live concerts. Activities include author events, sailing excursions, family-friendly activities, and more.
For more information, call 1-800-FLA-KEYS or visit www.fla-keys.com.
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