Biscayne National Park Itinerary: 1, 3 & 5-Day Plans
Biscayne National Park · 2026
Pick your days. The park is built in order.
Day 1 is the one-day plan. Every extra day adds the next-best corner of Biscayne, so a 3-day trip is days 1 to 3 and a 5-day trip is all five. Ninety-five percent of this park is water, so every day after the first starts on a boat.
How many days do you have?
Showing all 7 days. Pick a length to see only the days that fit.
Last updated September 3, 2026 How we research
Numbers on the page match the map: as you scroll each day, its stops light up here.
Biscayne rewards order because almost nothing here is reachable by car. The park is 95% water, and the only walkable pieces are the Dante Fascell Visitor Center and the 0.8-mile Convoy Point Jetty Trail beside it. So Day 1 is the jetty walk plus a half-day snorkel tour, the single day that shows the mangroves, the reef, and a shipwreck at once. Boca Chita Key and its 65-foot lighthouse are the corner everyone talks about, so that is Day 2, not Day 5. Jones Lagoon, the paddle where sharks and rays drift under the board in inches of water, is Day 3. Elliott Key, the island you camp on, and a second pass through the six wrecks of the Maritime Heritage Trail wait for a five-day trip.
Every stop below links to its own page on this site. The rules that actually change your days are simple: entrance is free, every island is boat-access only with no ferry, tours through the Biscayne National Park Institute sell out weeks ahead in the December-to-April window, island camping is $35 a night and first-come, and hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30.
Day 1 Convoy Point and the reef
One day in Biscayne National Park: the jetty walk and a snorkel tour
Ninety-five percent water, it is a marine park where the park itself lives beneath the surface.
- 0.8 miConvoy Point Jetty Trail, round trip
- half dayguided snorkel tour
- 95%of the park is water
Arrive at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center by 9 a.m. It is the park's only mainland foothold, about 15 minutes from Homestead and Florida City and 30 miles south of Miami, and it opens daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Start inside with the museum exhibits on the park's four ecosystems and the Maritime Heritage Trail, then walk the Convoy Point Jetty Trail: a flat 0.8-mile round trip of boardwalk and gravel through red, black, and white mangroves into the Colonial Bird Protection Area, with ten self-guided stations on ecology, shipwrecks, and human history. Bring binoculars for herons, egrets, and pelicans over Biscayne Bay.
Then board a half-day snorkel tour with the Biscayne National Park Institute, the main onsite operator, departing from the visitor center around 10 a.m. aboard a 28-to-31-foot powerboat. Your captain chooses the site on the day's sea conditions: open-ocean patch corals, mangrove edges where soft corals shelter juvenile fish, or a shipwreck like the Mandalay, a 1928 steel schooner in 12 feet of water that is ideal for snorkelers. Snorkel gear and vests are provided and fins are mandatory. Beginner programs run at a leisurely pace with flotation support.
Book this tour ahead. Snorkel trips sell out weeks in advance from December through April, and the visitor center and boat operations can close during tropical storms. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a rash guard for sun and stingers, water shoes, and a dry bag, and stay three feet off the coral. The water is never cold enough for a wetsuit. Expect rays, sea turtles, and dolphins on a good day; manatees show up in the winter months. Sharks and crocodiles live here too, and attacks are uncommon.
With kids: The jetty walk is stroller-flat and the exhibits fill a rainy hour; most tours provide life jackets and take kids 5 and up, but confirm ages with the Institute at 786-335-3644 when booking, and glass-bottom boats let non-swimmers see the reef.
Where to sleep after day 1
Homestead and Florida City, about 15 minutes from the visitor center, are the bases the site's older guides all used, with Courtyard by Marriott, TownePlace Suites, Hampton Inn, and Hilton Garden Inn among the options; neither town has a listing here yet. Miami is 30 miles north.
Day 2 Boca Chita Key
Day 2: Boca Chita Key and the 65-foot lighthouse
Climb the historic lighthouse for views of Miami's skyline and the Atlantic Ocean.
- 65 ftBoca Chita Lighthouse
- 3.5 hrsHeritage of Biscayne Cruise
- $25docking fee, Friday to Monday
No ferry serves Biscayne's islands, so the way to Boca Chita without your own boat is the Heritage of Biscayne Cruise, a 3.5-hour guided trip from the visitor center with a one-hour stop at Boca Chita Key, Elliott Key, or Adams Key. Ask for Boca Chita. The island's perimeter trail loops the harbor, and the 65-foot lighthouse is the payoff: climb it for the Miami skyline in one direction and the open Atlantic in the other. The site's lighthouse guide covers the park's other towers, including Fowey Rocks out on the reef.
Boca Chita is a day-use island with toilets only, no drinking water, no showers, and no store, so everything you eat and drink comes with you. Picnic tables and grills are there for lunch. Boats docking Friday through Monday and on federal holidays pay a $25 docking fee through the Recreation.gov mobile app on arrival; there is no pre-payment and no refund. Plan to be off the island by mid-afternoon so the return runs in daylight.
With your own boat, or on a tour that pairs the island with a swim, the Mandalay wreck sits in clear, shallow water nearby and is the easiest snorkel on the Maritime Heritage Trail. Winter brings the calmest seas and the fewest mosquitoes; biting insects are prevalent year-round, so pack repellent along with the sunscreen.
With kids: The lighthouse climb and the harbor loop are the whole day for kids, and the one-hour island stop is short enough that nobody gets bored or sunburned.
Where to sleep after day 2
Boca Chita Campground has 21 sites, toilets, and no water or showers, first-come and paid on arrival at $35 a night through the Recreation.gov app. It needs a boat that stays overnight; on a cruise, sleep in Homestead again.
Day 3 Jones Lagoon and the southern mangroves
Day 3: paddle Jones Lagoon for sharks, rays, and turtles
Inches-deep water where bonnethead sharks, loggerhead turtles, stingrays, and upside-down jellyfish drift under the board.
- 45 minpowerboat ride to the lagoon
- $109Jones Lagoon Paddle, per person
- 2+ hrson the water paddling
The Jones Lagoon Paddle Eco-Adventure is the trip that separates Biscayne from every other snorkel park. A 45-minute powerboat ride carries you to a secluded lagoon at the park's southern end, then you spend two-plus hours on stand-up paddleboards over water only inches deep, watching bonnethead sharks, loggerhead turtles, stingrays, and upside-down jellyfish pass beneath you. It runs $109 per person and books out like everything else from December through April.
This is also the weather backup for the whole trip. If seas cancel a snorkel tour, a kayak or paddle trip into the mangrove tunnels and protected lagoons usually still goes, and the sheltered water is where manatees and nurse sharks turn up in winter along with herons, egrets, and roseate spoonbills. Kayak trips from the visitor center are the most affordable way onto the water without a snorkel.
Paddle days are long and exposed. Mornings bring the clearest water and calmest conditions; summer afternoons bring 90-degree heat, thunderstorms, and mosquito swarms, which is why the site's older guides all steer summer visitors to early departures or to a different month.
With kids: The paddle suits confident swimmers and older kids who can stand on a board for a couple of hours; for younger ones, book the shorter kayak trip from the visitor center instead.
Where to sleep after day 3
Back on the mainland, Homestead and Florida City stay the closest hotel bases; Palmetto Bay and Miami's other southern suburbs are the listed alternatives if those are full.
Day 4 Elliott Key
Day 4: camp on Elliott Key and walk the Spite Highway
Hike Elliott's undisturbed maritime forest, and sleep at the trailhead.
- 1 miinterpretive boardwalk loop
- 33boat slips at the harbor
- $35per night, first-come
Elliott Key is the park's largest island and the closest thing Biscayne has to a hiking day. The historic Spite Highway runs the length of the island through undisturbed maritime forest, and a 1-mile interpretive boardwalk loop near the harbor covers the same forest at an easier pace. Watch for dolphins on the crossing and turtles in the shallows off the dock. The island is boat-access only: the Heritage cruise can drop a one-hour stop here, but a real Elliott day means your own or a rented boat.
Elliott is the better island to sleep on. The campground has 33 boat slips, cold showers, and drinking water, which Boca Chita lacks. No advance reservations are taken; sites are first-come and paid on arrival at $35 a night through the Recreation.gov mobile app by QR code, with the $25 docking fee added Friday through Monday. Arrive early on winter weekends and around the December 20 holiday period, when sites go fast. There is no store and no concession, so every meal comes in the boat with you.
With kids: The boardwalk loop is the family version of the forest, and the harbor's showers and drinking water make Elliott the only island where camping with kids is comfortable.
Where to sleep after day 4
Elliott Key Campground: first-come, $35 a night, cold showers and drinking water, 33 slips. Pay in the Recreation.gov app on arrival.
Day 5 Maritime Heritage Trail, then Miami
Day 5: the six wrecks of the Maritime Heritage Trail, then Miami
Six historic shipwrecks spanning nearly a century, and the weather decides which one you see.
- 6wrecks on the trail
- 12 ftdepth at the Mandalay
- 30 miback to Miami
Day 1 gave you one wreck at the captain's choosing. Day 5 is the second pass, aimed at the Maritime Heritage Trail itself: six mapped shipwrecks spanning nearly a century, from the Alicia, lost in 1905 laden with silks and fine goods, to the Mandalay, the 1928 steel schooner that sits in 12 feet of clear water and is the snorkeler's favorite. The Erl King, the Lugano, the Arratoon Apcar, and a 19th-century wooden sailing vessel round out the trail, and each has its own page on this site. Fowey Rocks Lighthouse stands out on the reef among them.
The dedicated Maritime Heritage Trail snorkel runs as a summer program, June through August, while the year-round snorkel trip goes wherever the captain finds calm, clear water, so which wrecks you actually see depends on the month and the sea. Deeper reef and wreck sites run 20 to 40 feet, so non-swimmers uncomfortable in 12-plus feet of water should ask for the shallow options or the glass-bottom boat. Mooring buoys protect the reef where you anchor.
Then leave the boat behind and drive north. Miami is 30 miles from the park, and Coral Gables is the calmer end of it for a last night; on winter weekends from late November through April the Homestead National Parks Trolley runs to the park, and the site's Biscayne birding guide is the other way to spend a spare afternoon around Convoy Point.
With kids: Repeat the shallow Mandalay, not the deep reef; kids remember the wreck they could see the bottom of.
Where to sleep after day 5
End in Coral Gables or Miami so the drive to the airport is short. Homestead hotel rooms are the budget option if you would rather stay near the park.
The 2026 rules that change your days
Dates and rules below are drawn from the official sources listed at the end of the page.
Questions people ask before a Glacier trip
Is one day enough for Biscayne National Park?
One day covers the visitor center, the 0.8-mile Convoy Point Jetty Trail, and a half-day snorkel tour to a reef, a mangrove edge, or a shipwreck. That is Day 1 above, and it is the whole of the park that can be done without a boat plus one trip onto the water. Boca Chita, Jones Lagoon, and Elliott Key each need their own day.
Can you visit Biscayne National Park without a boat?
Mostly no. The park is 95% water, and only the Dante Fascell Visitor Center and the Jetty Trail are walkable. Islands, reefs, and wrecks are boat-access only, and there is no ferry. Tours through the Biscayne National Park Institute depart from the visitor center; kayak trips are the cheapest way onto the water. Bringing or renting your own boat is the other option.
When is the best time to visit Biscayne?
December through April: calm seas, clear water, mild air temperatures, and far fewer mosquitoes. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, when afternoon storms are common and tours can cancel with little notice. Summer runs 90 degrees and up with heavy bug pressure. Spring is also good and less crowded than winter.
How much does Biscayne National Park cost?
Entrance is free. Island camping is $35 a night per site and docking is $25 Friday through Monday and federal holidays, both paid on arrival through the Recreation.gov mobile app. Guided tours are priced per person; the site's older guides quoted different figures for the same trips, so check the Institute's current prices before you budget. The Jones Lagoon Paddle is $109.
Do I need a reservation for Biscayne National Park?
Not to enter, and not to camp: Boca Chita and Elliott Key campgrounds are first-come, first-served with no advance reservations. Tours are the exception. Snorkel, paddle, and island trips fill weeks ahead from December through April, so book them well before you arrive; the Institute's number is 786-335-3644.
Is snorkeling at Biscayne okay for beginners?
Yes. Tours go to protected reef and wreck sites with calm water, gear and flotation vests are provided, and beginner programs move at a leisurely pace. The Mandalay wreck sits in 12 feet of water; deeper sites run 20 to 40 feet. Bring reef-safe zinc-oxide sunscreen and a rash guard, and stay three feet off the coral.
This plan is built from Biscayne National Park's published dates, fees, and tour descriptions and from this site's existing Biscayne guides, not from a visit by the site owner. Check the Biscayne National Park Institute and Recreation.gov for current prices and conditions before you go.
