What a Florida Keys RV trip costs, tax and all

Reviewed by Ben Kiser, RV rental operator and fleet consultant.

Two taxes land on a Keys RV trip, at two different rates. The rental carries 6% Florida sales tax. The campsite carries 12.5%, because Monroe County adds its own 6.5 points to the state's 6.

So a dollar spent on the site costs more than a dollar spent on the RV. Put in the rate from your listing, the delivery your host quotes and where you are staying. The calculator does the rest.

The host sets it for your dates. Florida adds 6% sales tax.

A state park stops at 14 nights per reservation.

From the Princeton rental lots, the nearest mainland pickup, it is 35 road miles to Key Largo, 88 to Marathon and 137 to Key West. Most hosts keep their RVs further north in Miami, so use the miles the host quotes. Outdoorsy does not say whether a per-mile fee runs one way or both. Ask, and double the miles if it is both.

Plan a paid site for every night. No source permits free overnight parking in the Keys.

No cash on the road. Discounts do not apply when towing.

Enter the nightly rate from your listing to see the whole trip.

An estimate, not a quote. Hosts add their own cleaning, mileage and generator fees, and hold a deposit on top. Not applied because the sources do not settle them: the $1 a day peer-to-peer surcharge, which s. 212.0606 does not say reaches an RV, and any county surtax on the rental itself. Florida DOR is where to confirm both. Toll rates from the Card Sound Toll Authority.

Three weeks, worked through

Built from Outdoorsy day rates on October 8, 2026: the median by class for RVs whose hosts can reach the Keys, in whole dollars, and the median per-mile delivery rate of $4.00. The road miles are 35 to Key Largo, 88 to Marathon and 137 to Key West. The miles are from the Princeton rental lots, the nearest mainland pickup. Most hosts keep their RVs further north in Miami, so the real fee is the host's quote. The campsite rates are the parks' own.

WeekRental + taxDeliverySite + fees + taxTotal
A week in a travel trailer at Pennekamp, delivered to Key Largo
Travel trailer median day rate, state park fees, 35 road miles one way at the median per-mile rate.		$816.20$140.00$339.20$1,295.40
A week in a Class C at Jolly Roger, Marathon
Class C median day rate, Jolly Roger's top daily rate, 88 road miles one way at the median per-mile rate.		$1,899.52$352.00$1,141.88$3,393.40
A peak week in a Class A at Boyd's, Key West, delivery counted both ways
Class A median day rate, Boyd's peak holiday rate, 137 road miles each way at the median per-mile rate.		$2,856.70$1,096.00$1,771.88$5,724.58

Look at the third row. Counted both ways, the delivery to Key West costs $1,096.00, which is 41% of the rental. Outdoorsy does not say whether a host's per-mile fee is one way or round trip, so that one question can move the week by $548.00. Ask it before you accept.

None of the rows counts the security deposit, because it is held rather than spent. Across the 81 listings that can reach the Keys the median is $1,000, and Outdoorsy applies it to the protection deductible first if the RV is damaged. The guide to RV rental insurance in Florida explains the deposit, the deductible and why your own auto policy pays first.

Card Sound Road, if you take it

If your route uses Card Sound Road, the toll goes by axle. A motorhome towing a one-axle boat trailer is three axles, so each crossing costs $1.99 more on SunPass than the motorhome alone. Bring a SunPass or expect the plate bill, because the road takes no cash.

Where these figures come from

Questions

12.5% on a stay of 6 months or less. That is the 6% state transient rental tax under s. 212.03, the 1.5% Monroe County surtax and the 5% Monroe County tourist development tax. Boyd's and Jolly Roger both print the 12.5% on their own rate pages, and neither includes it in the rate.

Yes. Florida charges 6% sales tax on the rental of a motor vehicle under s. 212.05, and the statute says the entire amount of a rental made in Florida is taxable. Whether a county surtax also applies to the rental is not settled by the sources read here, and neither is whether the $1 a day peer-to-peer surcharge in s. 212.0606 reaches an RV. The statute does not mention RVs, and a travel trailer carries no passengers. Florida DOR is the place to ask.

Two ways, and you need to know both. A bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than 6 months, entered into at the outset, is not a taxable privilege under s. 212.03(1)(a), which names RV parks. Under s. 212.03(4), someone who stays continuously longer than 6 months and has paid the tax for those first 6 months stops owing it after that. The second path names trailer camps rather than RV parks, so confirm how your park applies it with Florida DOR. The Monroe County tourist tax covers stays of 6 months or less.

$36 a night plus tax, a $7 nightly utility fee for RVs and a nonrefundable $6.70 reservation fee, at Pennekamp, Curry Hammock and Bahia Honda alike. The Monroe County $2.50 nightly surcharge is already inside the $36. One reservation stops at 14 nights.

From Oct 1, 2026, SunPass pays $2.18 for 2 axles, $4.17 for 3 and $1.39 for each axle after that. Toll-By-Plate is $3.28, $6.27 and $2.09, plus a $2.50 monthly admin fee. There is no cash lane, and discount programs do not apply to a vehicle towing a boat or trailer.

Next: the full price range for a Keys week, driving the Overseas Highway in an RV, which listings deliver how far, and monthly stays, where the 6 month line matters most. Then price your own dates on a real listing.