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The African Queen

Key Largo, Monroe County
MACHINE OR VESSEL
9STRANGENESS
OUT OF TEN
The African Queen
The African Queen

WHAT IT IS

The actual steamboat from the 1951 Bogart and Hepburn film, restored and still taking passengers up a Key Largo canal.

Built in England in 1912 for missionary and hunting service on the Ruki and Congo rivers, she was found derelict in Cairo, brought to Florida, and for years sat neglected behind a hotel. A local mechanic restored her to steam in 2012. She is a National Historic Site that carries six passengers at a time, hissing gently past the mangroves, with the original boiler doing the work.

HOW IT SCORES

Rarity10/10
Is there anywhere else like it?
Backstory10/10
How did this come to be?
Disrepair7/10
What is holding it together?
Commitment9/10
How far do they take the bit?

NEARBY

Jules' Undersea Lodge0 mi · Key Largo Christ of the Abyss10 mi · Key Largo Big Betsy the Lobster17 mi · Islamorada

BEFORE YOU DRIVE

ENTRY FEE
$59 canal cruise
HOURS
Daily cruises, reservation required
BEST TIME
Sunset cruise. Book ahead; it is one small boat.
HOW LONG
90 minutes
PARKING
Marina lot at mile marker 100
PAYMENT
Cards accepted
ACCESS
Step down into a small boat
COORDINATES
25.0872° N, 80.4470° W

99701 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, behind the Holiday Inn marina.

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DETAILS COMPILED FROM PUBLISHED SOURCES. FEES CHANGE. CALL AHEAD.