Mel Fisher Maritime Museum: Accredited Florida Keys Attraction
4.1
106 Ratings
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is the lone accredited institution in the Florida Keys. Not only is it an enthralling tale of adventure, but it’s also a nationally acknowledged research facility!

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum - Relive Mel Fisher’s battles with the government to retain the artifacts they found - all the way to the US Supreme Court. A true folk legend right in Key West where it all happened!

See the amazing treasure in the Spanish Treasure Galleons galleries discovered by Mel Fisher and his crew, plus so much more! The thought provoking Slave Ship and Key West African Cemetery exhibits provide a stark look into the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Key West’s unique role in it.

Discover the relics found aboard the Henrietta Marie, an English merchant slave ship dating back to 1699. The wreck as discovered in 1972, but was only partially excavated until years later. Hear about the story behind this important piece of history.

Learn about Spanish Coins in the New World, the Real Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Science of Shipwrecks. You can even take a lab tour and see how history is revealed through conservation every day!

Come celebrate 30 years of treasure with the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum!

What's Included
  • Entrance
What's Not Included
  • DVD (available to purchase)
Additional Information
  • Ticket valid for single use within 60 days of selected date
Location
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum
200 Greene St,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.1
(106 Ratings)
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Cynthia
Oct 22, 2023
Amazing displays of Treasure - Informative and cool ! More than just treasure. History lessons are important, it’s who we are, soak up all you can before it disappears.
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Voyager17976691031
Sep 13, 2023
Worth a visit and very informative and interesting - The exhibit is laid out very professional with plenty detail. The narrated commentary was informative and entertaining.
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Dvkremk
Aug 23, 2023
Not your typical maritime museum - My husband and I thought this was a very interesting museum. I thought it was going to be your typical maritime museum - but instead it was about a family who found the largest treasure on a sunken Spanish ship. It is well displayed also.
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I6589yltimothyh
Aug 19, 2023
A great look at history - A great look into the history of the Caribbean. A lot of great artifacts from pirate and colonial history
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Robertoisfun
Mar 3, 2024
Worth a visit. - I had knowledge of Mel Fisher before our visit and was looking forward to seeing his discoveries. My Honey was not not familiar with Mel's treasures so was not very interested at first. After viewing the short video and seeing some of the displays my Honey enjoyed our visit. They had many informative displays so you were immersed in the time period, customs and daily life. We learned a lot from our visit. I was a bit disappointed that they did not have as many priceless treasures as I was imagining. I wish we stopped by the nearby shop to see what they were selling and for how much during our short stay. Expect to stay 1 - 2 hours here as there is much to see. Worth a visit but will cost you both $35 for admission.
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581colleenc
Jan 29, 2024
Mel Fisher's findings under the Sea! - This museum is a far cry from the Shipwreck museum across the street. It's clean, well lit and easily to navigated. There is two floors to this museum and there is an elevator. the second floor takes about 20mins. to walk/read through. The first takes about 40mins. The displays were nice and pretty. I was just set back however on how many of the displays were not from any of the wreckages he found but instead on loan/gifted from other museums. Also the rooms were a little jumbled and not orderly. if you want an audio guide it's only $2 more on top of admission~ but everything is well described.
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Sammyski
Jan 17, 2024
The most interesting attraction on Key West - Mel's treasure that came at a terrible price to a hurricane - This is my pick for top attraction we visited in Key West. Mel's story is amazing in itself and this museum gives you a chance to see what he brought up from the Atocha. Besides the fabulous jewels and riches, which are mostly saved to the end of your tour, the everyday artifacts tell a lot about the ship and its people that went down in 1622. This is the old history of the Florida Straights. Also the most conveniently located of the major Key West attractions, it sits right at the head of the Duval corridor tourist district.
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Laurie
Sep 7, 2023
Beware with Groupon! - We very much enjoyed this museum but when we arrived prepared to enter using the Groupon deal we had already purchased we were told that it did not work there & that the deal we'd purchased was for the museum in Melbourne, FL. The employee did not look at our Groupon nor offer to double check this. He very very very confidently told us this as if there were no mistake in saying so! He also told us with firm confidence that Groupon would refund us & all we had to do was to ask for the refund! We questioned this several times as we were pretty sure we'd purchased the correct Groupon deal. But nope! This guy wouldn't budge on his firm reply! 'Doesn't work here' were his exact words. Fast forward a week & a half & several email back & forth with Groupon (including a photo of our paid receipt for our museum entry fee) we are out of luck!! Our Groupon purchase was indeed for Key West & we will not get a refund. No reason given. Needless to say we will never ever purchase anything through Groupon again! And I don't know what to think about this museum telling us it doesn't work there!! I just felt it important to share our experience with others so that they don't have to pay twice or miss out because they can't afford to pay twice!
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Jean
Mar 23, 2024
Interesting- lots of reading - There’s a short five minute film at the beginning of the museum. The first floor showed Mel’s treasure and the history behind it. The second floor had photos showing how they excavated and catalogued treasure. Our teens—13, 15, and 17– had trouble staying interested in the reading g. I would not recommend taking kids under 10. Also there’s a $1 discount for military with id. Discounted tickets can also be purchased from the old trolley company if you purchased a tour from them.
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Paulrj4706ib
Nov 20, 2023
Keep the fond old memories and skip this let down. - Having been here back in 2008 with my father I fell in love with the story of the treasure Galleons and Mel Fisher. This trip I decided to shop my daughter it. This museum is nothing like I remember. There was a bunch of interaction and displays of the treasure that was found. This visit with my daughter left a lack luster feeling. Everything seems to have been removed. There was very little interactions with the story or treasure. We used to be able to feel a gold bar. I would skip this stop. For a museum based on treasure Galleons there is practically none on display. Artifacts are cool but treasure gets you hyped.
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