Planning Your Trip to the Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas National Park was a bucket list item for us, as I imagine it is for so many other travelers. My husband and I talked about this trip for a long time. We were beyond excited to have the opportunity to go. But funny thing, I found we knew surprisingly little about the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson. The idea of visiting a national park 70 miles off the coast of Key West and the beauty of every picture we have ever seen captured our interest. I should have known that it would be the history that would make the experience so memorable. This trip will be one that we talk about for a long time.
Travelers can make their way to the national park by ferry, sea plane, or private boat. We visited the Dry Tortugas on the Yankee Freedom III. The ferry takes 175 passengers to and from the island daily. When you buy a ticket for the ferry, you are purchasing your whole experience. The crew of the Yankee Freedom will provide your transportation, information about the day, breakfast and lunch, guided tour of the fort, snorkeling equipment, and anything else you need. The ferry has two levels, inside and outside seating, some seating with tables, air conditioning, bathrooms, and food service area. The ship will sail with 175 passengers almost every sailing, which is the capacity allowed to visit the Dry Tortugas, but not the max capacity of the ship. This should keep the boat from ever feeling crowded. The crew was very efficient, giving us information about departure, loading the boat, and staying on time. The ferry is approximately 2 ½ hours each way, taking you to the most beautiful and unique place I have visited. When you arrive, you will be given all the information you need about snorkeling, equipment, maps, areas to explore, and tours available of the fort. After that, you have free run for about 4 hours to explore the areas of most interest to you. Just remember that lunch is being served on the boat between 12 – 1pm and you must be back on the boat by 245pm for departure. The only big difference on the way back was the option to purchase adult beverages and merchandise. The crew on our trip were fantastic and there to be of assistance to everyone on board.
As we approached Fort Jefferson on the ferry, we were captivated with the beauty of this majestic fort in the middle of the vibrant aqua-blue gulf waters. We were struck with how surreal it felt coming upon the fort in the middle of nowhere. The Dry Tortugas National Park is as stunning as every picture we have seen. As we arrived, our minds started spinning. The Dry Tortugas is known for its amazing snorkeling and here was this beautiful fort in front of us to explore. Where to start and how to see it all? We had to quickly get it together and stick with our original plan. We would start with the fort, go on the tour, and then see if we had time left for snorkeling. We ended up spending the entire time exploring the fort and did not regret that decision. There were others who spent the entire time snorkeling and I am pretty sure they did not regret their decision either.
We started with the tour given by one of the crew and decided to do the extended tour which lasted about an hour. He was knowledgeable, animated, and appeared to enjoy the history of the fort. We learned so much during the tour. The islands were named Las Tortugas in 1513 by the Spanish and later designated as the Dry Tortugas. Our guide reminded us that the “Dry” was to warn mariners of no fresh water, not due to a lack of adult beverages on the property. In the 1800’s the United States realized how important it was to protect the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico for shipping and trade out of the United States mainland. Construction of Fort Jefferson started in 1846 to build a fort capable of protecting the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. Although this fort was never finished, never saw battle, and had more problems than solutions, it was a powerful deterrent and served its purpose protecting this area. The fort also served as a military prison, housing its most infamous prisoner Dr Samuel Mudd, the doctor who set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. You can visit his cell and the dungeon where he was held after attempting escape. You can also walk around and see the powder magazines, officers’ quarters, the chapel, and the lighthouse. I thought the water system that was built to purify water was interesting and elaborate only to find that it did not work very well because of cracks in the holding tanks. You can explore all areas of the fort, except the area that is now used as the residential and service area for the rangers and employees working at the fort. In 1992 this area became the Dry Tortugas National Park and is maintained by the national park services.
After the tour, we explored every inch of Fort Jefferson. We walked all three levels, found the cell of Dr. Mudd, and stood on the third level looking out at nothing but the water surrounding the fort. We took the iconic pictures out the broken brick windows with the bright, vivid water in the background. We viewed the display boat some Cuban refugees used when they landed in the Dry Tortugas. When we finished exploring the inside, we went outside to explore more. We walked around the moat, taking pictures of the Fort while searching the water for the famous sea turtles. We watched the snorkelers explore the waters, the sea planes come in and out, and the campers staying the night who would soon have the whole place to themselves. As we boarded the ferry to return home, we felt sad and immediately began plotting our return.
Things we learned from our trip that we think will help you plan:
We were in line by 6:35am after stopping for a cup of Cuban Coffee. We were towards the front, but the line grew quickly after our arrival. The Cuban Coffee is one of the few places open in the marina that early in the morning.
You board the boat in the order you check in. There is plenty of seating, but limited seating in each area. We noticed people all wanted to be outside on the way out to the island and inside on the way back to Key West. Outdoor seating is AMAZING, but it is windy and seemed to be a bit too much for most people, especially on the way back. There will be a seat for everyone, but if you want to choose a specific seat, arrive early.
Breakfast and Lunch were basic without variety, but good. Breakfast was a plain bagel, cream cheese, apple, and a yogurt. Lunch was a ham or turkey sandwich, lays potato chips, and a chocolate chip cookie. They had hot coffee and cups of water available the whole trip. You could purchase bottled water or soda. They did have a couple of options for dietary restrictions if you let them know when you checked in. If you have picky eaters with you, bring something additional for them.
It is hard to hear the announcements when you are sitting outside with the wind blowing.
It is a long two and half hours, especially on the return trip when you are tired and ready to be home. Plan for this especially if you have children that might get bored.
Once onboard, the crew will come around and ask if you want to go on the 15-minute tour or the extended 45-minute tour of the fort. Most people initially chose the 15-minute tour, but our tour guide was so spectacular that most stayed for the 45-minute tour. I would recommend at least listening to the short tour, even if you choose to skip the extended portion.
The fort is a lot of fun to explore. But it is hot and the ground is uneven to walk on, so bring sturdy shoes and not just flimsy beach flip flops.
You will not have a ton of extra time to do everything. We spent the entire time exploring the fort and taking pictures without ever snorkeling. We knew that the fort would capture most of our time and we were okay with the way it worked out.
The crew and website warn about motion sickness and I would recommend taking that warning seriously. I took Dramamine and was glad that I did.
The drinks on the way back were delicious and very reasonably priced.
The crew did a raffle for some free merchandise. All the proceeds from the raffle went to the tip jar for the crew. The crew really earned their pay and tips on our trip. We thought the crew was spectacular.
I have very rarely read or heard anyone saying bad things about their experience at the Dry Tortugas National Park, but there are some things about the trip that are hard. If you set your expectations and prepare appropriately, you will likely have a spectacular day.
