MarathonThe middle of the Florida Keys — Sombrero Beach, the Seven Mile Bridge, the Turtle Hospital, and a deep-water-canal-and-boat-slip rental scene built for the offshore sport-fishing tradition

Marathon spreads across thirteen Florida Keys islands from Mile Marker 47 to Mile Marker 60 — about 90 minutes south of Key Largo and 50 miles north of Key West. The Seven Mile Bridge at the south end of Marathon (technically connecting Knight's Key to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys) is one of the longest segmental concrete bridges in the world; the parallel Old Seven Mile Bridge — closed to cars in the 1980s — reopened in 2022 after a $44 million rehabilitation as the world's longest pedestrian-and-bike pier with access to the historic Pigeon Key island in the middle. Sombrero Beach on the Atlantic side of Vaca Key is one of the only natural sand beaches in the entire Florida Keys chain — most Keys shorelines are mangrove or rocky, but Sombrero is a real wide-quartz-sand swim beach with lifeguards, free public parking, and clear water. The Turtle Hospital on US-1 (the only state-certified sea-turtle veterinary hospital in the U.S.) and Crane Point Hammock (a 63-acre tropical hardwood preserve) are the rainy-day stops.

Our Marathon inventory leans heavily into the Indigo Reef Marina cluster on Vaca Key — three-bedroom waterfront luxury villas with private deep-water boat slips at the back dock (35-foot vessel maximum, hull size limit 31 feet, 3-foot max draft), shared resort pool, and walking-distance to The Dolphin Connection at Hawks Cay. Beyond Indigo Reef, we have a smaller mix of canal-front pool homes (the Coral Lagoon end-of-canal home, Rest A Shore waterfront), and a few luxury offerings (Reel Joy Waterfront Luxe with private dock). Most rentals enforce 7-night minimums year-round (boat-rental and offshore-charter logistics make shorter stays uncommon). Florida Keys Marathon International (MTH) is on the island; Miami International (MIA) is 110 miles north (2 hours via the Overseas Highway US-1).