Dry Tortugas National Park

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Any recommendations on the best trip to Dry Tortugas National Park from Key West? My wife does not want to fly, but see that there are a least two options on boat trips.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

We did not go on it, but we saw their boat go out and come back in every day, from the marina not far from our unit at the Galleon. It was a larger boat.

It seems that it is a couple or three hours to get there, activities and a lunch there, and then the same length back.

It always had a good group and went every day unlike some of the activities boats.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

I've never been there, but if you want to read a "who-done-it" that takes place on the island, look for the book by Nevada Barr. She writes stories based on her fictional park ranger, Anna Pigeon.

Sue

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

We just did it

I believe you only have two choices, the Fast Cat and the Yankee Freedom II. The Fast Cat is $110, it's a smaller boat but supposedly faster. The Yankee, which we took, is $129. You can get discounts but they are now adding fees for fuel that wipe out most of the discounts. We were fed breakfast and lunch, the food was decent. Breakfast was bagels, cereal, yogurt, coffee and lunch was cold cuts, pasta salad, fruit salad, etc.

It's a 68 mile trip and the Yankee gets up to 28 knots so the trip takes about 2.5 hours. The park is basically Fort Jefferson and a beach. A tour is available from Torgtuga Jack, the Yankee's naturist. It's about 40 mins long and I thought it was interesting. Jack is a bit of a character. I was surprised at how big a part of our history Fort Jefferson is, it was key in the Union victory in the civil war.

The beach is ok, they will lend you snorkeling gear. I didn't see a huge amount of fish during my swim but I didn't get too adventurous. There is a moat around the entire fort and supposedly a lot of fish hang around the outside moat wall. I went about 80 feet and I wasn't impressed. If you're gonna swim, bring a towel and a change of clothes.

The trip starts at 8, they want you there by 7:15. You get to the fort at 10:30 and leave at 2:45. Lunch is served from 11:30 to 1:00. We were back around 5:15. There is a cash bar on the way home that opens as soon as they pull away from the dock. You can bring coolers with you for the beach but you can't drink your own on the boat, they want you to buy it from them.

If you fill out a survey, they put you in a drawing for a certificate for a free tour. You'll never guess who won. It has my name on it but if you think you'll go and want to try to talk them into letting you use it, I'll send it to you. It's only good for a year and the Galleon has a 1 in 4 rule so I'm outta luck.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Thanks for the offer, but don't think there is time to get it since my wife is leaving tomorrow.