Dry Tortugas Ferry, Seaplane & Key West Express: Times and Fares

The Yankee Freedom leaves Key West for the Dry Tortugas at 8 a.m. every day and is back about 5:30 p.m. Check in by 7 a.m. A day trip is from $260 a person, the park’s entrance fee included. From Fort Myers Beach, the Key West Express arrives too late for it, so plan two nights in Key West.

How to use it

Pick your day at Fort Jefferson and how you go: the ferry from Key West, the Key West Express from Fort Myers Beach first, or the seaplane from Key West’s airport for half a day or a whole one (then the time you will ask for). On a ferry, say whether you go for the day or camp for one to three nights. Then say who is going. The planner lists your boats day by day, your hours on Garden Key, the last day for a full refund and the last day to reschedule, and what is priced: the Yankee Freedom’s starting price, the pass refund at check-in, the park’s campsite fee, the Express’s fares for your party and the parking at Fort Myers Beach. Tick the box if someone holds a national park pass. On the seaplane it gives its fares for your party, the park’s fee it collects at check-in, the day it typically sells out by and the last minute to cancel or change.

The day, hour by hour

There is no road: “Dry Tortugas National Park is a remote island park located about 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West, Florida. There are no roads to the park. Visitors can only reach Dry Tortugas by boat or seaplane.” The ferry is the Yankee Freedom, from the Key West Ferry Terminal at 100 Grinnell Street. Its day, from its own pages:

That leaves 4 h 15 min on the island. “The ride on the Yankee Freedom usually takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes.” Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the fare includes it: “Breakfast snack and box lunch Complimentary snorkeling equipment Entrance fee to Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson Fully narrated 45-minute tour of the fort”

From Fort Myers Beach: why it takes two nights

The Key West Express sails between Fort Myers Beach and Key West: “Ft. Myers Beach to Key West : Boarding begins at 7:00AM. Boarding required no later than 7:30AM. (8:00AM departure)” and “Key West to Ft. Myers Beach : Boarding begins at 5:00PM. Boarding required no later than 5:30PM. (6:00PM departure)” — with “approximately 3.5 hours between ports”. So it reaches Key West about 11:30 a.m., three and a half hours after the Yankee Freedom has left, and its boarding home closes at 5:30 p.m., the time the Yankee Freedom is due back. The only way to do both is the Express the day before, the Dry Tortugas the next morning and the Express home the day after: two nights in Key West.

What it costs

The Yankee Freedom prints its starting prices: day trips from $260 a person and camping from $265; its booking calendar prices each traveller. The park’s entrance fee is inside the ferry fare: “The entrance fee for Dry Tortugas National Park is $15.00 per person and is good for 7 consecutive days. Any person 15 years old and under is exempt from paying an entrance fee.” With a pass, the ferry gives it back: “The National Park Entrance Fee is included in your total charges when you book your reservation and can be refunded if you present a National Park Pass at check-in the morning of your trip.” — for up to four people a pass. Campers also pay the park: “$15 per night, per individual site”, and “The individual sites can each accommodate up to three 2-person tents (total of 6 people), and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.”

The Key West Express’s round trip, and one way, by its own fares page:

“Discounted fares are offered for purchases a minimum of 8 days in advance of travel date. Discounted fares are NON-REFUNDABLE .” Parking at its terminal: “Fort Myers Beach – $20.00 per day, per vehicle, on-site parking.” In Key West, “There is no free parking available in Key West.”; the city garage at 300 Grinnell Street charges $40 a day.

By seaplane: half a day or a whole one

The park lists a third way in: “Morning, Afternoon or Full Day Tours to the park on a seaplane.” Key West Seaplane Adventures holds that concession — “We are the only Seaplane Service permitted in Dry Tortugas National Park.” — and flies from the airport, not the ferry terminal: “We are Located at General Aviation side of Key West International Airport, next to Signature Flight Support.” The flight takes about 40 minutes each way. Its rates page, per person:

The full day costs more for a reason the seaplane gives: “(The Full Day is more expensive than the Half Day because we hold a morning & an afternoon seat).” The park’s fee is on top, at check-in: “$15.00 National Park Entrance Fee for all persons 17 or older. This fee is collected by Key West Seaplane Adventures, on behalf of the National Park Service, at check in time.” A pass helps: “National Park passes are accepted and get up to 4 people in your party into the park. Active and retired military get in free of charge.” The time you book is a request — “You’ll receive a confirmation email with your exact departure time.” — and the clock is strict: “Check in is required at least 30 minutes prior to flight time. Late arrivals are subject to cancellation without refund.”

Against the Yankee Freedom, the half day gives you 1 h 45 min less on the island but about 1 h 20 min in the air instead of four and a half hours on the water, at about twice the fare. The seaplane takes nobody overnight: “No, our contract with the NPS is only for half or full-day round trip tours. We cannot leave passengers on the island overnight, and we cannot accept any one-way reservations.”

Camping on Garden Key

The ferry carries ten campers a day — “Note that the ferry is limited to 10 camping passengers per day.” — for up to three nights: “Due to space constraints, the Yankee Freedom is happy to accommodate campers wishing to stay up to 4 days (3 nights).” The places open on a calendar: “On the *first weekday of each month, between 8 AM and 5 PM EST, the Yankee Freedom booking calendar will release the ticket availability for the month that is exactly six (6) months out.” Its own example counts five calendar months: “Example: On October 1, availability opens for March 1–30.” The planner follows the example, and the holiday rule: “*If the first weekday of the month falls on a holiday, the tickets will be released on the next weekday.” Bring everything: “Camping at Fort Jefferson is PRIMITIVE CAMPING! In other words, you must bring everything (water included) with you.” The park says how much: “We recommend two gallons of water per person per day (remember the heat).”

Worked examples

Two adults from Key West, Saturday, March 13, 2027. Yankee Freedom on Saturday, March 13: check in by 7 a.m., leaves Key West at 8 a.m., back about 5:30 p.m. With a national park pass: Your park pass: $30 back at check-in (2 people aged 16 and over, up to 4 a pass). The full refund closes on Tuesday, January 12, 2027 and rescheduling at 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 11, 2027.

A family from Fort Myers Beach, Tuesday, April 13, 2027. Two adults, a 14-year-old and a 9-year-old: From Fort Myers Beach: the Key West Express Monday, April 12, the Dry Tortugas Tuesday, April 13, home Wednesday, April 14 — two nights in Key West. On the Express the teenager is an adult: $717 fully refundable, or $645 booked 8 days ahead, and Parking at Fort Myers Beach: $60 (3 days × $20, a car).

Four friends camping two nights in May 2027. Camping on Garden Key, Friday, May 14 to Sunday, May 16: at the terminal by 6 a.m. with your gear, back about 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. The park’s campsite fee: $30 (1 site of up to 6 people × 2 nights at $15). May’s places open on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. For June 2027 they open on Monday, January 4, 2027: January 1 is New Year’s Day, so the next weekday.

A family of three on the seaplane, Saturday, March 13, 2027. Two adults and a 10-year-old ask for the 10 a.m. half day: Seaplane, half day, Saturday, March 13: check in by 9:30 a.m. at Key West’s airport, take off at 10 a.m., back about 1:50 p.m. Seaplane half day for 2 adults and 1 child: $1,475.60 ($527 a person over 12, $421.60 a child 12 and under). The park’s entrance fee, paid at check-in: $30 ($15 each for 2 adults and seniors; the seaplane charges it from age 17). They can cancel or change until 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2027.

Common mistakes

• Arriving at 8 a.m. “TICKETS ARE NONREFUNDABLE for late arrivals or no-shows.” and “Reservations will be held until 10 minutes before departure.”
• Taking the Express and the Yankee Freedom on the same day. The Express reaches Key West hours after the Yankee Freedom has left. Sleep in Key West the night before and the night after.
• Staying on a day ticket. “Day Trip reservations are for the same day round trip only. If you do not return on the same day as your outbound leg, you will be charged additionally for the one-way fare to return ($99).”
• Forgetting the campsite fee. “Ferry tickets include the cost of entrance to the park, but NOT camping fees.” And “This park does not accept cash.”
• Booking the seaplane to camp. “The seaplane does not offer transport for campers, due to the added weight of the gear.”
• Going to the ferry terminal for the seaplane. It leaves from the airport: “We are Located at General Aviation side of Key West International Airport, next to Signature Flight Support.”
• Driving an RV to the terminal. “Over height and/or over length vehicles and RVs are prohibited by law from parking in the City of Key West’s streets and parking lots.”

Plan the trip

Read how many days you need in Key West, whether a ferry runs from Miami to Key West and how to get from Miami to Key West without a car. For a year of parks, the National Park Pass Calculator says whether a pass pays off; before a summer or autumn trip, check the Hurricane Risk Calculator; and the other island ferries are in the Cumberland Island and Vieques and Culebra planners.