Tavernier is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, occupying the southwesternmost three miles of Key Largo, the largest island in the upper Florida Keys. With a population of about 2,500, it sits between the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay, bordered to the northeast by the community of Key Largo and, across Tavernier Creek to the southwest, by the village of Islamorada on Plantation Key. The community's history is layered. The name Tavernier is believed to descend from the Spanish word for horsefly, tabano, appearing as Cayo de Tivanos on an 18th-century chart. In the 19th century the offshore waters were a rendezvous for Bahamian wreckers, and by the late 1800s a farming settlement called Planter took shape along the Atlantic edge, raising pineapples, tomatoes, and melons. The 1882 Homestead Act brought settlers such as Robert Joseph Albury, and the arrival of Henry Flagler's railroad through the Keys later tied the area to Key West. Tavernier today holds more historical structures than any Keys community outside Key West. Modern Tavernier is defined by the water. The community is a well-known base for scuba diving and snorkeling, with the Conch Reef, Alligator Reef, and other sites within reach offshore, and a cluster of dive centers, charter boats, and marinas along the Overseas Highway. Boating, fishing, kayaking, and eco-tours are part of everyday life, and the protected bayside waters offer calm access for families. U.S. Route 1, the Overseas Highway, runs the length of the community and is its commercial spine, lined with shops, restaurants, and marine businesses. The drive to the mainland at Florida City takes under an hour, and Miami lies just beyond, giving Tavernier a balance of remote island living and reachable urban services, with Coral Shores High School anchoring the local school presence.