Dry Tortugas National Park

Dry Tortugas National Park is a cluster of small islands about 70 miles west of Key West, Florida, and roughly 230 miles from Miami. It is built around Fort Jefferson, a massive 19th-century coastal fortress on Garden Key made of more than 16 million bricks. Reaching it from Miami requires multiple legs: about 3.5 to 4 hours by car or a flight to Key West, then the Yankee Freedom ferry from the terminal at 240 Margaret St, which takes about 2.5 hours each way. Because of the multi-leg transfer and early start, an overnight stay in Key West is recommended. The ferry departs around 8:00 AM, includes park entrance, breakfast, lunch and snorkel gear, and costs about $250 per adult; book weeks ahead at drytortugas.com. A seaplane operated by Key West Seaplane Adventures offers half-day and full-day trips for roughly $507 and $890. Once on Garden Key, visitors can take a guided fort tour, walk the top of the walls, snorkel along the moat wall and the nearby coral heads, swim off the beach, and watch for sooty terns and frigatebirds, with spring being the main migratory season. A typical day has the morning for the fort tour and exploring the parade ground, midday lunch on the ferry, and the afternoon for snorkeling before the return crossing in the late afternoon, arriving back in Key West around 5:30 PM. December to May offers calmer seas, while summer is hot and falls within hurricane season. There are no shops or restaurants on the island, so visitors bring sun protection, water and a hat. Information is available at nps.gov/drto and the booking site drytortugas.com.