Key West, Florida is one of the many great vacation spots in the state of Florida. From fishing to watersports, to history, and special cuisine, Key West has plenty of options to fill your time. But for Bond fans it offers several additional delights! Blake Powers (Agent 00280) explores.
Enjoying fun in the sun and drinking great beverages already makes it sound like a great Bond holiday. But add in a handful of Bond filming locations from the movie Licence To Kill (still remain relatively unchanged) and Key West is ideal. These locations are all within walking distance from each other and easily able to be reached within a single day!
Only a few blocks’ walk from the “Southern Most Point Bouy” you can find the private residence that is used as Felix Leiter’s house in the film. In the film, the exterior and interior are used for scenes from the wedding reception as well as when Bond finds Leiter disagreeing with something that ate him. Because this is a private residence, one is unable to check out the interior of the house, but the street view of the house is worth the walk! Aside from this being an absolutely stunning house, there is a fun Easter Egg to be seen if you visit this location. The numeric address of this residence is “707”, and the last 7 in the address displayed on the house matches the “7” from the “007” logo!!
A short walk from Leiter’s house is Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, which plays the church that Bond and Leiter parachute down to for Leiter’s wedding… if only we could all find such a beautiful wedding location only a few blocks from the house: talk about an open bar! For those that are religious – and even for those who are not – this church is a beautiful building to behold and the only difference in appearance from the movie is the colour the exterior is painted in.
One of the main tourist destinations for many that travel to Key West is Ernest Hemingway’s House. An important thing to note of for this location is it is only open to the public Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm, and it is $19 per adult to tour the house. This location has an impressive display of Hemingway’s work and his unique life throughout his house. But to us Bond fans, this house plays the scene to Bond and M’s iconic meeting and Bond’s “Farewell to Arms” as he goes rogue once again to catch Sanchez and those responsible for the attack on the Leiters! Another note to those that don’t know, there is an abundance of cats that still live on the property. So, if you’re allergic… bring extra Benadryl!
A few blocks away from the iconic Duval St. and in the midst of a bunch of shops and stores for all walks of life is the Shell Warehouse. In Licence To Kill Bond is seen walking through this area while meeting with Agent Hawkins of the DEA. The area itself has been rather built up for tourist attractions, and the sign has changed slightly since the movie aired, but the location is still there and has plenty of beautiful shells whether you want to buy or you’re “Just Looking”. For those coming to Key West from a cruise ship, this location would be one of your first stops whether you liked it or not getting off the ship!
They did not have Carcharodan Carcharias (great white shark) on the menu, but the catch of the day was quite tasty! Milton Krest’s Fish Warehouse that Bond visits twice within License to Kill is now known as Conch Republic Seafood Company. The general building structure of the warehouse is recognisable to the film but has been renovated to offer an open air seafood restaurant that offers a variety of seafood including catch of the day and cook your catch to name a few! Although I was slightly disappointed, I did not locate any sharks, the food was very enjoyable and I would recommend to plan having a meal here when you plan your visit! “Bon appetite!”
The location that is most on the outskirts of it all is The Barrelhead Bar, which is the dockside bar where Bond meets Bouvier before getting into a fight with Dario. This bar is now known as Thai Island Restaurant, which serves… you guessed it Thai cuisine! While checking this location out, they were in the midst of renovations and repainting. It looks quite nice and revived with a fresh white coat of paint. It offers a dockside and roof top bar seating so you can watch over the chartered boats coming in and out of the bay. The charter boats offered along the way from the Thai Island Restaurant is also where “Sharky’s Charters” was located in the film as well, now available is a variety of boats for charters for those looking to do some fishing.
Whether you are flying in, driving down, or stopping in for a day trip to Key West from your Caribbean cruise, the hot sun, smell of the ocean, and call of roosters are destined to hit you like a brick through a plate glass window. There is a variety of special cuisines like seafood, and Cuban food if you like dining, an entire street worth of bars if you like to drink; boating charters and public beaches if you like the ocean. And history from Ponce de Leon, pirates, and Ernest Hemingway, if that’s your cup of tea. Whether you’re hunting shipwreck treasure or Bond locations… Key West has a lot to offer!
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Last modified: 13 January 2026
