I used to fly in and out of KEYW all the time. I always wondered about this exact thing every time I would come in. Seems like a dream job for a retired pilot. Thanks for the video.
Did the half day trip with my son in 2017. Lived in KW 69-73 and visited several times but Ft Jefferson was always on my bucket list. It was expensive but amazing. Unfortunately 4 hours isn’t enough if you want to spend time snorkeling. Would love to camp there for a couple days.
Yep 2-1/2 hours gives you minimal time to explore the really big fort. If you go say October to February there's almost no birds on the adjacent Bush Key (worth a walk). If you get easily sea sick avoid the ferry but worth the extra time on the island.
I used to live in KW. If you take the boat, make sure you get good seasickness meds - the ocean west/souwest of KW can get very, very rough - I called it the 'Vomit Freedom' because all the tourists were just throwing up the entire time. But it's fun to watch the seasick passengers do the 'drunken ballerina' - when seasick and the boat is being thrown around people fling their arms out from their sides and cross their legs at their ankles, every now and then they go up on pointe in their flip-flops... Then they twirl around to the garbage can to vom. But sometimes they just don't make it to the garbage, and the vom goes everywhere... If that happens, help the seasick passenger - seriously, KW is about being kind. Then after your time on the island you'll usually find a boat passenger that well, missed their boat. So, they fly back in the seaplane. I always make it a point to be the jerk in those situations and proclaim loudly, "hey, since she didn't pay for a ticket, she can sit outside on the wing - she can pick the right or left wing though, that's okay". (LOL!) Then I offer the boatless tourist a snack or whatever I have, and always invite them to come and have a drink on me after we get back to KW. BTW, at the fort, check out the chapel if you like ghosts. That's all I'm gonna say about that - the rest you'll have to decide for yourself. The snorkeling is great there, but there can be strong currents at times, so just be sure you're a good swimmer if you go out in that, because they can be exhausting. Anyway, you'll be tempted to hurry because of limited time - just make it a point to come back. Spend your time at the fort relaxing, walking around enjoying the history and gorgeously stark and beefy architecture, and drink plenty of water - and don't forget to give your husband or wife plenty of water because you did after all lock them up in the dungeon, and there's no water in there -then give them a kiss goodbye and tell them how nice it was knowing them... Oh look, your plane is boarding!
