Key West Seaplane Adventures

There are not words for how amazing this trip is! I decided to go with the sea plane rather than ferry, despite not being a huge fan of flying. I am SO happy I did! It is an experience I will never forget. A cooler with your selection of drinks and snorkel gear is provided. The flight was about 30 minutes or so and full of photo opportunities. I had Marcus as my pilot. He was funny, friendly and very informative. My cell phone battery was half dead upon arrival at Dry Tortugas because of the number of pictures and videos I was taking. This trip was definitely worth the money. The staff was efficient and friendly when booking, upon arrival, going through information and with any questions anyone had. The trip itself, Key West Seaplane Adventures and Marcus (my pilot) are all highly recommended!

Outstanding experience! We called Key West Seaplane earlier in the week but they were booked. We asked them to give us a call if they had any cancellations, and luckily they did! We took an afternoon flight, which was perfect because the ferry left very shortly after we arrived. We encountered a few campers but the island wasn’t crowded at all. The flight there and back was a quick 40 minutes with lots to see! We toured the fort, snorkeled and sunbathed. 2.5 hours on the island was a perfect amount of time, as there is limited shade. We did however find a nice spot under a tree on the beach.
They provide snorkel gear, coolers and beverages. Bring your own towels, sunscreen, snacks and a change of clothes.

What a great way to spend a beautiful day in Key West. We did half a day trip leaving at noon. Definitely worth doing it. The Fort is massive, beautiful, with lots of history. We took a tour by one of the Rangers. Very informative.

Terrific half day trip! Pilot, John was a great guide flying to the Dry Tortuga Island and Fort Jefferson. Something for everyone. It was too cold to snorkel after the storm but gorgeous walk along the moat, beach and spotted a manatee. Plenty of history if you like and the Rangers were available. Booked the trip ahead of time, great staff, prep, no unanswered questions. Felt safe and secure with John. Worth he $ to not ride the ferry. Must do in Key West!

By far the best thing we did while in Key West and we did a lot of stuff! The flight out to the Dry Tortugas and Ft Jefferson was amazing. I sat in the Co pilots seat so I had the best view of all. I know the price is high to take this excursion but just do it, it’s a once in a lifetime trip.

Excellent adventure… seaplane tour to Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson was absolutely the highlight or our Key West trip. And Key West Seaplane Adventures (particularly pilot Gary) were excellent.
Definitely worth the money and way more fun, efficient and scenic than the ferry. The ride takes about 35 minutes and the pilot does a great job of pointing out interesting scenic highlights and facts along the way. Ride is smooth, landing is easy and when you arrive, the beaches at Fort Jefferson are spectacular and the snorkeling is amazing.
Strongly suggest you take the early afternoon flight, which arrives at the island around 2:30pm, just as all the people from the ferry depart. You have about two hours or so on the island to snorkle, roam the Fort and the island, and enjoy with very few other people around.
Our kids loved the adventure and said it was the best part of their trip (and we agree). Awesome excursion and great group to travel with. Highly recommend.

So this was our big honeymoon expense. The price tag for this adventure is pretty steep but totally worth it. I’m going to try and review the service only. I will review Fort Jefferson separately because they have no control over the park or how the park is run. I will say though that Fort Jefferson is totally worth it.
So here is our experience with this awesome trip:
We booked the first plane out, which meant we had to be there at 7:30. Seems crazy because it is our honeymoon and we should be sleeping in. Well there is very sound logic in that choice. If you are the first plane out you beat the boat by almost 2 hours. That is a big advantage because there are less people on the island. Less people means that you can enjoy the snorkeling and fort in peace. So my big piece of advice is book the first trip out. Totally worth it.
Once at the airport make sure you follow their parking instructions. We almost parked at the airport instead of the hanger area. Whoops. Make sure you park in their spots too. Don’t make people wait for you while you move your car.
Check in is easy. The charter will also provide you with a cooler, a bottle of water, and soda. We brought along a waterproof camera, towel, and hat for ourselves. The charter will also provide you with snorkel gear. It really helps to limit the amount of stuff you have to bring with you.
The plane ride itself is quite fun. As you go their is some audio to tell you about what you are seeing, otherwise the pilot will tell you about the scenery. From that high up you can get a good view of sea animals. We saw some turtles swimming through the ocean. You can’t make out details, but the sheer volume was breathtaking. We also got to see some sunken ships. The pilot makes sure that you know to sit on the same side coming and going so you can see different things.
When you land the pilot will also tell you which side of the island to go snorkeling on depending on the winds. Really good to know because snorkeling in choppy water is not easy.
Things to consider when booking based on our experience:
–Book the first or last plane out. Trust me totally worth it.
–Do a half day. The time we had on the island was just enough to see the fort, snorkel on both beaches, and dry off before the plane.
–It will cost you $$$, but is totally worth it.
–Be on time, if not early. The sooner everyone shows up and is ready, the sooner the plane can leave. Don’t be a jerk, just come early.
Probably the highlight of our honeymoon.
⁹⁰⁄₁₀₀

Even thought we traveled two and a half hours from Key Largo to go to Dry Tortugas, we found out that the plane «broke» and we wouldn’t be going. They did everything to accommodate us on another day but we could only go on the day we booked. One thing: we had problems booking on the website. I entered all of the information and nothing happened. Just sat there spinning for 20 minutes. We had to call and the person’s command of English was limited. However, we’ve done this excursion before and it’s extremely worth it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get back there to do it again.

AWESOME! John (think that’s his name) was our pilot and kept us informed of the things we were flying over. This ranged form sea turtles and sharks to interesting geography and real estate history related to the various islands. Amazing half day trip!

My only regret was that I didn’t pack a picnic and do the day trip. The plane trip out was breath taking. I can get a bit of motion sickness on planes & boats, but I didn’t have any issues. The staff was professional and friendly & the Dry Tortugas amazing. Be prepared to get a bit overheated walking around the fort, but one jump in the water and that all becomes a distant memory. The pilot pointed us in the direction of some amazing snorkeling, it was like being in a tropical fish aquarium. Plus, I was back in town early enough to do lots of other stuff.

This was so worth the money! Definitely the greatest highlight of our Key West trip. The beaches at Fort Jefferson are spectacular and the snorkeling is amazing. The plane ride was comfortable and the sights getting to and from the Fort were to die for. Definitely better than a 2+ hour ferry ride. And as soon as the ferry left the island in the afternoon, there were only about 10 of us on the island. It’s never over crowded there apparently, which is a plus!
Captain Gary was very nice as well. I would take this trip again. So much history there and amazing beaches. You can’t ask for more. I highly recommend this excursion!

First the seaplane operation was totally first class. Great people for sure! Now for the not so good stuff. Better ways to spend three hundo in key west. The fort was cool for about 30 minutes. The snorkeling was made to be sooo great, not! It was at best just average. Don’t go there for that reason you will be disappointed for sure. Just glad I didn’t do the five hour boat ride. The other thing they lure you in with is all the sea life you will see on the plane ride. You do see turtles and sharks from the sky but they are just specks of sand in the ocean. I will not repeat and don’t recommend.

Sure, $ 300 to do a seaplane trip from Key West to Dry Tortugas National Park and back may seem expensive, but is it worth it?! Yes, absolutely!
I don’t think I had ever been on a seaplane in my life, but the views were awesome, and the pilot, John was great and knowledgeable as well. He pointed out a lot of interesting places in the ocean and other keys. It takes only 35 – 40 minutes to get from Key West to Dry Tortugas one way (on a good day), compared to the ferry, which could take a couple of hours. And the trip times are pretty flexible too; 8 AM-​12 PM, 10 AM-​2 PM, 12 – 4 PM, or 2 – 6 PM.
Got lots of great photos from the seaplane ride before and after visiting Dry Tortugas. Very awesome experience!

We did the sea plane trip to Fort Jefferson and the whole experience was great! It was our first time on a sea plane and before I knew it we were in the air and the pilot was very helpful in point out out things as we flew over. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who’s looking to go to Fort Jefferson. We unfortunately weren’t able to take the plane back due to the thick fog that came in, they said it’s rare that they can’t do a return due to fog, and we had to ride the Ferry back.
Once we arrived the sea plane people were there to greet us and pick up our gear as well as get a cab for us if we needed it. We received a call the next day informing us that we’d be receiving a refund for part of the trip. We couldn’t have asked for more, they handled it professionally.
We’ll definitely do this again!

El piloto muy atento y el viaje se hace muy ameno ya que solo dura 30 a 35 minutos en comparación con el Ferry que tarda 2 horas y media.
Buena comunicación por mail, dan bebidas y heladeras gratis para la estadía. Si van todo el día llevar sandwiches por que no se vende nada en la isla.

This was a highlight of my recent trip to Key West. I get sea sick so I knew taking the ferry to the Dry Tortugas wouldn’t be an option. I thought the seaplane would be efficient but I didn’t expect how awesome the trip would be!
We took the first flight out– 8am and I’d highly recommend that. We landed at the Dry Tortugas an hour and a half before the ferry arrived so just the passengers on the plane (maybe 10?) had the run of the place.
The plane ride was easy– no turbulence or anything scary, super informative and beautiful! We got some great photos and got to see parts of the Keys and wildlife that we didn’t get to see from the boat or any other perspective.

The seaplane was a great way to see the dry tortugas. Flying at only 500 feet, we saw a great deal of sea turtles and a giant stingray. Our pilot, John, was awesome and acted as tour guide for our trip out there. We chose the half day trip, which was perfect for us. We briefly toured the fort and spent the rest of the morning snorkeling. I highly recommend this trip, and it is definitely worth taking the seaplane. Such an incredible adventure!

While planning my recent trip I was waffling on
going for the seaplane trip. I’m soooo glad I opted for it.
What a top notch operation. The flight is incredible, beautiful views
of gorgeous seas and sea life, on top of the trip on a SEAPLANE!
They have a very cordial staff and pilots, snorkel sets and coolers for drinks .
Snorkeling around the old pier pilings had tons of fish, barracuda and corals.
Do not miss this trip!

Lame. I made my reservation using their half assed online system. That should have been clue number one. When I called six days later after not receiving a confirmation ‘John’ tells me he called me multiple times to confirm but no one answered. the number was my cell, which i sleep with — so i know this wasn’t the case. I’ll take the $ 500 I save on this and use it for a few nice dinners out during my vacation.

Will do this again, great adventure. The time on Fort Jefferson went by faster than I thought it would. We had a packed lunch which was very nice, and snorkeled around. The plane ride was an amazing view and learning experience.

If I could give this place 6 stars, I would. This is the ultimate key west adventure. I’d strongly recommend getting on the first flight of the day, as you will be on the island practically alone for the majority of your time there. Also, request to sit in the copilot seat when you book, it’s the best place for photographs. I felt safe at all times, and would do this again and again if I could.