Excursions to all of Florida

This chapter gives suggestions for excursions of all different kinds

Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens Adventure Park is Florida’s first theme park and thus the grandfather of central Florida tourism. Reopened in fall 2004 it once again blends its storied past with thrilling new adventures for a unique family experience. Guests will encounter nature at its most glorious in the historic botanical gardens and the famed butterfly arboretum. Stroll along the boardwalk over a magnificent sea of vibrant flowers. Gasp in wonder at gravity-defying water-ski shows, as Cypress Gardens once again becomes the water ski capital of the world. New adventures will abound with 37 exciting rides, including 4 roller coasters and the world’s tallest spinning rapids ride. Come face-to-face with native Florida animals. Enjoy a dazzling line-up of daily shows, including an all new ice-skating extravaganza and more than 40 all-star concerts and spectacular seasonal events.
Address: 2641 South Lake Summit Drive, Winter Haven
Approximately 115 miles – 2 hours 35 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (863) 324-2111
Further info: http://www.cypressgardens.com/

St. Petersburg
Location makes the difference: As an industrial and cultural city St. Petersburg is located away from the open sea at Tampa Bay. Facing the sea and located on off-shore islands west of St. Petersburg are the bathing resorts St. Pete Beach or Madeira Beach, the latter very exposed. Particularly worth seeing: The 1300 feet long peer and the Salvador Dali Museum, as well as "Sunken Gardens2, which is the botanic garden.
Approximately 116 miles – 2 hours driving time from or house
Further info: http://www.stpetersburg.com/

Salvador Dali Museum
A goody for all art lovers: The "Dali Museum" in St. Petersburg accommodates the biggest collection in the world of the Spanish surrealist. You should plan a couple of hours for visiting the museum, the paintings of different epochs and the sculptures of the genie are too impressive. In the gift shop you will find books, posters, post cards, slides, watches and even cufflinks with Dali illustrations.
Address: 1000 Third Street South, St. Petersburg
Approximately 118 miles – 2 hours driving time from or house
Telephone: (727) 823-3767
Further info: http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/

Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is the ultimate family adventure park offering an array of fascinating attractions based on exotic encounters with the African continent. A unique blend of thrilling rides, one of the country's premier zoos featuring more than 2,700 animals representing 320 species, live shows, restaurants, shops and games, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay provides unrivaled "real" excitement for guests of every age. Its exemplary animal enclosures make Busch Gardens Tampa Bay one of the best zoological parks in the US. On top of that the park distinguishes itself in the long-lasting engagement for the care and conservation of nature and environment. In the nine theme areas of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay visitors of any age will experience fun and adventure. The attractions range from rapid roller coaster rides and haunting experiences at the "Rhino Rally", a unique land and river safari, to musical entertainment. Restaurants, playgrounds and gift shops round off the offerings of the park.
Address: McKinley Avenue, Tampa
Approximately 140 miles – 2 hours 20 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (813) 987-5777
Further info: http://www.4adventure.com/buschgardens/fla/park_info.aspx

Discovery Cove
The day is all yours at this one-of-a-kind tropical hideaway. So, explore to your heart’s content. Relax on our pristine beaches. And even more enticing, do it all at your own pace. Soak in the stillness as you find yourself surrounded by acres of lush greens and deep blues. And, feel the lure of the sparkling lagoons, reefs and grottos. Here, there are no crowds or barriers. And simply taking a breath feels exciting.
Experience both power and playfulness during your reserved swim with a bottlenose dolphin. Share a smile with your new friend, along with its force and grace, as you glide through the waves. It’s the centerpiece of your visit and an once-in-a-lifetime thrill.
After swimming under a picturesque waterfall, you’ll enter a series of free-flight aviaries that tower above you. Here you can touch, feed and get acquainted with hundreds of colorful tropical birds and other fascinating wildlife. Feel a unique mixture of calm and captivation as you snorkel amid thousands of rays and exotic fish, and explore the splendor of coral reefs and grottos. It’s an experience as vivid as the colors you will encounter.
At Discovery Cove, there are never any crowds as attendance is limited to 1,000 guests a day, ensuring a relaxing experience for everyone!
Address: McKinley Avenue, Tampa
Approximately 140 miles – 2 hours 20 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (407) 370-1280
Further info: http://www.discoverycove.com/explore.aspx

Adventure Island
Located at Tampa Bay this is the leading water theme park at the sunny west coast of Florida. Adventure Island’s 30 acres of water-drenched fun in the sun features the ultimate combination of high-speed thrills and tropical, tranquil surroundings for guests of all ages. Within a soothing Key West atmosphere awaits an unrivaled blend of slides, corkscrews, water falls, a wave pool, children’s water playground and other family attractions such as outdoor cafes, picnic and sunbathing areas, gift shops, arcades and a championship white-sand volleyball complex.
Address: McKinley Avenue, Tampa
Approximately 140 miles – 2 hours 20 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (813) 987-5600
Further info: http://www.4adventure.com/adventure_island/fla/

Weeki Wachee Springs
In Florida already since 1947 beautiful mermaids are not only existing in fairy tales, but swimming alive in the crystal clear waters of the Weeki Wachee Spring Park. Together with mermen they stage gorgeous underwater shows, which the spectators can observe through windows. This park houses the only underwater theater of that kind in the whole world. If you were fascinated by these fabulous creatures since your early childhood you definitely will get your money worth. Adventure pool, animal shows, scuba diving and boat cruises round-off the offerings.
Address: 6131 Commercial Way, Weeki Wachee
Approximately 190 miles – 3 hours und 15 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (352) 596-2062
Further info: http://www.weekiwachee.com/

Miami
Worthwhile destinations in the city center are the Bayside Marketplace and the adjacent Bayfront Park. Also worth a visit is the Metro - Dade Cultural Center. If eventually you like to take a closer look to the cruise-liners, you just walk from the north end of Bayside Marketplace towards the east until you reach Biscayne Avenue. You can also have a nice view to the many ships from Watson Island Park at McArthur Causeway. Here you can also book a sightseeing flight by helicopter over Miami. Bayside Marketplace is a huge shopping arcade, mainly inviting the many tourists for a shopping expedition. Here you will find far more than 100 shops offering a wide range of goods. Many restaurants and cafes invite you for dining. Here you will also find a Hard Rock Cafe. To avoid boredom many street performers show their capabilities and in the evening after the break of dawn small concerts and other events take place regularly.
Approximately 160 miles – 2 hours 35 minutes driving time from or house
Further info: http://www.miami.com

Miami Beach
Miami and Miami Beach indeed are two separate and noticeable different cities. Coastal Miami Beach nearly exclusively is focusing on tourism and therefore is consisting mainly of hotels and holiday apartments. Inland Miami is a Cosmo political town obviously with a Latin-American touch.
In Miami Beach only the Art Deco district is worth a visit. It covers the compact area of one square mile boarded by Lincoln Road, Sixth Street, Ocean Drive and Alton Road. The district is a huge exhibition of this early 20th century style containing dozens of well restored buildings in this characteristic architecture. To find your way to there we recommend that you visit the welcome center of the Miami Design Preservation League at 1001 Ocean Drive, Tel. (305) 672-2014. There you can get an audio cassette containing guiding comments for your tour through the historical part of the Art deco. South Beach, where couturier Gianni Versace lived and was murdered is considered to be the trendiest residential area in the world.
Approximately 170 miles – 2 hours 45 minutes driving time from or house
Further info: http://www.miamibeach.com

Parrot Jungle
In Parrot Jungle and Gardens you will find exotic birds, domiciled in a marvelous garden. This is a special destination for children, since the birds may freely fly around and are very confiding to humans. It absolutely may happen that one of the parrots takes a sea on your shoulders. (Open daily from 9.30 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
Address: 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami
Approximately 160 miles – 2 hours 40 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (305) 666-7834
Further info: http://parrotjungle.com/jsps/

Miami Seaquarium
This is the small-edition of Sea-World in Orlando but much closer and definitely cozier! This old-fashioned but friendly sea-life park built in the fifties onto Virginia Key hosts more than 10,000 different sea animals. Also some Flipper-movies were taken in this location.
Particularly you should visit the shows with killer whale “Lolita”, the sea lions and the dolphins.
Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne
Approximately 160 miles – 2 hours 40 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (305) 361-5705
Further info: http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/index.htm

Overseas Highway (US 1)
The Florida Keys are sort of first precursors of the Caribbean located directly off-shore Florida. Stringed like a necklace, coral-islands one after the other extend over more than 120 miles, and a truly paradisiacal Highway, the US1 (also called "Overseas Highway" or "Highway of dreams") takes you from Miami onto Key West, which is the last link of the chain and the southern most point of continental USA. The road takes you along bays, palms, small villages and marinas over narrow islands and slightly wider islands across the sea passing 42 - partially very impressing - bridge constructions, the longest of them the Seven Miles Bridge.
Directions: Towards Miami, and then from Miami follow the directions to Key West.
Further info: http://www.fla-keys.com/

Theater- of the Sea
An experience that offers unequaled opportunities is the "Theater of the Sea", offering a lot of fun for the young and the young at heart. The more than 17 acres big animal-paradise definitely is worth a trip. In huge basins which are designed like seawater lagoons you can admire tropical fishes, sharks and sea lions. The special event: Swimming with the dolphins. "Trainer for one day", an experience that will last in your memories forever.
Address: Islamorada, approx. 74 miles south of Miami on US 1
Telephone: (305) 664-2431
Further info: http://www.theaterofthesea.com/

Key West
Key West is the southernmost island and at the same time the southernmost point of the USA. It is the last bigger island of the Florida Keys, which extend from mainland Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. In the days of the cold war it used to be a naval base. The island has a certain strategic role, since it is just 60 miles to Cuba.
Also interesting to see is the development of the bridges in-between the Florida Keys. Originally a railroad company gave the order to make the Florida Keys accessible. At this the bridge construction was started from mainland as well as on the other hand from Key West. It is funny to study the point in which the two bridge constructions meet. The one engineer favored an arch bridge construction whilst the other was building bridges in a trapeze form. Nowadays the railroad bridge is existing only in fragments, since it was destroyed by a hurricane. Hereupon a modern highway was built to Key West.
To fully enjoy the island you should plan a stay for at least two days. Ernest Hemmingway has declared the island to be his home. The abundant subtropical vegetation is evident on all of the island and the houses and villas have a certain Confederate-charm. Today the city serves mainly as a tourist attraction and countless hotels and apartments offer a multitude of places to stay overnight. To enjoy the full flair of this small town, you should visit the many hidden lanes and corners. Worth seeing: Duval Street, Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Southernmost Point and of course Sloppy Joe’s, which used to be the local of Hemmingway. Extremely important: Be at Mallory Square before sunset: Here every evening sunset is celebrated in a colorful and fair-style atmosphere.
Approximately 300 miles – 6 hours 10 minutes driving time from or house
Or much faster: Take the jetfoil from Fort Myers directly to Key West!
Further info: http://www.keywest.com/

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
Worth seeing and fascinating: Ernest Hemingway lived for thirty years on picturesque island Key West at the southernmost strips of the US. Visit the house of the great writer, in which more cats than humans lived. It was built in 1851 in the Spanish colonial style. In the isolated second floor of the summerhouse quite a few works of the world-famous Nobel Prize laureate were written.
Address: 907 Whitehead – Street, Key West.
Telephone: (305) 294-1136
Further info: http://www.hemingwayhome.com/

Disney World
Explore Walt Disney World® Resort – a magical place with four exciting theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and MGM-Studios) and two unbelievable water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon). Experience a world that is as big as your imagination and create memories which will last for life.
Address: Disney World, Orlando
Approximately 190 miles – 3 hours 15 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (407) 939-6244
Further info: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index

Universal Studios® Movie Theme Park
Go behind the scenes and "Ride the Movies®"! In this real working Film- und TV-Studio an unbelievable number of rides, shows, sceneries and attractions will put you straight into the favorite scene of your favorite film. This is the number 1 film studio theme park in the world!
Address: Universal Boulevard, Orlando
Approximately 195 miles – 3 hours 15 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (407) 363-8000
Further info:
http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/orlando/website/index.html?__source=UO.REDIR

Sea World
There's no place on Earth like SeaWorld® Orlando! Where else can you challenge thrill-a-second rides one minute and count the teeth on a shark the next? Feed the dolphins, take in an incredible performance, and just try to stay dry when the world famous Shamu® comes a-splashing! SeaWorld Orlando - it just doesn't get any closer than this.
Address: Sea World, Orlando
Approximately 190 miles – 3 hours 15 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (407) 351-3600
Further info: http://www.4adventure.com/seaworld/fla/default.aspx

Ripley’s Believe it or not!
If you have an interest in the strange, the unusual, the interesting, the odd and the just plain weird, you have certainly come to the right place!
Address: 8201 International Drive, Orlando
Approximately 190 miles – 3 hours 15 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (407) 345-0501
Further info: http://www.ripleys.com/dialup/orlando.html

Kennedy Space Center
Your Florida vacation is not complete without a trip to Kennedy Space Center. This is NASA’s launch headquarters – the only place on Earth where you can tour launch areas, meet an astronaut, see giant rockets, train in space flight simulators and even view a launch.
Experience more on your vacation to Florida with a daytrip to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where the sky isn't the limit - it's just the beginning.
Address: NASA Parkway East, Orsino
Approximately 250 miles – 4 hours 20 minutes driving time from or house
Telephone: (321) 449-4444
Further info: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Daytona Beach
The fans of car racing and all motorbike enthusiasts have their meeting point here, because Daytona Beach is the home of NASCAR. Moreover there is the race track of the Daytona International Speedway and the interactive DAYTONA USA. You may drive by car on the vivid and mile-long beach!
Approximately 260 miles – 4 hours 15 minutes driving time from or house
Further infor: http://www.daytonabeach.com

St. Augustine
Founded by the Europeans in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest permanently populated city in the United States. The variety of museums, the attractions high in history and the historical places of interest tell the fascinating story of this place.
Approximately 310 miles – 5 hours driving time from or house
Further info: http://www.visitoldcity.com/


General info for excursions within Florida:
Can be found under: http://www.posted-on-inter.net/florida/

© 2004-2011 Markus und Sonja Müller

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