Last Updated on November 26, 2023 by Ray Roman
Wondering how far is Cuba from Florida? If you visit Miami in Florida, then you will likely be familiar with the Cuban part of this city. A lot of Cubans migrated to Florida, and that is why there is a fairly large Cuban population in Miami.
Part of the reason why Miami was such a popular destination among Cuban migrants is that this State is still fairly close to their homeland.
Along the coast of Florida, there are a number of locations from which you can see Cuba.
When you see how close this country is to Florida on the map, you might wonder how far away Cuba is from Florida. If that’s the case, then you are in the right place.
At the closest point between these two locations, there are over 400 miles between Florida and Cuba. So, these two places aren’t as close together as expected. In this guide, I’ll be looking further at how far away Cuba is from Florida.
Read on to find out more.

How Far Is Cuba From Florida?
First things first, let’s take a look at exactly how far away Cuba is from Florida.
Well, in straight line distance from their closest points, there are around 450 miles between Cuba and Florida – 449 if you want to be exact. This equates to around 723 kilometers or 390 nautical miles.
When you travel from Cuba to Florida, or vice versa, however, it is actually likely to be a slightly longer distance. That is because you generally won’t set off from the closest point in both locations.
Instead, if you are flying from an airport, you will likely fly from a city airport, adding some distance to the journey.
Likewise, if you were to travel by boat, you would set off from a port rather than the closest point between Florida and Cuba. So this will increase the distance of the journey.
So, most journeys between Florida and Cuba will be longer than 450 miles.
Can You See Cuba From Florida?
There is some debate about whether or not you can see Cuba from Florida. Many rumors suggest you should be able to see the shining lights of Cuba from Florida, and many people visit Florida in hopes of doing this.
However, in reality, you cannot see the lights of Cuba from Florida.
As the world is round, you really cannot see that much of Cuba from Florida. There is a large distance between these two locations, which means that the amount of Cuba you can see from Florida is very small.
So small, in fact, that many people believe you cannot see Cuba from Florida. Instead, many argue that you think you can see Cuba because you’ve been staring out into the distance for a significant amount of time.
Many people visit Key West, Florida, hoping to see Cuba from this coastline location. However, you generally will not be able to see Cuba from Florida.
The same principle applies when looking across the waters to Florida. So, if you have visited Florida hoping to see Cuba from a distance, you will likely be disappointed!
How Long Is A Boat Ride From Cuba To Florida?
While you may not be able to see the shores of Cuba from Florida, you can actually travel from Florida to Cuba and vice versa.
This is a popular thing to do for many people who have traveled a significant distance to visit Florida and are eager to fit in multiple countries in one trip.
While you may expect the journey between Cuba and Florida by boat to be very short, it is actually a lot longer than you may have expected.
There are fast ferries operating between these two locations, yet these ferries still take around 10 hours to reach Florida from Cuba.
So, sadly, you cannot simply pop over to Florida from Cuba for a couple of hours simply because this isn’t viable in terms of time.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t visit Florida during your trip to Cuba, and vice versa; it just means that you will need to be more careful when planning to ensure that it is worth the visit across the ocean.
A 10-hour boat journey isn’t taken lightly, so bear this in mind when planning your excursions.
Can You Do A Day Trip To Cuba From Miami?
Finally, you may wonder if you can do a day trip to Cuba from Miami. As I have just said, the boat journey between Cuba and Florida generally takes around 10 hours, so this won’t be the best option for a day trip.
However, the flight between Cuba and Florida is much shorter, making a day trip much more viable.
If you are traveling from Havana, Cuba, you can reach Key West airport in less than an hour. Flights run regularly between these two locations with Air Key West, so you can easily do a day trip between the two places.
A day trip to Miami or Havana, depending on which way you are traveling, is an excellent way to explore new cultures and a great way to spend one day of your holiday.
So, if you have the cash to travel between the two countries, I really would recommend doing it, especially if you have traveled internationally to reach Florida or Cuba in the first place.
These two cities are so close together that a day trip between them is an opportunity not to miss, and with such a short flight time, it is a great idea!
Summary of how far is Cuba from Florida?
In short, at the closest point between Cuba and Florida, there are around 450 miles between these two locations.
This is a straight-flight distance between the two places, so depending on your route to Cuba, it will likely take slightly longer to get there.
Recommended Reading: