The first thing to know is that you are not choosing between two companies.
They are the same business
From the footer of the Conch Tour Train’s site:
“Copyright © 2026 Historic Tours of America, Inc.”
And Historic Tours of America describes itself as:
“an entertainment company which provides historically oriented vacation experiences for our guests through the operation of trolleys, street trains, high speed ferry, themed retail stores, festival marketplaces and other historic tourist attractions across the United States.”
Headquartered at 201 Front Street, Suite 224, Key West, operating in nine cities.
So the choice is between two products from one company, not two competitors. Which means the difference between them is a deliberate product decision, and it is a real one. The same company runs the night-time Ghosts & Gravestones trolley, and the ghost tours page sets it beside the one tour that goes to Robert the Doll.
The actual difference
| Conch Tour Train | Old Town Trolley | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 60 minutes | 90 minutes |
| Stops | One loop, no hop-off | 13 stops, unlimited reboarding |
| Start | 303 Front Street Depot only | Any of the 13 stops |
| Boarding | Every 30 minutes, 9:00–4:30 | First 9 a.m., last from Mallory 4:30 |
| Rating on Viator | 4.6 (43 reviews) | 4.3 (85 reviews) |
| Running since | 1958 |
The train, in its own words:
“This Key West tour begins at the 303 Front Street Depot and ends right behind it in Mallory Square. Once you have your ticket, climb on board and take your seat, as you are about to embark on a terrific 60-minute journey through time. During the tour, the train will make one loop through Old Town Key West.”
The trolley:
“Hop On and Off at 13 Convenient Stops” · “1 Day of Free Unlimited Reboarding” · “You May Start at Any of Our Convenient Stops”
That is the whole decision. The train is a sightseeing ride. The trolley is transport with narration attached.
Prices
- Old Town Trolley — from $55.60 for a day of unlimited reboarding.
- Conch Tour Train — from $45.10.
Both are sold on Viator as shore excursions. The train’s listing meets at Mallory Station, about ten minutes’ walk from the cruise port, and times the outing at 90 minutes. The price for your date appears once you pick it.
So the train is about ten dollars cheaper than the trolley.
Ten dollars is roughly what it costs to be able to get off the vehicle. That is the whole trade, and for most people it is worth paying.
The thing almost nobody notices
Both tickets include this, buried well down the page:
“2 FREE Guided Walking Tours Included” (trolley) “FREE Two Guided Walking Tours included” (train)
Two guided walking tours, included in a ticket most people use once and discard. If you have bought either, ask about them.
One closure a year
“Closed the last Saturday in October (Fantasy Fest).”
That is the train’s single closure day, and in 2026 the operator’s two descriptions of it point at different Saturdays. The last Saturday in October 2026 is the 31st. Fantasy Fest runs 16 to 25 October, and its parade is on Saturday the 24th. If you are in town for either, call the operator on (305) 707–5775 and ask which day the train is off.
The combo tickets
Both are sold bundled with two other Historic Tours of America attractions:
Key West Shipwreck Treasure Museum — “Open everyday 9am to 5:30pm, final entry 5pm.” with a “65’ Captain’s Observatory” to climb.
Key West Aquarium — whose dates the operator and the city give differently. The operator says the building was “constructed between 1932 and 1934.” The City of Key West’s own history says “The Key West Aquarium began construction in 1933 and was opened to the public in 1935.”
The city’s version is worth reading in full, because it is a better story than either marketing page:
“The Key West Aquarium was the first aquarium to use an ‘open air concept,’ which allowed natural light to shine onto the marine displays from above. During World War II, the U.S. Navy, Marines and Coast Guard used the aquarium space as a rifle range. In 1946, the building was returned to the City of Key West and was restored to be used again as an aquarium. In the 1960s, the addition of the roof brought an end to the open air concept.”
A 1930s open-air aquarium that spent the war as a rifle range. The operator’s own page says it has been there for 90 years and was the island’s first attraction.
What we would buy
The trolley, if either. At $55.60 for a day of unlimited reboarding, it is doing two jobs — a narrated introduction and a way to get to the Hemingway Home, the Southernmost Point and Mallory Square without walking in the heat. The train, at 60 minutes with no hop-off, is only doing the first.
Neither, if you are comfortable walking. Old Town is about a mile across. The city bus is $2 and a bike is better than both. The trolley earns its price when it is hot, when mobility is a consideration, or when you have one day and want the whole island explained to you. On a cruise stop, check the walking distances from the piers first: most of Old Town is within a mile.
Below are the trolley and the train, then Viator’s full Key West catalog.
