The Hemingway Experience in Key West
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Key West, USA
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
What's Included
- LunchSavor a hearty lunch of cuban and local seafood flavors
- Alcoholic BeveragesSip homemade sangria, rum punch and "Papa" Hemingway's signature cocktail-the Papa Doble (3 Cocktails Total)
- Ticketed entry into Hemingway's Home and Museum
- Gratuities
- Private transportation
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- The Hemingway Home and Museum907 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040, USA
Please meet your guide in front of museum entrance. *Do not go to the ticket booth* Your tickets are only valid with the tour guide.
End point
- Hemingway Distillery201 Simonton St, Key West, FL 33040, USA
The tour ends inside the Hemingway Rum Company's Social Club.
Itinerary
1
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Kaya Island Eats
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
La Concha Key West, Autograph Collection
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Rodriguez Cigar Factory
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Sloppy Joe's Bar (Pass By)
5
Key West Key Lime Pie Co.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Hemingway Distillery
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.7
based on 43 reviews
Matt_H, Mar 2026
Fantastic experience all around. Sharon was knowledgeable, friendly and shared many details about Hemingway’s life. All of the food and drink stops were great
Kathy_A, Mar 2026
We had a great tour and tour guide, Kyle. The food and drinks were amazing. Learned at lot of history on Hemingway and loved his house and cats!
Dave_S, Mar 2026
3/5 — Decent but didn't live up to the reviews.
The Hemingway Home itself is worth seeing — excellent museum-style displays with thoughtful photos and descriptions. The key lime pie stop was a highlight. The mojito demonstration at La Concha was impressive — the hotel's food and beverage manager came out personally and gave us real attention. That was a standout moment and probably the high point of the tour in terms of hospitality.
The cigar factory visit was a letdown; the person there was on a phone call and then busy with a retail customer, so we never got the promised demo. They handed us a cigar on the way out, which was a nice gesture but not the behind-the-scenes experience described in the listing.
The biggest issue was group size at the Hemingway Home. Our food tour group of 9 was folded into a public guided tour of about 20 other visitors, making a total group of roughly 30. That's far too many for a small historic home — it was crowded and hard to hear or see anything up close. The house tour should have been private for our food tour group.
Our guide Kyle was friendly enough, but the tour felt disjointed. Stops didn't connect into a cohesive Hemingway narrative. Downtime between stops was filled with facts about street directions and address conventions rather than interesting history or storytelling. We arrived at 9:40 for our 9:45 call time and 10:00 start, only to learn we were actually booked on the 10:15 house tour — so we stood around for 30 minutes before anything happened.
The food and drinks along the way were good, and the Cuban lunch was solid. But we've done many food tours in different cities and expected more from this one given the strong reviews. It wasn't horrible, but we wouldn't rebook or recommend it over other options in Key West.
Deb_I, Mar 2026
Lots of great info about Hemingway's life. The story about how they got a pool is both funny and filled with the spite I would also feel.
Amy_W, Mar 2026
Kyle is awesome! It was a fun way to get a feel for Key West with several food and drink stops (which were delicious).
Catherine_G, Mar 2026
Excellent tour. Sharon was outstanding. She shared many facts on Key West. The food and beverage stops were great. We left a lot more knowledgeable about the area we visited. That meets our goals.
Kevin_S, Mar 2026
Good tour to some history on Key West. Guide was very knowledgeable. Food was good and stops informative.
DEBORAH_W, Mar 2026
Nicely paced. Got some great food and a great mojito presentation. Nice rum presentation. Competent tour guide.
Rebecca_M, Feb 2026
This was a fun fully packed tour. Lots to recommend it besides Hemingway. Hotel and mojitos, cigar factory, Cuban lunch, etc. We enjoyed more than we imagined. Great guide. Good value.
William_A, Feb 2026
Too big of a group! 16 people!! Kyle was very nice. Very hard to hear most of the time even in indoor places. In addition, we are now (next morning) having serious intestinal issues. This is the first (of many) Viator experience where we were disappointed!!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi William,
Thank you for joining us on our Hemingway Experience. We're sorry you had a less than stellar experience!
At 16 guests, you are just shy over 50% of the capacity we can operate the tour with a max of 30 guests.
I'm most disappointed that you were unable to hear the tour guide. Knowing your guide Kyle, had you only ASKED him to speak up or repeat himself, I know he would've been more than happy to. Sadly, as a former guide myself, unless a guests TELLS you that they can't hear you, you assume they CAN!
As for the intestinal issues, we cannot speak to those. You are the only guest who mentioned that in a review or message, so you may be sensitive to one of the ingredients used. I speak from my own experience when I say that I have had the same on vacation since you are typically eating outside your normal routine and usually drink heavier and eat richer--All which can have an adverse reaction to your tummy.
Hope it cleared up and that you were able to enjoy the rest of your trip!
Peter_A, Jan 2026
Incredible! A must-do Key West experience filled with history, culture, food, and drink. Loved the tour with Danielle!
Jessica_P, Jan 2026
Hemingway experience was a great way to see key west. Guide was knowledgable and took us to some great local spots. Hemingway daquari was a nice treat.
Christine_S, Jan 2026
Great food and history lesson on Hemingway and Cuba/Key West! Kyle was a fantastic guide full of knowledge.
Janis_H, Jan 2026
The tour started promptly on time. There is a LOT of walking. Every dish we had was delish! Hemingways home was a nice experience. However, I do think the guide lost track of connecting what we were doing to Earnest Hemingway. It was more of a Carribean Experience that started with Hemingways house.
Amy_G, Jan 2026
This is a great way to see a lot in Key West in a short time. Our guide, Danielle, was so fun and personable- she was like seeing the city with a friend
kvl, Dec 2025
You should be prepared to walk a good bit, but Kyle was very conscientious about giving us sitting breaks along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It adds to the many other great experiences I’ve had with Viatour.
Janie_R, Dec 2025
We got to see jewel locations in Key West that we would normally walk past. Daniella was a great guide and became one with the group by sharing not only the history, but also the current events. I would do this tour again the next time in the Keys - - just to get caught up on the local news.
Jacqueline_N, Dec 2025
More than we expected
Our guide was wonderful
Food was super
Historical information exceptional
Highly recommend!
Rebecca_C, Nov 2025
It was very educational and the food was so good. Have a light breakfast and enjoy the tour. Kyle is the best!!
Elizabeth_G, Oct 2025
This experience was wonderful. Our tour guide, Corley, was very informative and had great energy. She was mindful of the entire groups needs, including food allergies, food preferences, and accessibilities. I would recommend this tour again.
Lynn_C, Aug 2025
Shayla is an amazing guide for an amazing experience!! The Hemingway House guide was great, the chef and bartender at LaConcha were amazing! Great fish tacos and a true mojito like we had in Cuba! And what an experience going to the cigar factory and distillery- great rum and great rum drinks with a very fun guide! Delicious food at Kaya! Shayla made this experience even more amazing! She is very knowledgeable, professional and passionate about Key West! A genuinely nice person from Key West! A great day exploring a great island!
rachael_b, Aug 2025
Coraly and her trainee (sorry I forgot his name) did a fantastic job sharing the hemmingway history, guiding us through old town, and providing excellent food and drink services. They brought us to places I had walked past but never had thought to go in. So glad they brought us through these places. The food and drinks were probably close to be being the best I had tried in key west. Without a shadow of doubt, I would recommend this tour with these two people.
Ernest_W, Mar 2025
If you can get either Shayla Pattin or Cordy, or both, as guides you will have a terrific time. The Hemingway Mansion is a must for all fans of Hemingway, the rum distillery is very interesting and the 2 (that's right, two) lunches and Key Lime dessert are all very tasty if a little over the top. I'm really glad we took this tour with such knowledgeable and personable guides.
Joan_D, May 2024
We had high hopes for this tour it was very disappointing. Positives: our guide was personable and knowledgeable. He did the best he could within the parameters he had to work with. The Cuban food and Key Lime pie were great Negatives: This is touted as “Hemingway Experience” the only authentic experience is the museum. Once we entered the grounds to the museum we the were handed off to a tour guide of the museum. (This was a wonderful tour highly recommend) Our time in the Hemingway museum was limited to about 50 minutes due to time restraints by our Viator tour. We were unable walk around the grounds or view Hemingway's studio (which is a historical gem) because it would take too long. (We went back on our own to spend the time it deserves). The next 3 ”experiences” were supposed to provide a glimpse of Hemingway’s time in Cuba. That’s a big stretch of the imagination. The Cuban restaurant was very good and filling. Next stop First Flight where we were served tacos with our beverage. Few in our group could eat them after just finishing an ample lunch! The cigar factory was disappointing. We stood around 2 people rolling cigars. Our guide explained what they were doing however there was no interaction between the artisans and our group. It was very disappointing we didn’t hear from them personally to tell us about their work and stories of this family business. Sloppy Joe’s was a walk-by on the way to Key Lime Pie. The distillery was not prepared for us. They had another group scheduled to arrive and didn’t know what to do with us. We did not have a tour of the distillery and no one from the establishment spoke with us. Our guide pulled some tables and chairs together for us got our drinks and gave us some history and background. Bottom line you could do this tour on your own for far less money and the receive more information from the establishment’s tour guides.
Response from Host, May 2024
Hi Joan, I'd like to start by saying thank you for joining us on our newest Hemingway experience, and that we're sorry that our tour didn't live up to your expectations. We're still (and as a company based around customer experience will likely ALWAYS be) honing in on the tour to make it the best and most memorable version of itself.
Rose is one of our most-beloved guides, and we're happy that you enjoyed his company & our food tastings. We're sorry that you were too full to fully enjoy the fish taco--but in our experience, TOO MUCH food is a MUCH better complaint than too little food. In our beta stage, we had feedback that there wasn't enough food, so we almost doubled the cuban roast pork tasting (which you obviously loved and filled up on).
Timing with any tour is always tricky--you felt you were unable to visit the Hemingway Home long enough, and others are ready to leave after 30 minutes. We felt 50 mins appropriate, as the offiical guided tour averages 20 minutes. This allows our groups time to explore the grounds on their own before its time to leave.
As far as our partners go, it can be occasionally hard when a Rodriguez family member isn't in the shop for some reason, (that day, the owner was home with his sick daughter) as the other employees are cuban Spanish speakers and cannot host a group. However, that's why all of our guides are trained to showcase the creation process & answer all your questions--but not the engaging experience you expected or that our guests typically receive...It's the forever pro and con of small family-owned operations. Authentic nonetheless!
Though we only walk thru Captain Tony's & Sloppy Joes, our guides share the Hemingway stories throughout the entire tour and relate everything, even the food dishes selected, to Hemingway's story---leading up the finale of his favorite drink served at his family-named distillery. I'm glad to hear that you said that in the absence of vendor personnel, that Rose was able to share with you the background history and details surrounding your stops. One thing to note, this tour is not advertised to include an official distillery tour, although we do get to peek inside!
That said, we strive for excellence in every adventure we deliver and would love to take you out complimentary on one of signature food tours to make it up to you. Please reach out to me directly - shannon@keywestfoodtours.com
Likely to Sell Out
From $185.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Likely to Sell Out
The Hemingway Experience in Key West
43
4 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$185.00
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
Attractions in Key West, USA
- Key West Historic District Tours & Tickets
- Hard Rock Cafe Key West Tours & Tickets
- Key West Shipwreck Treasure Museum Tours & Tickets
- Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum Tours & Tickets
- Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum Tours & Tickets
- Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory Tours & Tickets
- Edward B. Knight Pier Tours & Tickets
- Smathers Beach Tours & Tickets
- Duval Street Tours & Tickets
- South Beach Tours & Tickets
- Key West Cemetery Tours & Tickets
- Harry S. Truman Little White House Tours & Tickets
- Dry Tortugas National Park Tours & Tickets
- Mallory Square Tours & Tickets
- Fort Zachary Taylor Tours & Tickets
- Vandenberg Wreck Tours & Tickets
- Southernmost Point of the Continental USA Tours & Tickets
- Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Tours & Tickets
- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Key West, USA