diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ce52b32..a6ab751 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -107,6 +107,36 @@ poetry run black .           # fix formatting
 
 GitHub Actions runs tests and Black checks on push/PRs. Coverage is optionally uploaded to Codecov.
 
+## Deployment
+
+The React frontend is hosted on Vercel and the FastAPI backend on Fly.io.
+
+### Frontend (Vercel)
+
+Vercel deploys automatically on push to `main` via GitHub integration.
+
+1. Install the Vercel CLI: `npm install -g vercel`
+2. Link the project: `cd frontend && vercel link`
+3. Set the Mapbox token as an environment variable in the Vercel dashboard:
+   - Key: `VITE_MAPBOX_TOKEN`
+   - Value: your Mapbox token
+   - Environment: Production (and Preview if desired)
+4. Deploy manually if needed: `vercel --prod`
+
+### Backend (Fly.io)
+
+1. Install the Fly CLI: `brew install flyctl`
+2. Authenticate: `flyctl auth login`
+3. Create the app (first time only): `cd backend && flyctl launch --no-deploy`
+4. Set secrets:
+   ```sh
+   flyctl secrets set GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_key_here
+   ```
+5. Deploy: `flyctl deploy`
+6. Check health: `curl https://indy-explorer-backend.fly.dev/health`
+
+Subsequent deploys run automatically on push to `main` via the CI/CD pipeline (to be configured in a later issue).
+
 ## Contributing
 
 1. Fork the repository.
diff --git a/backend/.env.example b/backend/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f2aa24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Backend environment variables
+# Copy to .env and fill in values (never commit .env)
+
+# Required for geocoding (only needed when regenerating data/resort_locations.csv)
+GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY=your_google_maps_api_key_here
diff --git a/backend/fly.toml b/backend/fly.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59ac31e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/fly.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+app = "indy-explorer-backend"
+primary_region = "iad"
+
+[build]
+
+[http_service]
+  internal_port = 8000
+  force_https = true
+  auto_stop_machines = "stop"
+  auto_start_machines = true
+  min_machines_running = 0
+
+[[http_service.checks]]
+  grace_period = "10s"
+  interval = "30s"
+  method = "GET"
+  path = "/health"
+  timeout = "5s"
+
+[[vm]]
+  memory = "256mb"
+  cpu_kind = "shared"
+  cpus = 1
diff --git a/frontend/.env.example b/frontend/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc6b91e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Frontend environment variables
+# Copy to .env.local and fill in values (never commit .env.local)
+# In Vercel, set these in the dashboard under Project Settings > Environment Variables
+
+# Required for map rendering
+VITE_MAPBOX_TOKEN=your_mapbox_token_here
diff --git a/frontend/vercel.json b/frontend/vercel.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed4d6a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/vercel.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "buildCommand": "npm run build",
+  "outputDirectory": "dist",
+  "rewrites": [
+    { "source": "/(.*)", "destination": "/index.html" }
+  ]
+}