Florida National Park Roadtrip

Florida is home to three National Parks (Biscayne Bay, Florida Everglades, and Dry Tortugas), all within a driving distance of just a few hours, so it made sense when I was planning a trip to Dry Tortugas that I would include all three Parks.

Jump to:

• Introduction to Dry Tortugas National Park
• Where to Stay in Key West
• Itinerary

Introduction to Dry Tortugas National Park

There are (currently) 63 National Parks in the National Park Service system. Dry Tortugas is one of the least visited National Parks. Due to its remote location 70 miles west of Key West, the park is only accessible by seaplane or high-speed ferry. Because of this remoteness, it only receives between 85,000 and 90,000 visitors a year, making it into the bottom 10 of Parks in terms of annual visitors (In comparison, the most popular park in terms of number of visitors is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which receives around 12 million visits a year.)

Dry Tortugas has limited overnight accommodation facilities, limited to a primitive campground with facilities for only 40 - 50 campers per night. Most visitors to Dry Tortugas do so on a day trip.

Traveling to Dry Tortugas National Park

There are two ways to get to Dry Tortugas National Park - by ferry (or private boat), or by seaplane.

The Yankee Freedom Ferry is an authorized vendor of the National Park Service. A day trip ticket on the Yankee Freedom will cost $260 if you don't have a National Park Pass. As a senior (I'm over 62), I have a Senior Lifetime National Park Service Pass, so my ticket on the ferry was $235. A National Park pass will grant admission for up to 4 people over the age of 15. There is no entrance fee for those aged 15 or younger. The cost for a ferry ticket for children aged 4 - 16 is $205.

Where to Stay in Key West

I booked a room for two nights at the Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa.

Itinerary

Wednesday, September 2

I plan on flying in on Wednesday; I will be working from the hotel on Thursday and Friday morning. You can choose to fly in on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on whether you want to do something else while I'm working).

I already have this flight booked, as I was planning on going in April, but cancelled the trip, and rescheduled the flight.

Flight:

• AA 2050 | DFW > MIA | 6:00 PM > 10:05 PM

Hotel:

• Hyatt Place Miami Airport-East (Wednesday > Friday)
• Hotel cost $120 per night, including taxes & fees

Friday, September 4

Pick up rental car around 12 noon, drive to Key West, which is about a 4 hour drive

Hotel:

• Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa (Friday > Sunday)
• Total Cost for the room (2 nights): $934, including taxes & fees

Saturday, September 5

Sunday, September 6

Depart Key West after a leisurely breakfast. Drive to Biscayne National Park (approximate drive of 3 hours)

Afternoon in Biscayne Bay National Park

Hotel:

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Florida City-Gateway To Keys
• Total cost for the room (2 nights): $225, including taxes & fees

Monday, September 7

After a leisurely breakfast, drive to Everglades National Park

Afternoon in Everglades National Park

Tuesday, September 8

I chose Tuesday so that we don't have to rush through the Everglades in order to make it back to the airport on Monday night. Because I don't have much PTO available, I plan on working on Tuesday. (Again, if you prefer to fly home on Tuesday morning, and not hang out while I'm working, that's okay!)

Flight

I haven't booked the flight home, but here's what I'm looking at:

• AA 2289 | MIA > DFW | 7:27 PM > 9:42PM

Updated Itinerary here