About the Duck Key, Florida Area

Duck Key residents enjoy a wonderful outdoor, relaxed lifestyle for which the Florida Keys are well known.  You can step out your door and step into the ocean.   Transportation around Duck Key is homey and charming.  Cars are abandoned in the driveway and folks walk, or boat, or get around in their golf carts.  It’s a quiet, friendly and very comfortable way to live.  Duck Keys is a natural island, and a composite of five islands: Yacht Club Island, Center Island, Harbour Island, Plantation Island, and Indies Island.  The physical surroundings ensure privacy and security, and only one road connects Duck Key to the Overseas Highway. Call for all your ocean, beach and canal front luxury homes and land real estate needs and wants in Duck Key 305-395-0814.

Hawk’s Cay Resort has a heritage of visiting celebrities and statesmen, and now offers social memberships for property owners of Duck Key.  It is a luxurious hotel that exudes casual elegance and has a host of amenities: beach and pool facilities, three restaurants, two full service marinas, a dive shop, tennis, and also affiliate memberships to Sombrero Country Club, which has an 18 hole golf course.

Other services and shops on the island make for easy living on Duck Key:  a full service salon, which includes facials, massage, nail and hair services; custom jewelry shop, clothing boutique; a delicatessen and sundry store.  And Marathon is just a short drive away!

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LOCATION

Duck Key is a beautiful 2 ˝ hour drive from Miami Airport, or half an hour flight from Miami to Marathon.   Duck Key is a small group of small islands eight miles from Marathon Airport.  One road connects Duck Key to the main travel artery, the Overseas Highway.

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TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS

Getting around the Keys:  Everyone travels by automobile up and down the islands on the famed Overseas Highway, which stretches from Key Largo to Key West.  Travelers also have the option to sit back and let Ambiance Sun's Big Purple Buses luxury coaches carry them to and from Marathon airport and Key West.

Getting to the Keys by ground:  Greyhound Lines has scheduled stops between Miami International Airport and many locations on the Keys. The Keys Shuttle travels between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami International Airport to various towns on the islands.

Air Travel to the Keys:  Several major air carriers schedule regular service to both Key West International Airport and Florida Keys Marathon Airport. These include US Airways and Delta, and American Eagle Airlines.  Many flights are routed through the Miami International Airport, although some smaller airlines, such as Cape Air and private charters, schedule direct flights from many major cities in Florida, such as Ft. Meyers, Ft. Lauderdale, Naples, and the Bahamas. International flights must connect to one of these airlines in Miami.

Marathon Airport began as a World War II airstrip and now is a convenient destination for both commercial and private planes.  Located in the middle of the island chain Marathon Airport is an hour away from either Key West (south) or Key Largo (north), making it a popular travel choice for travelers.

Traveling by water:  The Key West Express provides passenger ferry service from Ft. Myers Beach and Marco Island on Florida's southwest coast to the Key West Bight Ferry Terminal.  It’s about 3.5 hours of refreshing breezes and sun.  For private boaters be sure to reserve your space in the numerous marinas that dot the coastal inlands.

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BRIEF HISTORY

Duck Key was an uninhabited island prior to the 1950s.   A Canadian developer and entrepreneur, Bryan Newkirk, gained possession of Duck Key, described as ‘a jumble of swamp and mangrove tree’, from which he planned to create a luxury resort and secluded residential community.  Work started, and the process involved gigantic amounts of fill, and the construction of over 4 miles of canals, which created smaller islands within the Duck Key complex.  The canals, dredged and connected to each other by unique Venetian arched bridges, were designed so that the blue ocean waters flowed right into the residents’ backyards.  Duck Key was divided into 775 tracts, which sold between $10,000 and $3,800,000.  Since the inception of Duck Key’s development in the 50s, Newkirk’s bold vision has been realized.   

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ABOUT EDUCATION

Students who live on the Keys are served by the Monroe County Schools.   Randy Acevedo, Superintendent of Monroe County Schools, is quoted: Together, as a team, we will support our vision - “that all students succeed in academic, artistic and athletic endeavors” and “that every employee is appreciated, highly qualified, an effective communicator, and improves continuously to meet emerging needs of students.”
 
There are three high schools: Coral Shores (Tavernier), Key West (Key West), and Marathon High School (Marathon); one Middle School; and five Elementary Schools throughout the area.  Monroe County offers many other educational services as well:  Hurricane Island Outward Bound, Montessori Elementary Charter School, and Big Pine Neighborhood Charter School are just a few.

Florida Keys Community College is located in Key West.

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