Florida is home to three national parks, all located within the South Florida area. If you’re heading down to the Keys for a couple days, a day trip to the Dry Tortugas is definitely worth checking out!
I have to preface this by saying that the Dry Tortugas are not close. So if you’re taking a road trip down to the Florida Keys and only have a long weekend, there’s plenty to see and do already. But if you’ve been before or have a longer amount of time in the Keys, then this is a fun day trip to do.
Where are the Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are a series of seven islands located off the Florida Keys at the tip of one of the longest coral reefs in the world. They are about 2.5 hours by boat directly west of Key West. At one point, there were 11 islands total, but 4 have been reclaimed by the ocean.
Garden Key is the main island where Fort Jefferson is located. Attached to that is Bush Key and Long Key, which have a long expanse of white sand, but are closed seasonly due to being a breeding ground for birds.
Located to the west is a longer, uninhabited island called Loggerhead Key which has sandy, white shores and a lighthouse on it, but not much else. If you have your own boat, you can pull up to it. Or if you’re camping on the island, you can bring a kayak to head over to it also.
And off to the northeast are three small islands Hospital Key, Middle Key and East Key.
How to Get There
There’s a few different ways you can get to the Dry Tortugas, but none of them are going to be cheap (unless you have your own boat). Most people will visit by getting tickets on the ferry.
Ferry to the Dry Tortugas
The ferry runs every day of the year from the ferry terminal in Key West. It leaves early in the morning and comes back in the late afternoon and includes a fort tour, snorkeling and breakfast/lunch.
The ferry boat is pretty comfortable with an upper and lower deck. There’s seating, restrooms and air conditioning inside and a handful of seats outside if you want to be in the sun.
Tickets
There are a few different options for tickets but you’ll want to plan ahead. Tickets can sell out quickly so don’t wait until the day of to try and get on. And if you want a camping ticket, you’ll need to plan months in advance (literally).
Ticket Prices:
Parking
If the tickets to get there weren’t bad enough, parking is a joke. The garage that they recommend is at 300 Grinnell Street and it cost me $48 for the day + tax. LOL. There’s also a parking garage directly across from the terminal that said it was $40/day.
You could also try and stay within walking or biking distance as some hotels have bikes you can use. I stayed about 10 minutes down the road by car, so I didn’t have a choice.
By Personal Boat
The cheapest (and best option if it’s available) is to go on your own boat. You’ll need to stop into the Visitor’s Center on Garden Key for a boating permit (free) and to pay the entrance fee to the National Park.
Dry Tortugas by Private Charter
If you have a large group, It might be worth looking into a private charter. Some of them allow up to 12 passengers which comes out to around the same amount as a ferry ticket. You’ll want to inquire as to whether prices include fuel as that can be another $800-$1,100.
Taking a Seaplane to the Dry Tortugas
A fun way to travel is by seaplane, but those aren’t cheap either. There’s one seaplane company that is permitted at the park and the’ll take you on either a half day or full day tour. The flight takes about 40 minutes one way. On a 4-hour half-day tour, that will leave you with about 2.5 hours on the island to explore.
Day Trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park
If you’re heading over on the ferry, here’s what a day trip to the Dry Tortugas will look like:
Itinerary
7:00am Check-in opens
Check-in starts early and they do board by number of when you arrived. So if you want to choose your seat early, you’ll want to get here early. I got there around 7:35am and they hadn’t started boarding yet but I was nearly the last one in line. They also called me right at 7:30am to make sure I was still coming (they can give your ticket to any walk-ins if you don’t show).
7:30am Boarding begins
If the weather is rough, the best seats are in the lower, back part of the ferry. If you get there late like me, you’ll likely have to sit outside on the upper deck, but I didn’t mind.
8:00-10:30am Boat Trip + Breakfast
The trip over is 2.5 hours and they do have breakfast once you’re on board and take off. They had bagels, cereal, coffee and orange juice.
11:00am Tour of the Fort
There’s an optional tour of the fort shortly after you arrive. The guide gave us some great information but I don’t do well on long tours if we aren’t moving enough. It was pretty hot and I couldn’t stand there for too long so I ended up bailing after 30 minutes.
I didn’t see the tour group until about 12:30pm which means it went on for about an hour and a half! I like getting the information, but I like exploring and taking pictures on my own better.
11:00-1:00pm Lunch
Lunch was back on the boat and consisted of subs from Jersey Mikes. There are a bunch of picnic tables outside (or you can eat in the aircon on the boat).
2:45pm Boarding for departure
By the afternoon, the beach traffic started to die down and you need to get back to the boat by 2:45pm. They do check off your name so no one gets left on the island.
3:00-5:30pm Ferry back to Key West
On the return trip, they open the snack bar and bar and offer wine, beer and cocktails for the ride back. After being in the sun all day, one strawberry daiquiri put me to sleep on the top deck.
Things to Do
Explore the Fort
Fort Jefferson takes up a good chunk of the island and is fun to walk around. You can climb up the stairs to the top part of the fort where the canons are and a get a great view of the water and beaches. There are a few parts that are closed off because of safety.
Construction on the building began in 1846. Over the years, it was used as a fort and a prison, but because it was too hard to maintain and too far out to see, it was eventually deserted. It became a national monument in 1935 and it wasn’t until 1992 that it became a national park.
It became a national park mostly to protect the marine life and cultural history. Our guide told us that of the 99 sq. miles that the park consists of, only 1% is above the ocean.
Dry Tortugas Snorkeling
If you’re on the ferry, your ticket includes snorkeling gear and you can pick some up right near the boat. While it’s fun to swim around the moats, I didn’t end up seeing anything. But that’s not to say you won’t. I also didn’t go to all of the snorkeling areas.
You can snorkel off the moats and beaches, and off the coaling dock ruins on the north and south side.
Relax on the Beach
While none of the beaches are that big, the water surrounding them is gorgeous! The water was calm and cool when I went–the perfect beach conditions. There’s a beach right next to the dock that they refer to as Seaplane Beach and that’s where the seaplanes will come and go.
There’s a small beach on the north side called North Swim Beach and a beach just to the left of the dock called South Swim Beach. The south beach is a little bit longer and was a bit more scenic in my opinion but both are worth checking out, especially for snorkeling.
Birding
Bush Key is where you’ll find birds not found anywhere else in the continental US. It’s a breeding ground for sooty terns and brown noddies, so the area is closed to people from September to February.
If you’re big into birding, you’ll want to bring some binoculars with you and you can go up the fort for a view from there. When I was there in June, there were tons of birds flying around.
Camping on Dry Tortugas
If you’d like to experience the island without the crowd from the ferry, you can actually camp right near the fort. There are some shaded areas in the trees, grills and picnic tables.
A camping ticket is required (which you’ll need to get months in advance since there are so few offered). I had to wait until they refreshed their calendar to get some, but then ended up not being able to go. I had to reschedule it but because there were no more camping spots available, they turned into regular day trip tickets. 🙃 (And then I also ended up going alone and lost money there too on the other ticket 🫠.)
Kayak to Loggerhead Key
Another option is to get a camping + kayak ticket, which I actually initially did (I really ended up paying the most and doing the least 🥲). This allows you to bring over a kayak on the ferry and you can kayak over to Loggerhead Key (the sandy shores with an abandoned lighthouse).
It is a bit of a lift to get it there and on the ferry, so it is a commitment. But you’re likely to have Loggerhead Key all to yourself which would have been a pretty cool experience.
What to Bring
- Swimsuit
- Towel
- Hat
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Flip flops (they tell you good walking shoes but flip flops are fine and you don’t want to have tennis shoes and socks to hold onto)
- Change of clothes
- Book
- National Park Pass (if you said you had one when purchasing your tickets)
- Dramamine (if you’re someone who gets seasick and/or there’s choppy water)
- Cash (in case you want a drink when the bar opens and the card machines stop working like they did for me)
PIN IT FOR LATER
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