Yankee Freedom Dry Tortugas Ferry — Attraction in Key West

We took the ferry on a Tuesday in late Dec 2024 (Christmas eve). We purchased our tickets almost a year earlier in Jan 2024. By Jun 2024 we had to purchase another for an additional family member and they were still available. I know on our departure day, there were a handful of folks waiting in line for standby.

Check-in was 7AM but we arrived a little before that just incase. We booked a hotel that was about 15 min walking distance away so we didn't have to worry about parking. Our van with cargo carrier wouldn't fit in public garage anyways. Wife went to Cuban Coffee Queen for coffee but the ferry provides breakfast. There were at least 3 other groups who arrived before us. We sat outside on the benches until they opened the doors. Walk up to the desk to check-in and everyone in your party must be present.

The terminal was large with plenty of seating. There are bathrooms and vending machines. Use the bathroom before boarding the ferry. We got plastic laminated boarding passes. They do let you board in groups and it's first-come-first-serve so if you want a good seat come check-in early. The earlier you board, the more breakfast options are available.

We got what we believed were the best seats. Upper deck on the back of the ship facing forward. It was chilly in the morning, high was 76F. 70F water temp. The waves were small (1-3ft). We've been on many boats, ships, cruises and no one in my party got sick. We did take motion sickness meds at least 1hr before boarding. Sadly many passengers did not feel the same way and by the time we almost arrived the upper deck was full of people standing and the crew helping by passing out ginger ale to some of the really bad folks.

For breakfast they had 3 types of bagels (plain, wheat, cinnamon raisin) with cream cheese and assorted jellies. The cinnamon raisin went first then plain and lastly wheat as we were well on our way. Breakfast was available upstairs and downstairs.

As we left the dock we did pass by a carnival cruise ship and you can see Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and it's beaches. Then it's a lot of nothing until you reach Dry Tortugas NP. It was a enjoyable ride which started with overcast skies and then transitioned to mostly sun when we arrived.

We arrived almost exactly on time. We saw many seaplanes coming and leaving. Since this is a review for the ferry itself and not the park, see my other review for the actual park for more details.

The ferry had a number of bathrooms on the lower floor towards the back. They also had showers that we unfortunately didn't get to use. We had all intentions of doing so but people don't lie when they said 4.5hrs is just not enough time. We were running to get everything done. Our quick itinerary, grab spot on beach, visitor center for junior ranger and passport cancellation stamps, snorkeling, lunch, tour the fort and back on the ferry. We didn't even get to hike bush key which was open during our visit.

There are no bathrooms on the island for guest, must use the ferry. We opted NOT to do the guided tour. It was a large crowd and we wanted to explore on our own. We realized if you went with tour group they all finish together and everyone gets lunch at same time. We got our lunches around 11:30 and had all the options available to us. I opted for roast beef. They had assorted chips and cookies and drinks (soda/water). When the tour ended it was a flood of people. If we did this again, I would skip lunch entirely. Pick it up, save it for later on the ferry ride back. We wasted a precious 20 mins sitting there eating our lunch. That was a mistake.

The ferry ride back was uneventful and we didn't get our prime seats because we wanted as much time on the island. Ferry also gave kids 12 and under free ice cream sandwiches on the return trip if they completed the junior range and can show their badges. It did annoy me staff kept calling role over the loud speaker for 2 missing folks who showed up with 2 mins to spare. They weren't late but it looked like staff was giving them a hard time. Otherwise...

We just returned (myself and my three oldest kids ages 9, 14 & 16) from an amazing 3 days and 2 nights out at the Dry Tortugas. Each of us LOVED IT!!

The trip out was WILD! Campers have to arrive by 6am to have everything they are bringing inspected and then loaded on to the vessel. Prior to any of that happening I was informed that the Captain would meet with us soon to discuss the trip and our options. When she arrived she let us know that the sea was rough and we were looking at 8' to 11' swells. She said that today would be an "optional" day which meant we could get a full refund if we chose not to go. The Captain was thorough and accurate in what she shared and took time to answer my questions.

We made the decision to go and once everything was inspected and loaded we checked in and got our boarding passes. Prior to boarding one of the crew members named Hollywood, painted a picture of the kind of weather and ride we could expect. He mentioned waves so big it would feel like a car crash at 30mph and that we would be coming out of our seats. He also threw in that if he had loved ones with him on a day like today he would not bring them... With this different picture of what was ahead I went back and spoke with the Captain. She assured me that we would be ok. I talked it over one last time with my kids and we were all in (mostly because there was so much work getting there and the opportunity to reschedule would be difficult as we don't live in the area).

Once on the boat the entire crew SHINED!! The vessel only had 60 guests on it (usually more like 170) as many opted for the refund. The first hour was fairly calm and then we were notified that we would be hitting the rough seas in about 10 min. We were instructed to remain in our seats and if there was some emergency to let a crew member know and the would take care of you.

Take care of you they did!! It was impressive to watch the crew shuffle from one sick guest to the next, paper towels and spray cleaner in hand, grabbing barf bags and handing out new ones.

My kids and I took Dramamine and none of us threw up however my oldest started feeling a bit sick. She began to fan herself and in what seemed like seconds, Hollywood was by her side with a bag of ice. He said, "sweetie, put your wrist on the bag and it will cool you down and help you feel much better." In no time he was off to help the next guest and my child was feeling much better.

Several times the vessel slowed and made some slight maneuvers and course changes and although we hit some big waves none of us came "out of our seats" or felt like we were in a 30mph car crash. Considering the conditions only a handful got sick and I think it was because of the way Hollywood prepped everyone and the way the Captain maneuvered the ship.

The Captain was really SPECTACULAR!! After getting us to the Island safely and avoiding the worst of the waves, she took the time to come find us at our camp site and see how we were all doing.

I can not say enough about the Captain and her crew!! THEY ALL WERE ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!

Every moment on the island was incredible but our favorite time each day was after the ferry left and we (and the other 20 campers) had the island all to ourselves.

The only negative thing I would mention would be the RATS. We camped in a treed area which provided great protection from the wind... but we had rats all around us. My 9 year old had fun on rat patrol and would shine his flash light from one rat to another to another to another. My guess is that we had 15+ rats scurrying in and out of our campsite all night. The park provides one large container for all your food and trash and we packed all of our stuff in containers as well so nothing was accessible but it still was pretty nasty withe the rats all around and running along side our tents while we tried to sleep!!

I heard the rat problem is somewhat new and I'm hoping the park will take measures to resolve this issue soon before it gets further...

We got there about 45 minutes before departure and were at the very end of the first group to board (this was on Saturday). There is seating indoors and outdoors and a lot of people were sat together that didn’t know each other because it was very crowded that day. I would recommend you get there early so you can board first and snag an indoor spot. The breakfast was actually surprisingly good. They provided bagels, butter, and jams then later there were a few of those cereal containers and milk which my son loved.

For lunch they provided jimmy john sandwiches. They are plain—they just come with meat, cheese and lettuce and then they provide condiment packets for you to pick your own dressing. They also provided little chip bags and cookies. There is not a concession stand or anything like that to buy foods (for some reason my husband thought there was) but they will make you a pb&j if you don’t want the sandwich, you just have to ask.

The actual ride to Dry Tortuga was not that bad (we worried our 12 year old son would struggle but he did super well). There is a viewing deck you can get up and lookout. We did not see any dolphins or sea turtles on our journey but apparently it’s a thing that happens from time to time. It took a little over 2.5 hours and we arrived a little late which was kind of annoying but it was only about like 10 minutes.

The arrival at Dry Tortuga was absolutely amazing, we ran around the fort by ourselves and took in all the views for about an hour. Then we went to the gift shop and bought some really overpriced t-shirts 😅 ($40 for a basic shirt) then we grabbed our lunch back on the boat (because you have to grab it by 1pm and it was already noon at this point). Then we ate, got dressed and snorkeled from one beach to another.

The wildlife was not actually as impressive as I thought it would be. We did a snorkel trip to the reef the day before and it was basically the same stuff except the corals did look a little healthier here. All the wildlife/coral stuff was along the walkway (the moat barrier) on the outside and t was pretty cool and we had a blast. You do not snorkel on the inside of the moat! The water is beautiful, the fort is beautiful, I found tons of sand glass (of course I didn’t take it home as we are not allowed to take anything from the fort out of the fort) but it was amazing. It felt like paradise.

We were afraid that a full day trip (roughly 5 hours) was going to be too long as we rarely spend more than a few hours at the beach but it was actually not enough time. Now we want to go back and camp 😅.

I will say the ride back was rough. We left to go back to the ship about 20 minutes before departure, rinsed off in the showers on the boat (freshwater showers on the back and salt water shower/hose on the actual island) and then we went and changed in the changing stations on the fort. We took too long because we didn’t want to leave and so we didn’t get seats inside so we had to sit outside on top deck. We got sunburnt because we ran out of sunscreen (stupid mistake—do not forget extra!!!) and the cocktails were good but pretty weak/not really worth the money you spend on them.

Some notes/summary: I would recommend you wait for kids to be a little older if you are bringing them (maybe like 7/8 because it is a lot but people did have kids younger like 4/5 there I just couldn’t have imagined doing that with my son when was that age, it would have been too much for him. But hey, every kid is different and you know them best). You really don’t need to bring extra snacks—we did and never ate them and it was just a lot to carry since you can’t leave anything on the boat. You definitely need to bring extra sunscreen. You really are going to want to get there early and try and snag an inside spot, and also—enjoy those amazing views ❤️ they are one of a kind

Overall, this was an epic trip and so worth it. I wish we had more time there and I’d love to...