Boat Rental Key West

Boat rental in Key West is a short list in my data: two private boats from Beach Weekend, each listed at $700 for 4 to 8 hours and for up to 13 guests. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and the booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page. If you would rather have a crew, my overview of boat tours in Key West compares the 11 shared trips.

Both rentals are new listings, so the evidence is thin: the tiki boat has one review (5.0) and the pontoon has none. I would call the operator before I booked either one.

Boat Rental Key West Fl

A boat rental in Key West, FL means you and your group have the whole vessel for the day, with no strangers on board and no fixed route. Both options meet at a marina (the tiki listing says Beach Weekend Marina), and the listings do not give a street address in the text I have, so confirm it on the booking page.

The tiki party boat is the more playful of the two. It carries up to 13 people and comes with comfortable bar seating and lounge seating, plenty of cup holders, two large coolers, a fun slide with a water pump, a swim ladder and a Simrad GPS with preset lines to local sandbars. The listing says guests can bring snacks and drinks or buy them at a fully stocked marina store, and that alcohol is allowed for guests 21 and over.

Beach Weekend

Tiki Party Boat Rental

• ★ 5.0 (1 reviews)
• 4 - 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The playful option: $700 for 4 to 8 hours, up to 13 guests, slide, coolers and sandbar GPS; one 5.0 review.

from

$700

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Boat Hire Key West

Boat hire in Key West comes with a decision about who drives.

If you prefer to hire a captain, the tiki boat listing is the one that says it is possible: you can let a captain handle the navigation while you focus on the fun. That matters in the shallow waters around the island, where sandbars move and a first-time driver can ground a boat. I could not find the price of the captain in the data, so ask for a written total before you book.

The double decker pontoon is the calmer choice. The listing describes it as a vessel for groups of up to 13 people, with an option of two or three slides, a GPS navigation system and two 70-quart coolers. It adds that pontoon boats are spacious, stable and easy to operate, which makes them suitable for families and groups of friends. Fuel is not included, which is the one cost I would clarify first.

Beach Weekend

Double Decker Pontoon Boat Rental

• 4 - 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The steadier option: double decker pontoon, $700 for 4 to 8 hours, up to 13 guests, slides and GPS; fuel extra, no reviews yet.

from

$700

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Key West Boat Rentals Compared

Boat	Price	Duration	Capacity	Included	Rating	Cancellation
Tiki party boat (Beach Weekend)	$700	4 to 8 hours	13	Slide, 2 coolers, swim ladder, GPS	5.0 (1 review)	Free up to 24 hours
Double decker pontoon (Beach Weekend)	$700	4 to 8 hours	13	Two or three slides, 2 coolers, GPS	No reviews	Free up to 24 hours

The two boats cost the same, so the choice between these Key West boat rentals is about feel. I would book the tiki boat for a birthday or a bachelor party and the pontoon for a family that wants a stable platform and a slide for the children. Neither listing names a route in the text I have, so I would ask the operator where a typical day goes. The tiki listing mentions GPS lines to local sandbars, which suggests that is the usual destination.

Is a Boat Rental Key West Worth It?

At $700 for the boat, a boat rental in Key West is worth it or not depending on the group. With 13 people it is about $54 each, which is close to the $49 Fury snorkeling trip and below most of the other shared tours. With six people it is about $117 each, which is more than the open bar sunset cruise at $80 or the $73 dolphin and snorkel eco cruise. The rental wins on freedom, since you choose the time, the music and the stops, but it loses on food, guides and wildlife knowledge.

If you want to see dolphins, a guided trip is safer than a rental, because a crew knows where the animals feed. My dolphin watching page compares those three trips. The rental is for a day of swimming and sandbar hopping with your own group.

Boat Charter Key West and Private Tours

A boat charter normally means a captain and a crew take you somewhere, and I did not find a staffed private charter in my data. What I have are two bareboat rentals, with an optional captain on the tiki boat. If you want a private day with a guide, ask the tiki operator about the captain option, or choose the Danger Charters afternoon excursion, which is a shared trip limited to 20 guests. It is $134 for 4.5 hours and described in my snorkeling tour page.

Searches for a private boat tour in Key West often mean exactly this. The honest answer from my list is that a private day is a rental, and that it needs a group large enough to share the cost.

Kayak Rental and Yacht Rental Key West

I did not find a kayak rental or a yacht rental in my data. For kayaks, the closest products are guided tours: the two-hour mangrove kayak tour from Kayak Kings is $65, and the five-hour Sunset Watersports sandbar excursion with a kayak is $150. They are on my kayak tour page. For a yacht, the only vessel bigger than these two rentals is a schooner on a shared sail, covered in my sunset cruise page.

Rules and Safety for a Boat Rental

Boating rules in Florida are set by the state wildlife agency, and they change, so I would read the official page rather than rely on my memory. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission publishes the boating safety education requirements. Ask the operator which of them apply to the person at the helm, what briefing you get before you leave the dock and whether the pontoon needs a captain for your group.

Also check the practical basics before the day: the fuel policy on the pontoon, whether you can bring glass, the weather cut-off, how late you can return and what happens if a storm ends the day early. All of this is in the operator’s terms, not in the listing text I have.

Planning the Day

A boat rental in Key West gives you 4 to 8 hours, and the longer slot is worth asking about if the group wants to swim, eat and still make the return. Decide the start time with the sun in mind: the midday glare is strongest in summer, and in winter the afternoon turns cool earlier. Bring sunscreen, a hat, towels and a bag for wet phones, since neither listing supplies them, and agree who is responsible for the boat before anyone touches the slide. A boat rental in Key West works best when one person organizes the food, the cooler ice and the playlist.

Which Boat Rental I’d Book

For a boat rental in Key West I’d book the tiki party boat for a group that wants a fun day, with a captain if nobody has experience, because it is the only one with a review and an explicit captain option. I’d pick the pontoon for a family. If I had fewer than eight people, I would book a shared trip instead. Go back to the guide to boat tours in Key West for those, or to the home page for other cities.