Best Dry Tortugas Day Trip Itinerary (+ Cheapest Way To Get There)

A Dry Tortugas day trip requires advanced planning – it’s a bit harder to get to (by sea or plane only) and tickets are limited.

I’ll walk you through your options (including the cheapest way to get to Dry Tortugas National Park) and share tips I learned from my recent trip.

In this article:

• The best & cheapest way to get to Dry Tortugas National Park
• Things to do in Dry Tortugas
• Dry Tortugas National Park day trip itinerary
• Tips for camping at Dry Tortugas
• What to pack

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Before we dive in, there’s a few important things to note about this National Park.

First, it’s very remote. Dry Tortugas consists of 7 small keys. The primary key is Garden Key (where Fort Jefferson is located).

If you have your own boat you can also reach Loggerhead Key, Bush Key (open October – January) and East Key (open mid-October – March). Most visitors do not visit these remote keys. The remaining keys (Middle, Hospital and Long Keys) are closed year round.

Most of the visitors to Dry Tortugas National Park arrive by ferry (and some take the sea plane) to Garden Key for the day. Even fewer camp overnight.

In this article I’m focusing on how to make the most of one day in Dry Tortugas National Park, sharing my experience and tips I learned for an easier trip.

Dry Tortugas National Park Itinerary Quick Links

Use these links to easily plan your Dry Tortugas National Park itinerary:

• Book ferry reservations
• Book seaplane reservations
• Charter a private boat (best for groups 4+)
• Key West rental cars
• Compare hotel costs in Key West

Cheapest Way To Get To Dry Tortugas

Of all the National Parks I’ve been to, Dry Tortugas is by far one of the most expensive. In order to get to Dry Tortugas you’ll have to depart from Key West.

There are 3 ways to get to Dry Tortugas National Park:

• Dry Tortugas Ferry ($220+ per person)
• Dry Tortugas Sea Plane ($494+ per person)
• Private charter boat (~$900 per group)

The cheapest way to get to Dry Tortugas is the ferry. Even though it’s the cheapest option it’ll still cost at least $220 per person.

For larger groups, the cheapest way to get to Dry Tortugas is to book a private boat.

Yankee Freedom Dry Tortugas Ferry

There is only one approved concessionaire which operates a ferry to Dry Tortugas National Park. The Yankee Freedom ferry departs from Key West daily, and travels 2.5 hours to Dry Tortugas National Park year-round.

The ferry is the cheapest way to get to Dry Tortugas National Park, but only offers one schedule.

You depart from Key West at 8am and return around 5:30pm. This means your time in Dry Tortugas National Park is limited to about 4 hours (which is enough time to see just about everything.)

Cost: $220 – $235
Reservations: 6 months in advance (only 175 tickets available per day)
Includes: Breakfast, lunch, guided tour of Fort Jefferson, snorkel equipment

NOTE: Ferry prices have been increasing frequently for the last few years. As of January 1, 2025 new pricing will be $235 per adult (discounted to $220 if you have a National Parks Pass).

Dry Tortugas Ferry Itinerary

7:00 AM – Check-in at Ferry Terminal
7:45 AM – Boarding begins
8:00 AM – Ferry departs
10:30 AM – Arrive at Garden Key, Dry Tortugas
11:00 AM – Optional Ranger Talk (20-minutes)
11:30 AM – Optional History Tour of Fort Jefferson (45-minutes)
11:00-1:00 PM – Lunch Available on Ferry
2:45 PM – Final boarding, return to Key West
5:30 PM – Return to Ferry Terminal

Onboard the ferry you’ll find air conditioning, 3 bathrooms, and a snack bar.

I found the prices of their snacks to be fair, especially given they have no competition and can charge anything they’d like. You can pay with cash or card.

The food options are extremely limited, especially if you have any dietary restrictions. Lunch is included in the cost of your ticket, but do not expect anything glamorous. They provide basic sandwiches and prepackaged chips and cookies.

If you are gluten free or vegan you can order a special lunch. For lunch, I was given the option for a gluten free sandwich made of ham or turkey. It was convenient and edible, but next time I’ll probably bring my own lunch.

Filtered water is also available onboard. I recommend bringing a reusable water bottle and refilling it for free onboard the boat.

Dry Tortugas Sea Plane

The second way to get there is the Dry Tortugas sea plane. Again, there is only one approved concessionaire able to fly to the park and ticket prices can be pretty expensive.

A primary benefit to taking the Dry Tortugas sea plane is much shorter travel time – only about 45 minutes one way, compared to the 2.5 hour trip via ferry. There are also several schedule options.

Cost: $494-$868
Reservations: By request through the official website
Includes: Water + beverages, snorkeling gear

Half Day Trip To Dry Tortugas Itinerary

Half day trips via the Dry Tortugas sea plane are $494 per adult + $15 National Park entrance fee.

You can choose from 4 different departure times from Key West: 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM

After a 40-minute flight to Dry Tortuga you’ll have approximately 2.5 hours on the key before returning to Key West. In total the half day trips are around 4 hours.

Itinerary Options For Dry Tortugas Sea Plane Half Day:

[Departure Time – Return Time]
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

If you’re hoping for fewer crowds at Fort Jefferson I recommend the 8:00 AM or 2:00 PM departures as you’ll mostly avoid the ferry crowd.

However, if you’re hoping to tag along on the historical tour provided by the ferry operators, I recommend taking the 8:00 AM or 10:00 AM sea plane departure so you’ll be on the island for the tour at 11:00 AM. You don’t need tickets or to sign up, you can just join the crowd that gathers near the visitors center sign past the main fort entrance.

Full Day Trip To Dry Tortugas Itinerary

Full day trips via the Dry Tortugas sea plane cost $868 per adult + $15 National Park entrance fee.

The trip is 8 hours in total with 6.5 hours spent at Dry Tortugas.

You’ll depart at 8:00 AM and return to Key West by 6:00 PM.

The Dry Tortuga sea plane does not provide any food, so it’s best to pack your own lunch and snacks. There aren’t any options to purchase food once you arrive at Dry Tortugas National Park.

Dry Tortugas By Private Boat

The final option for getting to Dry Tortugas National Park is by private boat.

If you’re visiting via private boat you still have to pay the $15 entrance fee. You can pay with cash at the self-pay station at Garden Key, or you can purchase a digital pass ahead of time (there is no cell service in Dry Tortugas.)

Popular private charter options include fishing charters and scuba diving tours. More information on both of these below!

Best Things To Do In Dry Tortugas National Park

For a small park, there’s a surprising number of things to do during your trip to Dry Tortugas.

It’s primarily an underwater park (98% of it is water!) so water activities naturally make up a large number of things to do in Dry Tortugas National Park.

I arrived on the Dry Tortugas ferry, which gave me about 4 hours to explore the park. I thought 4 hours was the perfect amount of time (I also have a detailed itinerary below.)

1. Tour Garden Key + Fort Jefferson

If you’ve arrived to Dry Tortugas on the ferry, you’ll have enough time to disembark and stretch your legs for a couple minutes before the 20-minute talk begins.

The 20-minute talk is a brief overview of Fort Jefferson – it’s history, and some interesting facts about it’s construction and architecture. This takes place just inside the entrance in a shaded area of the courtyard around 11:00 AM.

It’s free to attend, even if you don’t have a Dry Tortugas ferry ticket.

After the 20-minute talk, you have the option to continue with a 45-minute tour. I wasn’t sure I’d find this interesting, but tagged along and found it really entertaining! The fort is even more impressive when you understand the magnitude of difficulty they faced when building it.

You’ll walk through the first level of the fort and learn about why it was built, challenges they had while building (for example, the entire fort immediately started to sink because the ground is not stable) and about important historical figures.

2. Snorkeling In Dry Tortugas National Park

There is some fantastic snorkeling in Dry Tortugas National Park. If you’ve taken the ferry or sea plane, snorkeling gear is included in your ticket price. You’re also able to bring your own gear if you’d prefer.

There are several locations around Garden Key where you can snorkel, including North Beach and South Beach. Depending on the weather and wind, one beach is usually better for snorkeling than the other – this is usually information the ferry operator will share with you when you arrive.

The key is large enough the beaches don’t tend to feel too crowded, but if you’re hoping for a very peaceful experience I would recommend checking out the beaches right away while many of the visitors are occupied with the fort talk and tour.

Unfortunately, during my trip to Dry Tortugas National Park in December the water had extremely low visibility due to high winds that stirred up the water, so I opted not to snorkel.

December is the windy season, so I knew I was taking my chances by visiting then. This also meant the ferry ride in was very rough.

3. Walk The Fort Jefferson Moat

There is a moat which surrounds Fort Jefferson. Typically, you can walk around the moat and get a full 360° view of the fort, with great views down into the crystal clear waters.

Unfortunately, the moat is currently closed until Fall 2026 due to significant damage it sustained from Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Ian (2022) and from 2024 storms.

4. Walk To Bush Key (October – January)

If you’re visiting Dry Tortugas National Park in October, November, December or January you may be able to walk to Bush Key! In total, it’s a one-mile walk around the island, which is connected to Garden Key during lower tides.

Busk Key is closed for most of the year because it’s the nesting ground for 80,000 sooty terns and 4,500 brown noddies. These birds make nests and raise their young on Bush Key – which is the only significant colony of these species in the US.

Because of how remote and unvisited Bush Key is, you’ll likely see tons of seashells and a few starfish! But remember, it’s illegal to take anything with you from the island so please only take pictures!

5. Kayak Dry Tortugas National Park

It is possible to kayak Dry Tortugas National Park, but it comes with a few caveats!

First, you’ll have to bring your own kayak. There are no Dry Tortuga kayak rental options. This could include renting a kayak from mainland Key West for your trip.

Second, in order to bring your own kayak you’ll either need to arrive on your own boat, or make advanced arrangements with the Dry Tortuga ferry as only 3 kayaks are permitted on the ferry each day, and size restrictions apply.

Lastly, and most importantly, you will need a camping reservation if you plan to kayak. Due to the limited schedules for ferry and sea plane visitors there is not ample time to allow for kayaking in Dry Tortugas.

Instead, you’ll need to spend the night at the campground on Garden Key. This will give you enough time to explore Dry Tortugas by kayak. More on camping below!

Loggerhead Key

The best place to explore by kayak is Loggerhead Key, which is 3 miles across open water from Garden Key.

You can’t camp here, but you can stay on the remote island from sun up to sun down – just like having your own private island! You might see Loggerhead turtles here, too!

6. Bird Watching

Dry Tortugas is a popular spot for birding. While there aren’t many species that live on the island year-round, there’s an abundance of migratory birds you can spot during different seasons.

Stop in the visitors center and pick up a free Dry Tortugas National Park Bird Checklist. It has 299 species of birds known to visit the keys, including Sooty Tern, Brown Noddy, Black Noddy, Magnificent Frigatebird, and Masked Booby.

7. Dry Tortugas Fishing Charters

There are several approved concessionaires for Dry Tortugas fishing charters. For a complete list check out the official NPS website here.

You can expect to pay around $2,000 per day for a Dry Tortugas fishing charter boat that usually accommodates 4 guests.

You’re also able to fish from Garden Key. A Florida Saltwater fishing license is required and fishing is only allowed in certain areas. Spearfishing and lobstering is strictly prohibited.

Fishing at Dry Tortugas is permitted:

• From a boat within the one mile Historic Use Area of Garden Key
• Main dock, when the Yankee Freedom is not present
• The seaplane beach east of the main dock, when the seaplane is not present
• Two westernmost finger piers
• Either dinghy beach provided that fishing does not occur within 50 feet of the concrete wall of the historic docs and ruins previously used for loading coal

8. Dry Tortugas Scuba Dive Tours

The Dry Tortugas is a great place for scuba diving, but it requires some planning.

If you’re taking the ferry and camping overnight, you will have enough time to dive during your trip. Unfortunately, compressed air is not allowed on sea plane’s so the ferry is your only option for transportation outside of a private tour.

There is one approved concessionaire who operates scuba diving trips in Dry Tortugas National Park – Finz Dive Center.

There are two options for tours: private or public. Private tours offer more flexibility, and public tours are more affordable but have an inflexible schedule. Both bring you to Garden Key for a tour of Fort Jefferson before heading out to 3 dive sites.

Note: only the private tours visit Loggerhead Key.

Private tours cost approximately $2,800 for a 10-hour trip and can accommodate up to 6 guests.

Public tours cost approximately $840 per person and include the boat tour, rental gear and lunch.

My Dry Tortugas Day Trip Itinerary

I visited Dry Tortugas National Park in December, when daylight hours are shorter and the wind can create choppy seas. But the daytime temperatures are perfect, and despite a bit of sea sickness on the ferry I still think December is a great time to visit the Florida National Parks.

This is the itinerary for my day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park via the ferry. I felt like it was the perfect amount of time to do everything on my list without feeling rushed, and I wouldn’t make any changes:

7:00 AM – Arrive at ferry terminal and check-in (parking in adjacent deck, $40 per day)
7:15 AM – Stroll along harbor to Cuban Coffee Queen (2 blocks, best coffee in Key West)
7:30 AM – Back to ferry terminal for pre-boarding announcements
7:45 AM – Board Dry Tortugas ferry
8:00 AM – Depart, breakfast onboard ferry
10:30 AM – Arrive at Garden Key, Dry Tortugas National Park
11:00 AM – 20-minute Fort Jefferson Talk
11:20 AM – 45-minute History Walking Tour of Fort Jefferson
12:30 PM – Lunch on the ferry
1:00 PM – Walk along Bush Key beach (or snorkel)
2:30 PM – Head back to ferry for departure
5:30 PM – Return to Key West

In order to get an early start, I made sure to stay at a hotel on Key West the night before. While it’s possible to stay on the other keys, they’re a decent distance away (an hour or more drive), which I didn’t feel like doing at 5am in the morning.

I stayed at Courtyard by Marriott Key West because I found a great rate and thought it was nice. However, the location is not within walking distance to downtown Key West which meant I had to pay to park.

Ultimately, I’m not sure the savings was worth the inconvenience. Next time, I would stay somewhere central to downtown like the gorgeous Marquesa Hotel on Duval Street (near Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum and Mallory Square).

If you prefer a traditional hotel, La Concha is also conveniently located to everything and reasonably priced. Westwinds Inn is also on the top of my list.

After one day in Dry Tortugas National Park, I headed back up to mainland Florida and spent 2 days in Everglades National Park.

Best Time To Visit Dry Tortugas

Like most of southern Florida, there is no “perfect” time to visit. Regardless of when you visit you’ll have to make some compromises.

Summer is the rainy season, which brings a lot of humidity in addition to hot days. It’s also hurricane season, which adds uncertainty to any Dry Tortugas National Park itinerary.

Winter is the dry season and has more moderate temperatures, but it also brings in a lot of wind and more crowds. Wind can create rough seas, occasionally causing the ferry to cancel trips to Dry Tortugas.

While my ferry wasn’t canceled, the trip a few days prior had been canceled because of 9 foot seas. Seas the day I traveled were 5 feet and it is the roughest boat trip I’ve ever been on. At least 10% of riders were getting sick – luckily the ferry sells dramamine onboard for just $1.

I personally think Dry Tortugas is one of the best National Parks to visit in winter. December, January and February are the best months to visit Dry Tortugas National Park. However, it’s possible to have a great time any time of the year.

Camping In The Dry Tortugas

If you want to be able to spend more than one day at Dry Tortugas National Park, then you’ll need to camp overnight. There’s only one campground, located on Garden Key, and it requires advance reservations.

There are 8 campsites available and each can accommodate up to 6 people. These are primitive campsites, offering a picnic table, grill and pit toilets, but no water or electricity.

Technically, campsites are first-come, first-serve, but only ferry riders with a camper ticket or those arriving by private boat can access them, so the number of campers who show up each day is limited.

Only 10 ferry tickets for campers are sold per day, so you’ll want to plan several months in advance (I recommend a minimum of 9 months in advance, but ideally 12 months) in order to get a ticket which will allow you to camp at Dry Tortugas overnight.

Sea plane riders are not allowed to camp, as the cargo limit of the plane will not accommodate camping gear and supplies.

Note: Wood fires are not allowed in Dry Tortugas, only charcoal bricks or gas stoves can be used. If you arrive via ferry you cannot pack compressed gas, which limits you to charcoal bricks and matches only.

The fee for camping is $15 per night, per campsite and must be paid with cash or check at the self-pay station at Garden Key. Ferry tickets for campers cost $225 + park entrance $15 per person. If you’re bringing a kayak the transportation fee is $20.

Dry Tortugas National Park allows you to camp for a maximum of 14 consecutive days. However, if you are arriving via ferry you will be limited to a maximum of 4 days (3 nights) for your camping trip.

What To Pack For 1 Day At Dry Tortugas National Park

If you’re just spending one day in Dry Tortugas National Park you don’t need much, but what you do need is essential for protection from the sun!

If you’re traveling on the ferry, breakfast and lunch is included with your ticket, and snacks can be purchased onboard. If you’re traveling on the Dry Tortuga sea plane water and beverages are provided, but no food.

There is no where in Dry Tortugas National Park to purchase food or drink. You must bring it with you.

Dry Tortugas National Park Entrance Fee

Dry Tortugas entrance is slightly different than other National Parks. While most parks offer a vehicle pass (usually $30-$35 and covers everyone in your vehicle for 7 days), Dry Tortugas only offers a per person rate of $15.

You can also enter Dry Tortugas National Park with a National Park Pass, which covers up to 4 people in your party.

The National Parks Pass is something I’ve owned for a few years, and has saved me a lot of money on admission to parks. It’s $80 per year, and is good for a rolling 12-months at all 63 National Parks and hundreds of recreation areas.

You may use your National Parks Pass for a group of 4 people. This means instead of paying $15×4 ($60) you can use your $80 National Parks Pass and get all 4 people in your party in for free.

If you are planning to visit the other Florida National Parks, then I highly recommend purchasing the National Parks Pass ahead of your trip.

While Biscayne National Park has free entry, Everglades National Park charges $35 per vehicle – so for a party of 4 you will save money with the parks pass.

What If Dry Tortugas Ferry Sold Out

If the Dry Tortugas ferry sold out for your trip dates you have a few options:

• Check the website daily for openings (this worked for me)
• Consider a Dry Tortugas sea plane instead
• Get on the stand-by list

When planning my trip, I looked at ferry tickets a few months in advance. There were plenty available, so I put it out of my mind. I’m not the best planner, and usually my travel plans flex quite a bit so booking in advance isn’t always ideal with my fluid schedule.

About 2 weeks ahead of my trip I went to book my ferry ticket. Everything was sold out for the entire month. I was kicking myself hard for not having booked sooner.

I checked the website daily. Multiple times a day, actually. After a few days, I was able to find one ticket had opened up for the date I wanted! I booked it immediately. Sometimes being a solo traveler has benefits.

My backup plan was to book a Dry Tortugas sea plane – but those are quite a bit more money and not my first choice.

Alternatively, you can put your name on the stand-by list if the Dry Tortugas ferry is sold out. The stand-by list opens at 6:30 AM the day of your trip, so I recommend arriving to the ferry terminal before 6:30 AM to line up.

Names go on the stand-by list in the order of the time you arrived in line. The line starts on the second level of the terminal, outside the main doors and along the benches flanking the second level porch.

If spots become available or ticketed guests do not show up by 7:45 the stand-by list is granted tickets.

More Things To Do In Florida

If you’re headed to Florida, there’s quite a few things to do – including visiting all 3 of the National Parks there!

Keep planning your trip with these additional resources:

• Everglades National Park Itinerary + Travel Guide
• Biscayne National Park Itinerary + Travel Guide
• Florida National Parks Road Trip Itinerary