Planning a Florida National Parks road trip? Excellent choice! The three Florida parks are often overlooked, but they are truly spectacular and 100% worth seeing. And since they’re all fairly close together, they can conveniently be conquered on a 6-day road trip!
From the alligator-filled swamps of the Everglades to the jaw-dropping underwater world of Biscayne to the remote Gulf islands of the Dry Tortugas, you’re going to fall in love with this trio of tropical national parks!
I’ve done this exact 6-day Florida National Parks road trip myself, and in this guide, I’m sharing everything you need to plan it – where to stay, when to go, and how to spend each day.
Let’s dive in!
Epic 6-Day Florida National Parks Road Trip Itinerary
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Getting to the Florida National Parks
The Florida National Parks are all located in the southernmost mainland of the Sunshine State. Biscayne and Everglades are just south of Miami, while Dry Tortugas is 70 miles off the coast of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico.
The easiest cities to start and end your Florida National Parks road trip are either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. The Miami Airport is larger and offers more flights from all over the country (and world) but is usually more expensive. The Fort Lauderdale Airport offers fewer flights and is a bit further from the parks, but you can usually save a bit of money with the more budget airlines.
I recommend using Skyscanner to browse the cheapest flights available from your hometown.
From the airport, rent a car and drive about an hour southwest (less from Miami and a bit more from Fort Lauderdale) to your first destination, Everglades National Park.
Where to Stay
For this itinerary, I’d recommend staying in Homestead or camping in the Everglades for the first three nights and Key West for the final two nights.
Here’s an overview of the places I’d suggest staying each night:
- Night 1: TownePlace Suites Homestead or Long Pine Key Campground
- Night 2: TownePlace Suites Homestead or Long Pine Key Campground
- Night 3: TownePlace Suites Homestead or Long Pine Key Campground
- Night 4: Boyd’s Campground or Parrot Key Hotel
- Night 5: Boyd’s Campground or Parrot Key Hotel
NOTE: If you’re on a budget, you can spend the final night back on the mainland – Key West is sooo expensive. But I’ll share more about that on Day 5 of the itinerary.
When to Visit the Florida National Parks
The best time to visit the Florida National Parks is December through April because you will avoid hurricane season. Plus, this is the best time of year to see wildlife in the parks!
Florida National Parks Road Trip Overview
Day 1: Fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale Airport. Drive to the Everglades + Go Hiking.
Day 2: Airboat Tour + Shark Valley Tram Road in Everglades.
Day 3: Snorkeling + Paddling Tours in Biscayne.
Day 4: Travel Day Through the Keys.
Day 5: Day trip to Dry Tortugas.
Day 6: Drive back to Miami/Fort Lauderdale and fly home.
Day 1: Everglades National Park
From the airport, head straight to the Everglades. Depending on your flight plan, you may have all day in the park or just a limited time. So I’m going to recommend a couple of hikes – do whatever you have time for!
The two most iconic hikes in the park are the Gumbo Limbo and Anhinga Trails! Luckily, they’re both short, easy, scenic, and right beside each other at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, so these are perfect post-flight hikes to stretch your legs.
The 0.4-mile Gumbo Limbo Trail is short and sweet. It winds through a hammock of gumbo limbo trees and royal palms.
The 0.8-mile Anhinga Trail meanders through a sawmill marsh, where exotic wildlife like gators, turtles, and of course, anhingas – the trail’s namesake – love to hang out.
After your hikes, grab an early dinner at the Everglades Gator Grill – try the gator, duh! – and head to your accommodations for the evening.
Since Homestead is sandwiched between Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, I’d stay there. There’s a nice Towneplace not far from either park.
However, if you’re a camper, consider staying at the Long Pine Key Campground. It’s just a few minutes from the Palm Royal Visitor Center and trails, 40 minutes from Biscayne, and about an hour from the Shark Valley Visitor Center and airboat tours.
Day 2: Everglades – Airboat Tour and Shark Valley Tram Road
Get ready to spend all day in the glorious Everglades National Park! To start your day, head to the Shark Valley Visitor Center. Just behind the visitor center is the paved multi-use Shark Valley Tram Road. You can hike it, bike it, or take the tram!
Since the paved road is 15 miles, I’d recommend either biking it or taking the tram. Bike rentals are available beside the visitor center, and tram tours are offered in advance on their website.
We biked the road. Part of the thrill of the bike ride is that since the paved path parallels the swamp, alligators are frequently sighted! Some even block the path. It’s exciting!
During our January visit, we saw dozens of alligators on our bike ride. Some were in the water, some were in the grass, and others were directly on the bike path. Wild!
Don’t miss the observation tower at the end of the road. It has a great view of the surrounding landscape!
Next, it’s time for the most iconic activity in the entire park: airboat tours! (Conveniently, grab lunch at the Safari Cafe before or after your tour).
There are many outfitters all over the park and surrounding areas, but we went with Everglades Safari Park because they offered an alligator show after the tour!
The tour guide loads you up in an airboat and takes you on a journey through the swamp. As we jetted around the marsh, we saw an abundance of wildlife, including alligators and herons.
In my opinion, since the park is largely comprised of marsh, the Everglades is best viewed from a boat!
Have I convinced you to take an airboat tour? If so, you can purchase your airboat tour tickets in advance here!
Pssst: Want to combine your tram tour and airboat tour into one convenient ticket and be shuttled around from activity to activity? Book the combo ticket here!
After your day of exciting adventures, it’s time for dinner! Grab some Mexican food at Don Chepe’s before heading back to your hotel/campsite. Rest up because tomorrow, you are getting back out on the water (but in the ocean this time). Yep, get ready to explore Biscayne!
Read my Everglades National Park guide, where I dive deep into the best things to do in the park, top hikes, where to stay, when to go, and more!
Day 3: Biscayne – Snorkeling and Paddling Tours
The next stop on your Florida National Parks journey is Biscayne! This park is 95% water with very little land, so if you want the full National Park experience, you’ll need to venture into the Atlantic Ocean.
And unless you’re bringing your own boat (I’m guessing you’re not), you’ll need to take a tour! Since the day is wide-open, and there’s not much to do in the park that doesn’t involve getting on a boat, I’d suggest taking two half-day tours or one full-day tour.
First, I’d recommend booking a snorkeling tour in the morning. This is the exact tour we took! It’s a 4-hour snorkeling tour with Biscayne National Park Institute.
While every tour is customized to the group’s personal interests and current weather conditions, the guide took us snorkeling over coral reefs and above shipwrecks, jetted us to Boca Chita Key, where we got to explore the remote island, and pointed out manatees, dolphins, and turtles on our journey back to the harbor.
Though I got seasick and couldn’t perform the shipwreck dive, my experience was redeemed when the guide dropped us off on the island!
Since you checked off snorkeling and island exploration on your morning adventure, I’d recommend a paddling tour for the second half of your day in Biscayne!
If you need to kill time between your tours, grab some lunch at the nearby La Playa Grill and/or hike the Jetty Trail. The Jetty Trail is an easy path with a boardwalk that juts out into the ocean. It’s a great place to spot wildlife!
Okay, back to the paddling tours! Paddling is another great way to gain a front-row seat to some of the marine life action. Marine life, like birds, manatees, and sea turtles will probably want to show off while you paddle.
This exciting 3.5-hour paddleboarding tour takes you through the lagoons, and this awesome 1.5-hour kayaking tour takes you kayaking through mangroves! You can’t go wrong either way!
NOTE: If you are driving (not flying) to Florida, and you bring your own paddleboard, kayak, or canoe, you can launch right from the visitor center for free. From here, you can paddle to some of the little islands near the shore and bring your own snorkel gear to dive below the surface at your leisure. Check current launch hours here.
You’re likely going to be exhausted after a full day on the water, so grab some dinner at Shiver’s BBQ and head back to your hotel/campsite. Tomorrow, you’re journeying through the Keys!
Read my Biscayne National Park guide, where I dive deep into the best things to do in the park, top hikes, where to stay, when to go, and more!
Day 4: Driving to Key West
Now it’s time to head to Key West, the gateway to Dry Tortugas!
Since you will have to be at the ferry dock at 7 AM tomorrow morning, staying in Key West tonight is really the most convenient option. And since the drive from the Everglades/Biscayne area to Key West is about 3 hours, and traffic can be pretty heavy, I made this day a slow travel day.
If you’d like, you can make pit stops at one (or two) of the Keys on the way to Key West, or you can just drive straight to Key West and hang out there for the afternoon.
My friend Lana wrote an amazing guide on the Florida Keys, so if you need some pit stops on your way down to Key West – things to do and places to eat – she’s got some great ideas!
And if you’re looking for some fun free things to do once you’re in Key West for the evening, she’s got some awesome recs for that, too.
I suggest free things because you’re likely going to be spending a pretty penny on your accommodations. Budget stays don’t really exist in Key West. The cheapest campground I found was about $100/night – Boyd’s Campground – so that’s where we ended up staying for the night.
If you’re staying at a hotel like Parrot Key or Margarittaville Beach House, prepare to spend at least $300 to $400 per night.
Restaurants are also expensive. For our short stay in Key West, we chose to buy groceries on the mainland and make/eat our dinner at our campsite. But if you’re looking to splurge on a meal in Key West tonight, I’ve heard great things about Hot Tin Roof!
Day 5: Dry Tortugas
Good morning, and get ready to explore the final National Park, and my personal favorite stop on this road trip, Dry Tortugas!
The best way to explore the park is by taking a day trip from Key West via the ferry or seaplane.
The ferry is the most popular (and affordable) way to get to Dry Tortugas, so that’s what I’ll recommend for this itinerary. If you want to splurge and take a scenic flight instead, be my guest!
If you take the ferry, here’s what your day will look like:
- 7:00 AM: Check in.
- 7:30 AM: Board the ferry.
- 8:00 AM: Ferry departs from Key West.
- 10:30 AM: Arrive at Dry Tortugas.
- 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM: Explore the island(s) and have lunch.
- 3:00 PM: Ferry departs from Dry Tortugas.
- 5:30 PM: Arrive in Key West.
The journey from Key West to Dry Tortugas is roughly 2.5 hours on open ocean. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Have a snack, read a book, and keep your eyes peeled for dolphins and other marine life on the side of the boat!
Once you arrive at Dry Tortugas, you’ll be given free rein to explore Garden Key and, if open, Bush Key.
Garden Key, the main island with the boat docks and historic fort, is open year-round, so you can explore it any time of year. Meander around all three levels of the fort and take in the view of the sparkling turquoise ocean from the windows.
Sometimes, ranger-led tours are offered through Fort Jefferson. But if not, or you’d rather explore it on your own, reference the ferry-provided PDF full of historical info as you wander through the walls of the fortress.
And as you walk the moat that circles the fort, look down; since the water is crystal-clear, you could spot coral, fish, sea turtles, and other aquatic life.
Next, be sure to take advantage of the free snorkel equipment that you get as a ferry passenger! There are some great places to snorkel and swim on the island; you could spot cool marine life like coral, octopus, jellyfish, or even barracuda!
In Garden Key, you can snorkel in three areas:
- North Coaling Dock Ruins. Located off North Swim Beach with pilings and a variety of fish.
- South Coaling Dock Ruins. Requires a swim from South Swim Beach to the pilings. Great for coral viewing.
- Moat Wall near South Swim Beach. Great for beginners. Calm and shallow waters. Many tropical fish and historical artifacts.
If you’re visiting from October through January, make sure to explore Bush Key, too! Visitors who arrive from February through September won’t get the pleasure of walking on this island since the NPS closes it down for the breeding season.
Take the time to walk the mile loop around Bush Key. You will see coastal dunes, sand beaches, washed-up coral, an array of marine life, and even many rare birds that aren’t found anywhere else in the continental United States.
If interested, you can also swim or read a book on the island. You can even grab the ferry-provided lunch and bring it to the island – that’s what we did! We found that Bush Key was much quieter than Garden Key because few visitors venture over to it.
At 3:00 PM, you’ll board the ferry and make the 2.5-hour voyage back to Key West. You’ll be dropped off at the port by 5:30 PM. Time to grab dinner at Blue Heaven and head back to your hotel/campsite.
If you’re like us and don’t appreciate the overly-priced campsites and hotels in Key West, drive a little further north to save some money. After disembarking the ferry, we drove north through the Keys and stayed on the mainland. But even if you don’t drive all the way, staying in a key like Big Pine or Marathon would save you some cash.
Read my Dry Tortugas National Park guide, where I dive deep into the transportation systems, best things to do in the park, top hikes, where to stay, when to go, and more!
Day 6: Head Back Home
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Drive back to Miami or Fort Lauderdale to fly back home.
Finish Planning Your Trip to the Florida National Parks
Here are some of my other Florida National Park guides that are on the blog right now!
- Should You Visit Dry Tortugas in January? Yes! Here’s Why
- 7 Key Things to Know Before Visiting Dry Tortugas
- Getting to Dry Tortugas: Seaplane or Ferry?
- Complete Guide to Exploring Dry Tortugas National Park
- Complete Guide to Exploring Biscayne National Park
- Complete Guide to Exploring Everglades National Park
Discover Your Next Adventure
Where to next? I’ve got some suggestions!
- US Virgin Islands
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Antelope Canyon
- Upper Peninsula of Michigan
- Hocking Hills State Park
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