Andy Griffiths Charters is the Dry Tortugas specialist in Key West, a liveaboard reef and wreck operation that has run the western grounds out past the Marquesas for decades. Andy Griffiths Charters books overnight and multi day trips to water most Key West boats never reach, 22 to 70 miles west of the island, where the snapper and grouper fishing is the draw. It earns its place in the ranking on that access and a purpose built fleet, and it is held back by a review trail that runs together with a separate Griffiths operation and carries some recent complaints about consistency.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.0 Andy Griffiths is a strong choice for one specific trip and the fourth ranked boat in Key West. Nothing else in the port does what it does: a liveaboard run to the Dry Tortugas reef and wreck grounds, fishing across two days on water too far for a day trip. That trips and access strength is real. What pulls the score back is track record and service: the online reviews are muddied by a separate Captain Eddie Griffiths operation running similar trips, and the recent sentiment is mixed, with some longtime customers reporting slips in service and effort alongside the loyal regulars. Book it when the multi day Tortugas trip is the goal and you want the bottom fishing the western grounds are known for. For a standard offshore day out of Key West, the Key West ranking points you to better fits.
The boat
Andy Griffiths runs a small fleet of liveaboard sportfishers rigged for multi day work, each licensed for up to 6 anglers. The boats carry cold air conditioning, a hot and cold fresh water shower, a galley, comfortable bunks, rod racks, and a shaded fishing area, which is what a 32 hour trip needs. This is gear built for the run and the overnight rather than for speed or a day charter’s comfort, and it is judged on that job, where it holds up well. The boats are not new, and the experience is closer to a working liveaboard than a luxury sportfisher, which is the right expectation to set.
The fishing and what you target
The western grounds are the whole point. The Marquesas sit about 22 miles from Key West Harbor and the Dry Tortugas roughly 70 miles, and both hold patch reefs and wrecks that get far less pressure than the water near the island. The bottom fishing is the calling card: snapper, grouper, and amberjack in volume and size, with mahi mahi, wahoo, and king mackerel offshore in season. Reef and wreck fishing runs year round out here. Confirm the current snapper and grouper seasons and limits with Florida FWC and NOAA before a trip, since the federal and state rules on these species shift year to year.
Trips and prices
Andy Griffiths sells by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers. The posted basic overnight is a 32 hour trip at $2,400 for the party, which works out to $400 per person and includes the bunk, a seafood dinner and breakfast, and two days of fishing. A seasonal 5 hour day trip runs $95 per angler from December through February. The rates are posted on the operator’s site, which is a point in its favor, though the trip calendar is narrow and worth confirming when you inquire. Our cost guide sets a multi day liveaboard against a single day charter so you can see what the overnight buys.
The crew
The operation runs with a rotating roster of Coast Guard licensed captains who know the western grounds, and the long view is genuinely strong: the Tortugas run has decades behind it and a core of repeat customers who fish it year after year. The honest problem is reading the recent sentiment. A separate Captain Eddie Griffiths operation runs similar trips, the two are constantly confused online, and within that muddied trail are recent complaints about a captain not moving to find fish and about how loyal customers were handled. Set against the long record of satisfied regulars, these are a minority, but they are recent enough that we mark track record and service down rather than lean on the operation’s reputation alone.
Booking and what to know
Book by phone or email direct through the operator’s site; this is a reservation trip, not a walk on. The boats leave from Stock Island on the east edge of Key West. Pack for an overnight on the water, bring your own food beyond the included meals if you have preferences, and a cooler for the long haul of fillets the western grounds tend to produce. Confirm which Griffiths operation and boat you are booking, given the naming overlap.
How we scored it
Andy Griffiths scores 7.0: a one of a kind Dry Tortugas trips and access strength and a fleet built for the multi day run, marked down on track record and service because the recent review trail is mixed and tangled with a separate Griffiths operation. Trips and fishing access is its strongest factor; track record is where it slips. See how we scored this boat, and compare it with the rest of the Key West boats.