Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park-Florida

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Sleepy bodies shuffle into the Dry Tortugas National Park ferry terminal. The Yankee Freedom Boat Tour agency repeats the comment over the loudspeaker.

“The waters can be rough. We highly recommend taking medicine for seasickness prior to departure. We sell Dramamine pills for $1.00 if you need them.”

I brought my own Dramamine. Getting horribly seasick, in front of your adolescent peers, on a Marine Biology fieldtrip, will make you never forget Dramamine.

Getting There/The Boat

Located 70 miles off Key West, Florida’s, coast, there are three ways to get to Dry Tortugas National Park. You can take your own boat, you can take a charter seaplane, or the most popular option, taking the Yankee Freedom Ferry.

Each day, just one ferry, departs the terminal at 7:30 am. The ferry, called The Yankee Freedom III, arrives back to the Key West, terminal, around 5:00pm. Due to limited capacity, ferry tickets sell out months in advance.

Staff hand passengers, a small paper bag, upon boarding. This is part one of the included breakfast. Inside the bag is a bagel and cream cheese.

We settle into cushioned seats, at a table, against a window. It’s a surprisingly good bagel. Yankee Freedom staff announce that yogurt, fruit, coffee and juice, are also available, buffet style, at the front of the boat.

Before our departure, a teen flops down next to me. A deep, annoyed sigh, announces to everyone around that she is here under protest. She is absolutely uninterested in spending her time, at a National Park, even if the park is at the top of most National Park enthusiasts’ bucket-list.

Fifteen minutes into the trip, I’m the only one at the table, awake.

The boat is fast. Though you can go outside on the deck, to bask in the sun, or view wildlife, the boat’s aggressive bounce, makes simply getting up from your chair, a challenge. This boat ride feels more a transportation means- to- an end, than the scenic Channel Islands National Park or Biscayne Bay National Park boat rides.

After about an hour, the height of the bounce increases. Staff begin to scramble, handing the passengers, who didn’t take seasick precautions, neck cooling implements and barf bags. They highly discourage using the bathrooms for seasick purposes, as ferry plumbing, is delicate. I’m impressed by the staff’s swiftness, compassion, and ability to sooth the passengers through their discomfort. Eventually the water calms.

I’m ecstatic to find that our guide for the day, is a National Park celebrity, named, Hollywood. During the boat trip, Hollywood uses a microphone, to give us all of the basic information, concerning Dry Tortugas National Park.

Passengers are informed that the only restrooms for the day, are the restrooms on the boat.

There are no restrooms on the island. A line for the restrooms forms, once the boat docks. If you don’t want to spend your first moments on the island, queuing for the restroom, go as the park appears in the distance, before the boat docks.

Yankee Freedom Ferry tickets include lunch. Lunch is served, on the boat, between 12:00pm and 2:00pm. Ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches are offered, along with a buffet of carrots sticks, celery sticks, chips, pretzels, and cookies. If informed ahead of time, Yankee Freedom is able to accommodate special, dietary, needs. I wasn’t expecting much from a ferry lunch, but the sandwich is tasty, and gazing out at the spectacular fort, while munching chips and cookies, makes for a special mid-day meal.

Two-and-a-half hours to Dry Tortugas National Park, feels full of excitement and anticipation, but the two- and-a-half hours back, feels like an eternity. Hollywood keeps us entertained by sharing information, chatting with passengers, and running a raffle.

I win the raffle. It’s very exciting. I get a Dry Tortugas National Park calendar and a t-shirt (they know me well).

Park Activities

My top recommendation for visiting Dry Tortugas National Park, prioritize the activities. There are a lot of activities, and only four hours of island time. Time is precious.

Snorkeling

Many people head straight for the on-island changing rooms and complementary snorkel gear. The incredible blue water and marine wildlife, beckons.

Swimming and Sun

Some visitors choose a relaxing day, leisurely splashing in the water and soaking up the sun while meandering along on the beach.

Fishing

If you bring your own gear, you are permitted to fish at Dry Tortugas National Park. Be warned, there are a lot of rules and regulations concerning fishing on the island, so be sure to understand them before deciding if this is how you want to spend your day.

Camping

Sad about the four hour time limit? Consider camping overnight. Camping allows you to bring kayaking equipment, stargaze, and experience all of the activities Dry Tortugas National Park has to offer. Camping requires bringing all of your own supplies, including fresh water, a tent, food, charcoal for fire (no wood fires are allowed), and biodegradable toiletries. You must also pack and carry all trash out with you. Note there is no wifi or cell service on the island.

Keep up on the park’s latest information. During our visit, work was being done on the island, and the option to camp was not available.

Fort Jefferson/History/Architecture

A highlight of Dry Tortugas National Park, is Fort Jefferson. One of the largest forts in the United States, the structure feels like a grand, beach, castle, complete with moat.

As we disembark, Yankee Freedom’s tour guide, Hollywood, invites all of the visitors, to gather for a fifteen minute talk. Hollywood is known throughout the National Park community for being a talented storyteller.

After the initial fifteen minute talk, Hollywood invites visitors interested in Fort Jefferson’s history, to take a more in-depth, 45-minute tour. We’re here for the history, and the views, so we gladly follow Hollywood to the tour’s first stop. It’s one of my favorite kind of tours, history, disseminated through entertaining stories. Hollywood is energetic and animated. Most of the tour-takers are adults, but there is one child, enthralled by Hollywood’s stories. The boy’s excitement for learning is infectious.

As we move through the gigantic, architectural wonder, windows, offering glimpses of the vibrant blue water, unwrap like gifts.

Tour completed, visitors head off to snorkeling or spend time on the beach. The fort is so enormous, that even after a 45-minute tour, we decide there is still more, amazing, architecture to explore.

We also stop into the park’s, small Visitors’ Center, to stamp our book, and watch the short, park, movie.

Since most visitors are in the water, we have the fort to ourselves. We are rewarded with a view of a rare, Scarlet Tanager.

Views from the fort’s windows are endlessly stunning.

Though we plan well, we still run out of time, leaving a moat-wall walk and beach stroll, undone. Still it’s a spectacular day. One of our best and most memorable National Park days.

With two meals, clean bathrooms, complementary snorkel gear, and fantastic tour presentations, the Yankee Freedom ferry, does an outstanding job, making a day in Dry Tortugas National Park as enjoyable as possible. Though the ferry ride is long and expensive, and the time on island is short (unless you camp), it’s clear why Dry Tortugas National Park is at the top of the National Park’s, to-visit list. The giant, historic, brick, fort, surrounded by beach and dazzling, blue, water, is unlike any other National Park visited.