Dry Tortugas National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required for weddings, first amendment activities, and group activities of 20 or more. $100 non refundable processing fee required with application (NPS Form 10 930 Long Form). Administered through the Everglades SUP office: 305 242 7042 or ever_sup_office@nps.gov. The park is accessible only by ferry or seaplane from Key West, so ceremony timing must be planned around the Yankee Freedom ferry schedule.

Planning Your Day at Dry Tortugas National Park

One-Spot Day

Dry Tortugas is a single island day, and the ferry dictates the schedule. Garden Key (where Fort Jefferson sits) is the only island you can reach; the Yankee Freedom ferry from Key West arrives mid morning (around 10:15am) and departs mid afternoon (around 3pm), giving you roughly 4.5 hours on island for ceremony and portraits. Seaplane is faster (40 min flight vs 2.5 hr ferry) but expensive and weather dependent. The two ceremony zones on Garden Key are the Fort Jefferson Moat Wall (a 0.5 mile loop around the fort exterior on a flat wide brick walkway surrounded by turquoise water on both sides) and Garden Key Beach (white sand on the west side of the island, sheltered within the fort's harbor arm). Both are within 5 minutes walk of each other. Plan ceremony for the first 90 minutes after the ferry arrives to maximize daylight; reserve last 60 minutes before departure for final portraits and boarding. Camping is available on Garden Key for couples willing to stay overnight (primitive, 8 sites, reservation required), which opens up sunset and night photography windows but requires hauling in all water and supplies.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

NPS Special Use Permit required for weddings and group activities of 20 or more. $100 non refundable processing fee required with application (NPS Form 10 930 Long Form). Administered through the Everglades SUP office at 305 242 7042 or ever_sup_office@nps.gov. Ferry fare is additional ($220 adult roundtrip as of 2026 via Yankee Freedom; includes breakfast, lunch, snorkel gear). Park wide cap of 20 for small ceremony; practical caps tighter because everything moves at ferry capacity. Brief every guest on the ferry schedule; missing the return ferry means an unplanned overnight on the island with no hotel. Decorations must be freestanding, removed immediately, and packed out. No amplified music. No drones allowed in the park. Alcohol prohibited at ceremony per park rules.

A Note on Light

Dry Tortugas is a midday park by default because the ferry schedule limits you to roughly 10:30am to 2:45pm on the island. Fort Jefferson's massive brick walls handle midday tropical sun better than most national park locations because the red brick absorbs warm tones and the turquoise water reflects fill light into shadows; midday portraits here actually look great. For couples who camp overnight, sunrise over the fort from the beach and sunset through the fort arches deliver the premium light windows (both rare in the National Park System because you cannot normally access this island outside ferry hours). Camping unlocks astrophotography too: Dry Tortugas is Bortle 2 dark skies, one of the darkest in the eastern US, with the Milky Way core visible overhead spring through fall. Winter and dry season (November through April) deliver the calmest seas, most reliable ferry, and lowest hurricane risk; summer carries real hurricane cancellation risk.

Ceremony Spots at Dry Tortugas National Park

• Fort Jefferson Moat Wall — Ceremony on the massive brick moat wall of a Civil War era fort surrounded by turquoise Caribbean water
• Garden Key Beach — White sand beach ceremony on a remote island with Fort Jefferson as a dramatic backdrop