Three honest tiers, real live prices: grab a single seat on a shared tiki tour, book a private boat for your group, or go big for a bachelorette or birthday. Here's what each costs and how many people fit.
A per-person seat is priced per adult on a shared boat. A private charter is one flat rate for the whole boat, split across your group. For 4+ people, private usually wins on cost per head.
Cheapest seat: the Makai Daytime Cruise, one hour out of Schooner Wharf.
Check Availability — $59.95/person| Trip type | Price basis | Capacity | Best for | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared tiki cruise | Per person (adult) from $60/person |
Book 1+ seats | Solo, couples, and small groups paying by the seat | 1–2 hours |
| Private tiki boat | Whole boat, up to 6 from $300 flat |
Up to 6 | Bachelorette, birthday, families who want the boat to themselves | 1.5–4 hours |
| Big group / premium | Whole boat from $949 flat |
Larger groups | Larger parties, bar crawls, all-day sandbar trips | 4+ hours |
Per-adult seats on a shared tiki boat. The lowest-cost way onto the water — book one seat or a few. BYOB on most cruises.
A per-seat daytime tiki cruise out of Schooner Wharf. The cheapest single seat on this page — BYOB, Bluetooth, and a cooler with ice aboard.
Check AvailabilityA per-seat harbor cruise from Mac's Place dock. Book individual seats; the whole boat is also available if you'd rather buy it out for your group.
Check AvailabilityA per-seat sunset tiki cruise through Key West harbor. Adult rate; BYOB. A cheap way to catch the golden hour on the water without booking a whole boat.
Check AvailabilityA per-seat sunset cruise from Mac's Place dock. BYOB, Bluetooth speaker, cooler and ice aboard. Whole-boat buyout also available.
Check AvailabilityOne flat rate for the boat, up to 6 guests — the bachelorette and birthday pick. Split it across your group; BYOB and a Bluetooth speaker on every trip.
A 90-minute private tiki-bar boat cruise through the harbor — the cheapest whole-boat option here. BYOB, up to 6.
Check AvailabilityA private 2-hour tiki party out to a sandy-bottom spot for a swim. BYOB, up to 6 — a popular bachelorette pick.
Check AvailabilityA private morning tiki cruise through the harbor and backcountry — calmer water, BYOB mimosas, up to 6.
Check AvailabilityA private 4-hour tiki boat out to a Key West sandbar — the most time on the water in this tier. BYOB, up to 6.
Check AvailabilityLarger boats and longer charters for big bachelorette groups, bar crawls, and all-day sandbar trips. Whole-boat flat rates.
A private tiki charter with sightseeing and a Boca Chica sandbar stop. Whole-boat rate, up to 6 — a step up in time and range from the shorter party boats.
Check AvailabilityA private party tiki boat for up to 12 — the big-group option. Three-hour whole-boat rate, with four- and six-hour options also available. BYOB.
Check AvailabilityA private 4-hour tiki bar crawl by water for up to 8 — cruise between waterfront spots. Whole-boat rate.
Check AvailabilityThe premium private tiki day: Snipe Point, a sandbar stop, and sunset on one charter. Whole-boat rate, up to 6.
Check AvailabilityA tiki boat is a motorised pontoon built to look like a floating tiki bar — thatched roof over the seating, a bar top, a cooler, and a Bluetooth speaker. A tiki tour is that boat plus a licensed captain for a fixed block of time. You pick the route; the captain handles navigation, anchoring, and safety.
What separates a tiki tour from the rest of Key West's boat tours is pace. These boats are slow and social, and the atmosphere is as much the point as the destination. You cruise past Mallory Square, watch pelicans work the shallows, anchor somewhere shallow enough to stand, and see the water the way locals do rather than running a fixed itinerary against a clock.
The departure dock shapes the trip more than the boat does. Cruisin Tikis runs out of the Historic Seaport — Schooner Wharf and Mac's Place Dock — so those trips are harbour-facing and short. Key West Promotions heads for the harbour and the Pearl Basin. Six Fins Charter leaves Stock Island for the waterfront tiki bars. Mermaid Charters works the backcountry out toward Boca Chica. Ask which basin you'll be in: it decides whether you get harbour sights or open backcountry.
Every tiki boat in Key West runs one of four route formats. The format, not the boat, is what decides how your afternoon goes.
The captain runs out to a sandy-bottom spot in the backcountry and anchors so you can wade, swim, and float in water shallow enough to stand in. Best odds of rays, turtles, and dolphins on the way. This is the flagship version and the one bachelorette groups book most — private sandbar charters here start at $525 · private boat.
Evening departures timed to put you on open water as the light goes, usually running past Mallory Square and out into the Gulf. These are tightly scheduled — the boat leaves to catch a specific sunset, so a late arrival costs you the window rather than delaying the trip.
Daytime runs focused on the harbour, the seaport, and wildlife rather than the party. Calmer water, better light for photographs, and the easiest format to bring family along on. Morning charters on this page start at $375 · private boat.
A format Key West can run and most places can't: cruise the coastline between waterfront tiki bars and tie up at each dock, with several stops reachable only by boat. Longer than the other formats and priced as a whole-boat charter — from $1,295 · private boat. See also our Key West bar crawls.
Every charter on this page books through the operator's live FareHarbor calendar. You see real-time availability, pay securely, and get instant confirmation from the operator directly — none of these are enquiry forms or callback queues. Captain, fuel, and basic gear are in the base price; gratuity (15–20%) is customary and is not.
Bachelorette weekends between April and June routinely sell out two to three weeks ahead, and sunset slots go first on any weekend in season. If your date is already locked, book the boat early and work the rest of the weekend around it.
Reef-safe sunscreen, towels, swimsuits, and a waterproof phone case. Food and drink are on you on most boats — BYOB is the default here, though it is worth confirming with your captain. Coolers, ice, and snorkel gear are typically provided, and nearly every tiki boat has a Bluetooth speaker, so bring a playlist ready to go.
No glass on board — cans and plastic only. Don't board visibly intoxicated. Tiki boats run in light wind and calm water, and rain or high wind usually means a reschedule or a refund rather than money you lose, but the policy belongs to the operator, so confirm it when you book. Your captain will contact you if conditions turn unsafe; light rain and moderate chop on their own rarely cancel a trip.
Three tiers: a per-person seat on a shared cruise runs about $60–$80 per adult; a private boat for up to 6 (bachelorette/birthday) runs about $300–$525 for the whole boat; a big-group or longer charter runs about $949–$1,500. For 4+ people, a private whole-boat charter usually beats buying individual seats on cost per head.
A licensed captain, a cooler with ice, a Bluetooth speaker, and life jackets — plus float mats on most sandbar trips. Drinks and food are usually not included (most boats are BYOB). Captain gratuity (15–20%) is customary and not in the base price.
Yes. Florida law allows passengers to drink on a chartered vessel as long as the captain is sober and licensed. Most tiki boats are BYOB — no glass containers (cans and plastic only), don't board visibly intoxicated, and drink responsibly.
Most hold 6 to 12, set by Coast Guard certification. Common capacities: 6 (couples and small groups), 8 (bachelorette/birthday), and 12 (larger party charters). For groups over 12, book two boats.
BYOB means Bring Your Own Beverage. The operator provides the captain, boat, speakers, and a cooler with ice; you bring your own drinks — beer, wine, seltzers, or pre-mixed cocktails. No glass; cans and plastic only. BYOB is the default for Key West tiki boats because it lets your group bring exactly what it wants.
Yes — a private tiki boat is one of the most popular bachelorette activities in Key West. Book a private whole-boat charter, BYOB, bring decorations and a playlist, and add a sandbar stop. Private for up to 6 runs about $300–$525.
Pick a tour above and tap Check Availability — it opens the operator's live FareHarbor calendar, where you choose a date and party size and book directly with the operator. Weekends, sunset slots, and bachelorette season fill early, so reserve ahead.
A tiki boat is a motorised pontoon built as a floating tiki bar — thatched roof, bar top, cooler, and a Bluetooth speaker. A tiki tour is that boat plus a licensed captain for a fixed block of time, sold either as a private whole-boat charter or as a per-seat place on a shared cruise. Routes run as sandbar trips, sunset cruises, morning harbour and eco runs, or a bar crawl between waterfront docks.
Reef-safe sunscreen, towels, swimsuits, and a waterproof phone case. Most boats are BYOB, so bring your own drinks in cans or plastic — no glass on board. Coolers, ice, and snorkel gear are usually provided, and nearly every tiki boat has a Bluetooth speaker, so have a playlist ready. Confirm food and drink rules with your captain when you book.
Tiki boats run in light wind and calm water. Most operators reschedule or refund for weather cancellations rather than keeping your money, but the policy belongs to the operator, so confirm it at booking. Your captain will contact you if conditions turn unsafe. Light rain and moderate chop on their own rarely cancel a trip.
Grab a single seat, or book the whole boat for your group — live availability, direct with the operator.
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