We booked a ride on the Yankee Freedom and the cost is $ 175.00 per adult, cheaper for children. You leave at 8:00 am and it takes just over 2 hours to go the 70 miles west to the Dry Tortugas.
The outfit that runs this transport is extremely well organized and knowledgeable. There's both inside (air conditioned) and outside seating and they have several bathrooms on board. Once the ship is underway, they serve a buffet breakfast that's included in the price and you can choose cereals, fresh fruits, breads and bagels, meats, juices and coffee.
We sat both inside and outside. It was quite windy out on the deck but the views are wonderful...
It's thrilling to see the fort slowly rise in the distance and take shape....
Once you reach the island your ticket includes the price of the park admission. You can join one of the ranger led tours of the fort or feel free to wander around the fort at your leisure. The history of the fort is very interesting - it's the largest masonry structure in America and building it was quite an undertaking. You can read more about it here. We chose to walk around and explore on our own....
There is a moat around the entire outside of the fort....
The fort is huge and the brickwork is amazing and intricate....
Just close your eyes and imagine a fort full of soldiers here....
We climbed the stairs and walked around on the upper level, which is also the roof...
Actually it was very cool walking around up top and the views were amazing...
Check out the colors of the water....
Cannons are still scattered about....
The lighthouse was open and we were able to go inside...
If you'd like to go snorkeling, they provide all the equipment if you don't have your own to use. We brought our own equipment so after lunch we headed over to the metal pilings off in the distance....
I couldn't believe that nobody else was snorkeling over there - it was amazing!! It was about 20 feet deep around the pilings and we saw all kinds of sea fans, corals, fish and sea shells... Huge sea shells! Unfortunately this is a "no take" area and you can't take anything - no shells, sand or coral. I was so disappointed because we saw some of the largest shells I have ever seen in my life and I wanted one!
We spent about 2 hours snorkeling there and it was easily my favorite snorkeling adventure of the whole trip to Key West. It was fun because I enjoyed swimming in and out of the pilings and the amount of fish we saw was unbelievable....
At 3:00 pm they head back to Key West. At that time they have an open snack bar and mixed drinks available, altho you do have to pay extra for any of that. Goodbye Dry Tortugas - you were even more wonderful than I imagined.
Now, here's a tip - we needed to drive to the wharf in the morning to board the Yankee Freedom and you have to park at a parking garage. We chose one at Grinnell and James streets. It costs $ 12.00 for the whole day and you put your parking sticker on your dashboard. So when we got back from the Dry Tortugas trip we got our car, drove back to the hotel and took showers, and then drove back to the parking garage where we were able to re-use our pass that we bought that morning. Good tip - right? Then we walked down to The Schooner Wharf for dinner...
I liked it because it was outside seating but I was disappointed in the place. Our server seemed distracted and he got my drink order wrong and my meal order wrong. I had fried shrimp and Chablis had fried grouper. They were both just ok, nothing special. It was our least favorite meal and restaurant of the whole trip. I know other people love this place and recommend it, but for us, it was just ok.
By the time we were finished with dinner we were exhausted so we just headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
Next up - more fun in Key West but you're going to have to wait until Monday for my Day 5 post. I'm off to the 400 mile across Kentucky yard sale!
Link to day 5 here.
