Key West FL Florida

posted by admin on May 5

Dry Tortugas is one of the most beautiful attractions in Key West. This National Park is on our list of Top Ten Things to do in Key West, and it’s definitely worth spending a full day of your vacation traveling out to this remote park and back. For that’s what it takes, since it’s located 70 or 80 miles west of Key West, accessible by two ferry services that run trips out to Dry Tortugas.

Travel out to this remote brick fort built in the Civil War era, and listen to a very informative talk about Fort Jefferson, which is the name of the actual fort. Your guide will also be educated in local wildlife, including nesting birds at Dry Tortugas and marine life you will see on the ride out to the Park.

The Fort at Dry Tortugas is surrounded by a moat, filled with water and then surrounded by flats on all sides. The flats (another name for shallow salt water in this area) are brilliant turquoise blue, sea green water and simply gorgeous viewed from the top of the wall surrounding the fort.

Snorkeling is great here, and you can explore the area in the afternoon, after lunch. Usual itinerary is:

1. breakfast on the boat, around 8:30 as you travel out
2. trip out is around 2 hours
3. guided tour of Dry Tortugas, with nature specialist
4. lunch on the boat
5. a couple hours for exploring snorkeling, bird watching etc
6. back on the boat for the ride home, back at the dock by 5:30pm