Flights from Miami to Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key is about 83 nautical miles southwest of downtown Miami, 95 statute, nearly all of it water. A seaplane covers it in about half an hour in the air. For a small plane, a helicopter or a jet the time depends on the aircraft and the field you leave from, and it comes back with the quote.

By road the same trip is around three hours each way down the Overseas Highway, so on a day trip most parties spend far longer on the island than in the air.

It depends on what you carry and how you want to arrive. A seaplane puts you on the water beside the island, at the foot of the old Seven Mile Bridge.

A small plane or a jet lands at Florida Keys Marathon International, and from there a car takes you to the bridge or to the ferry, which handles more weight and rougher water. Where the helicopter sets down is settled with the operator when you book. We quote the options side by side so you can compare.

No. The whole route stays inside Florida, so your party fills in nothing and carries nothing beyond its bags. We take the headcount and the names once when you enquire, and the flight plan, the slot and the car or the ferry at the far end sit on our side.

The baggage guidance lists what may travel and what needs to be mentioned in advance. Nothing has to be printed or carried.

Yes. The seaplane comes down on the water beside the island, at the foot of the old Seven Mile Bridge. Water landings run from 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset, and a return that would arrive after dark lands on a lit runway instead.

Which of the two suits your day is the first thing we answer when you send your dates and your party size.

A car takes you along the Overseas Highway to the Marathon end of the old Seven Mile Bridge. From there it is about 2.2 miles on the bridge itself: on foot, by bicycle, or on the visitor train that runs from the depot.

There is also a ferry from Faro Blanco Marina. We book the car against your landing time, so the runway, the road and the crossing fit into one plan.

Yes, and it is the most common way this route is flown. On a charter the aircraft waits for you, so the return is set by you and not by a timetable.

The island is open in the daytime and closes in the late afternoon, so out in the morning and back in the evening is the usual shape. A seaplane lands on water from 30 minutes after sunrise to 30 minutes before sunset. If you would rather stay a night in the Keys, tell us when you enquire.

It is a question of weight, not of the number of bags, and it differs by aircraft. Floats carry less than wheels, and a jet carries the most.

Say what is coming when you enquire, including snorkelling gear, a cooler and anything with a battery, and the answer comes back with the quote rather than at the aircraft. Pigeon Key itself has no cars, so pack for a walk across from the dock. If the load decides it, the aircraft is chosen around what you bring.

It suits families well for a day out of Miami. The island is a railroad camp from 1908 with eleven historic buildings and a museum, the water off the dock and the beach is shallow enough to snorkel, and there are no cars at all.

The old bridge out to it is a walk or a ride on the visitor train. On a charter there is no terminal and no queue, which is usually what makes the difference with small children, and the flight replaces around three hours in a car.

Yes. Key West is further down the same chain and has its own runway, so the same aircraft carries on from Marathon. The Dry Tortugas lie about seventy miles west of Key West and can only be reached by boat or seaplane, so that leg switches to floats.

The trip can also come back up the chain to Islamorada or Key Largo. Tell us the shape of the whole trip when you enquire and it is quoted as one booking rather than several charters.

Every aircraft handles weather differently. A seaplane needs calm enough water to land, a small plane and a jet use the runway and a jet can climb above much of it.

If conditions are below what is safe, the crew moves or cancels the flight and the weather and delays policy says what that means for your booking. That call is always the crew's, and because summer afternoons move more flights than mornings, an early departure is the safer plan.

No, and it is not meant to be. A scheduled seat is cheaper because someone else picked the time and you share the aircraft. A charter buys you the aircraft: your departure, your return, your party only. On a day trip that usually means several more hours on the island, and no waiting in a terminal on either side of the water, which is the comparison worth making.

We send the price for the whole aircraft, so you can split it across your party and compare fairly. Tell us what matters most, the time on the island, the landing point or the budget, and we suggest the aircraft that fits it best.

Yes, pets travel in the cabin with you. The one thing we ask is that you tell us at the enquiry, with the type of animal and its weight, so the seating and the load plan are right from the start.