Key West, FL – 8, June, 2026 As demand for hands-on, nature-based travel continues to grow across South Florida, many visitors to the Florida Keys find that standard sightseeing tours leave little room for genuine outdoor engagement. Up The Keys Tours, a family-run eco-tour operator that has served the region since March 2016, is responding to that shift by launching kayaking and watersports tours, bringing on-water experiences into a lineup that has operated entirely on land until now. The expansion makes Up The Keys one of the few independent operators in the Keys offering tours in the Florida Keys that cover both road-based and water-based terrain.

The operator has built its standing as the only land-based operator running round-trip driving tours from Key West and Marathon to the surrounding islands. That foundation includes the Aquarium Encounters day tour in Marathon, the Dolphin Research Center tour with optional swim-with-dolphins add-ons, and a series of private tours spanning the National Key Deer Refuge, Bahia Honda State Park, and the iconic 7-Mile Bridge. For travelers arriving from outside the region, Up The Keys also runs private shuttles from Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Key West.

The new kayaking and watersports offerings move into backcountry waterways and mangrove ecosystems that road-based tours cannot access. Through the custom private tour format, guests can now fold paddleboarding, kayaking, and on-water excursions directly into tailored itineraries alongside existing land stops. Visitors using the shuttle service to reach the Keys will also find a broader range of activities waiting at their destination, closing a gap that previously limited options once travelers arrived.

“Kayaking and watersports have always been a natural fit for what we do as the Florida Keys is as much about the water as it is the road," said a spokesperson for the company. "We wanted our guests to have the option to get out on the water without having to book through a separate operator, so bringing it in-house made sense for how we build trips.”

The addition of watersports activities marks a tangible step forward for a company that has spent nearly a decade refining how visitors experience the Florida Keys. Up The Keys Tours continues to broaden what a Florida Keys day trip can look like, Up The Keys Tours continues to broaden what a Florida Keys day trip can look like, moving beyond the Overseas Highway and into the waterways that run alongside it and into the waterways that run alongside it.
For inquiries, Up The Keys can be contacted using the information provided below.

About Up The Keys :
Up The Keys Tours is a family-operated tour company based in the Florida Keys, offering private and small-group guided excursions across Key West and the surrounding islands. The company has been in operation for nearly nine years, running tours that cover the region's natural history, coastal wildlife, and local culture. Experiences are available in multiple formats, including walking tours, scenic road trips, and on-water excursions, with itineraries adjusted to group size and interest.

Contact Information:
Website: https://www.upthekeys.com/
Phone: 305-587-5575
Email: [email protected]
Address: 6810 Front St, Key West, FL 33040, United States