South Florida Area Attractions - TouristFlorida.com

Bradenton Area

South Florida Museum Parker Manatee Aquarium

Captiva Island

Captiva Cruises (to Captiva, Sanibel and other islands)

The Florida Keys

The Keys are islands off of the southern tip of the Florida peninsula famous for their coral reefs,excellent diving opportunies, boating, fishing and their proximity to Cuba.

Key Largo - where the Key Largo National Maritime Sanctuary can be found. There are some hotelsand just to the north of the Sanctuary is J. Pennecamp Coral Reef Park and hotels.

Tavernier

Plantation Key

Islamorada is well-known for its sport fishing, its Theater of the Sea 305-664-2431, at 84721Overseas Hwy, is where you can interact with a dolphin or sea lion or swim with stingrays.

Layton and adjoining Long Key State Park

Marathon Key has the lengthy Seven Mile Bridge and adjoining Key Conony Beach.

Bahia Honda and Bahia Honda State Park

Big Pine Key

Saddlebunch Keys

Boca Chica Key and the U.S. Naval Air Station and

Key West has a rich nautical past and offers quaint Victorian style houses, some of which were livedin by famous people such as Ernest Hemingway, James Audobon, Harry S. Truman, TennesseeWilliams and Robert Frost, and is the southernmost city in the continental U.S.A.. It offers manytourist attractions including Key West Museum of Art and History, Ernest Hemmingway's HomeMuseum, 305-294-1136, 907 Whitehead St., which offers tours of the late authors National HistoricLandmark home and gardens; Also available is The Key West Lighthouse Museum, the East MartelloFort Museum. Theres also Ripley's Believe it or Not; Key West's oldest house Wrecker's Museum,322 Duval St. where you can learn about the history of their ship salvaging industry, the SchoonerWestern Union which is 130 ft. long and sails daily. At Historic Mallory Square you'll find Key WestShipwreck Historium and famed treasure hunter Mel Fischer's Maritime Heritage Society Museum,and Key West Aquarium - 305-296-2051, One Whitehead St., 33040, where you can see marine lifenative to the Keys, it's also a stop on the Conch Tour Train which brings you on a 90 minute tour of

the many Key West attractions.

Also consider visiting the internet sites (not affiliated with us) of:

Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce

Marathon Chamber of Commerce

Official Tourism Council Website for the Florida Keys

Fort Lauderdale Area

Beaches - Some of the world famous beaches you will find in this area include: Fort LauderdaleBeach with its International Swimming Hall of Fame and Beach Promenade; Dania Beach with DaniaPier, Hollywood Beach Boardwalk, Hallandale, Lauderdale by-the-Sea, Aventura, Pompano Beachwith the Pompano Pier and just to the north is Lighthouse Point with its Hillsborough Lighthouse,and Deerfield Beach with its own pier as well.

Big Cypress Seminole Reservation - 1-800-949-6101 - Only an hour's drive west of Fort Lauderdale.Some of what they offer includes the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Native American Museum, 941-902-1113displaying the life and culture and history of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Billie SwampSafari which offers eco-tours of the Everglades.

Bonnet House - Ft. Lauderdale - 954-563-5393 - 900 N. Birch Blvd

Buchler Planetarium - Ft. Lauderdale - 954-475-6680 - On the Broward Community College MainCampus.

Butterfly World - Coconut Creek - 954-977-4400 - See thousands of Butterflies in a tropical gardenenvironment. They also have hummingbirds.

Dania Jai-Alai - Dania Beach - 954-920-1511 - Wagering on people who throw a ball at 180 m.p.h..They also have Poker Tables, simulcast pari-mutuel thoroughbred horse betting, a sports bar and aClubhouse Restaurant fine dining where you can bet right from your table. 301 E. Dania Beach Blvd.

Everglades Holiday Park - Ft. Lauderdale - 1-800-226-2244 or 954-434-8111 - Airboat tours,camping, fishing, boating and alligator shows. 21940 Griffin Road

Flamingo Gardens Wray Botanical Collection - Davie/Ft. Lauderdale - 954-473-2955 - 60 acres ofgardens with rare and exotic plants. They have, of course, flamingos, a free flight aviary, anEverglades wildlife santuary with rare birds of prey, alligators, citrus grove tourse, the historic Wrayhome (built in 1933), food, garden and gift shops and you can buy gift citrus. 3750 Flamingo Rd.Davie FL 33330

Graves Museum of Archaeology Natural History - Dania Beach - 954-925-7770 - 481 S. Federal Hwy

Hugh Taylor Birch State Recreation Area - 954-564-4521

IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame Museum - 954-922-4212 - Dania Beach - Hands-on VR exhibits, awetlands walk over 4 acres, a movie called "Journeys" and more.

JungleQueen Riverboat® - Ft. Lauderdale Beach - 954-462-5596 - A really nice looking sightseeingriverboat which also has dinner cruises.

Malibu Grand Prix - 954-921-1411 - Go cart racing, bumper boats, Skycoaster and the Blender rides,family fun center and more.

Museum of Art - Ft. Lauderdale - 954-525-5500 - One East Las Olas Blvd.

Museum of Discovery Science/Blockbuster IMAX Theater - Ft. Lauderdale - 954-467-6637 - 401 SWSecond St., 33312

Native Village Tours - Hollywood - 954-961-4519 - 3551 N. State Rd. 7

Seminole Okalee Indian Village Museum - Fort Lauderdale - 954-792-1213 - 5845 South State Rd. 7

Sawgrass Recreation Park - 1-800-457-0788 or 954-389-0202 - Camping, boat rentals, airboat tours,see alligators and birds of prey and other reptiles. N. Hwy 27

Stranahan House - Ft. Lauderdale - 954-524-4736 - The oldest home in Fort Lauderdale, thismuseum is furnished in late 19th- early 20th-century antiques. Las Olas Blvd, 33301

Ft. Myers

Broadway Palm Dinner Theater (Ft. Myers)

Miami Area Attractions

American Police Hall of Fame Police Museum - 305-573-0070 - Over 10,000 items on display withunusual police vehicles, a real guillotine, sit in Florida's electric chair and a gas chamber, photoopportunities "in-jail", a video theater, uniforms and firearms dating back to the 18th century, apolice memorial wall and even an original science fiction car from the movie "Blade Runner". 3801Biscayne Blvd.

Art Museum at Florida International University - 305-348-2890 - FREE ADMISSION! SW 8th St. and107th Ave.

Bass Museum of Art - 305-673-7530 - 2121 Park Ave. Miami Beach

Beaches - World famous for its beaches, Miami's coastline offers exciting shorelines with warmturquoise colored waters. We'll start from the south and move north. South Beach with its hip/chicArt Deco District has wonderful art-deco style, pastel colored Hotels and storefronts, althoughdriving here (and in most of Miami) is an interesting test of your skills. Just to the north is the JackieGleason Theater of the Performing Arts, The Holocaust Memorial, The Miami Beach ConventionCenter and the Bass Museum of Art. At Miami Beach itself there is the fairly lengthy boardwalk andlots of wonderful people. We recently were in Miami during its famous Annual Boat Show andparking was $20, so we went just north to Surfside where there is inexpensive (and available)parking and the beach is just as nice, but less populated. Just to the north of that is Bal Harbour,Sunny Isles and Golden Beach.

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area - 305-361-226-2244 - Cape Florida Lighthouse islocated here.

Biscayne National Park - 305-230-7275

Charles Deering Estate - 305-235-1668 -16701 SW 72nd Ave.

Coopertown Airboat Tours - 305-226-6048 - 22700 SW 8th St. - Airboat tours of the Everglades.

Coral Castle - 305-248-6344 - 28655 S.Dixie Hwy

Cruise Ships - One of the largest cruise ship ports(and containership ports) in the world is locatedjust to the south of South Beach. If you are departing on a cruise, see our Cruise Ship Tips. Thecruise ship lines leaving this port are numerous, once we figure out who most of them are, we'll listthem here, in the mean-time, consider planning your cruise with a travel agent or the very helpfulCruise Lines International Association's site.

Everglades Alligator Farm - Homestead, Fl. - 1-800-644-9711 or 305-247-2628

Everglades National Park - 305-242-7700

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden -305-667-1651 - 10901 Old Cutler Rd.

Gator Park - 1-800-559-2205 or 308-559-2255 - 24050 SW 8th St.

Gold Coast Railroad Museum - 305-253-0063 - 12450 SW 152nd St.

Historical Museum of Southern Florida - 305-375-1492 - 101 West Flagler St. Downtown Miami

Lowe Art Museum at University of Miami 305-284-3535 - 1301 Stanford Dr. Coral Gables

Miami Art Museum - 305-375-1700 - 101 W. Flagler St. (at the Metro Dade Cultural Center)

Miami Everglades Campground

Miami Metrozoo - 305-251-0400 - 12400 SW 152nd St.

Miami Museum of Science Space Transit Planetarium - 305-854-4247 - 3280 S. Miami Ave.

Miami River Historical Jungle Tours - 305-755-9055 - 300 Biscayne Blvd.

Miami Seaquarium - 305-361-5705 - 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key

Miccosukee Indian Village Airboat Tours - Miami - 305-223-8380 - See a native american villagelocated in the Everglades. They offer a museum, gift shop, airboat tours, crafts demonstrations,alligators and more. Hwy 41, 33194

Monkey Jungle - 305-235-1611 - See primates in a forest setting. They have chimpanzees, tamarinds,macaques and others. They have daily shows including macaques diving for crab meat. 14805 SW216th St

Parrot Jungle Island - 305-666-7834 - 11000 SW 57th Ave. - See their gardens too.

Spanish Monastery - 305-945-1461 - 16711 W. Dixie Hwy

Coral Gables Venetian Pool - 305-460-5356 - 3251 S. Miami Ave.

Vizcaya Museum Gardens - 305-250-9133 - Wow, this Italian Renaissance-style villa built in the early20th century and its surrounding gardens are impressive. James Deering, a famous industrialist,built an incredible bayfront winter residence which he only spent 9 winters in. We saw entire roomsfilled with 15th to 19th century objects, including some of the walls, floors and ceilings. We tooknote of the ultra-ornate Rococo-style furnishings (which I personally don't like) of some rooms, whilstothers had differing themes. There was an asian themed room with murals depicting early westernperceptions of the orient though trade. On the walking tour they bring you through the library whichhad an actual secret bookcase door which you walk through to a passage into another room. Mr.Deering had a giant pipe organ constructed (which was recently restored, fully functions, and hasoccassional performances played on it.) and he even had his own private elevator. The scale of theestate is immense, aside from the large main villa, there are over 10 acres of formal gardens withnumerous fountains and sculptures. There is even a large stone ship just off shore of a waterfrontreminiscent of Venice. As a whole this estate is eclectic in its artistic styles, but somehow it is allunified because of its consistantly garish presentation that has to be seen to be appreciated. When Ilooked at their brochure I wasn't impressed, but when we asked some friends of ours what was oneof the most important things to see in the Miami area, they said Vizcaya, and they were right,because even if the art styles rub you the wrong way, you can't help but be impressed by theinvestment of so much money for the sake of ornate surroundings. Even the Pope once stayed thereand Presidents have met there. Their museum shop and cafe are very interesting (not typical for apopular museum); they have buyers who go to estate sales to bring rare trinkets to the store for re-sale, and they also have a few fine-art reproductions available too. 3251 S. Miami Ave

Weeks Air Museum - 305-233-5197 - see classic aircraft. Kendall-Tamiami Airport (southwest Miami)

Wolfsonian Museum - 305-531-1001 - 1001 Washington Ave. Miami Beach

Naples

Collier County Museums (2 miles from downtown Naples)

Carribean Gardens, the Zoo in Naples

Naples Princess Cruises

Palm Beach Area Attractions

Adventure Times Kayaking (site is under development) - West Palm Beach - (561)881-7218 - 521Northlake Blvd.

Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens - West Palm Beach - 561-832-5328 - at 253 Barcelona Rd.

Bloods Hammock Citrus Groves - Delray Beach - (561)498-3400 - They offer tours of their fullyproducing Citrus Farm. 4549 Linton Blvd.

Boca Raton Museum of Art - 561-392-2500 - at 1703 S. Lake Ave.

Children's Museum at Boca Raton - (561)368-6875 - 498 Crawford Blvd.

Florida History Center Museum - Jupiter - (561)747-6639 - 805 N. US Hwy 1

Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre - Boca Raton - (561)338-1473 - Offering visitors an intimateperspective of awesome mother nature. 1801 N. Ocean Blvd.

Hibel Museum of Art - Palm Beach - 561-848-9633 - at 150 Royal Poinciana Plaza

International Museum of Cartoon Art - Boca Raton - (561)391-2200 - at 201 Plaza Real

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse - 561-747-8380 - at 500 Capt. Armours Way.

Lion Country Safari - West Palm Beach - (561)793-1084 - at 2003 Lion Country Safari Rd.

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge - Boynton Beach - (561)734-8303 - 10216 Lee Rd.

Marine Life Center at Loggerhead Park in Juno Beach - (561)627-8280 - 1200 US Hwy 1

Morikami Museum Japanese Gardens - 561-495-0233 - at 4000 Morikami Park Rd.

Mounts Botanical Garden - West Palm Beach - (561)233-1749 - 531 N. Military Trl.

Norton Museum of Art - West Palm Beach - 561-832-5196 - at 1451 S. Olive Ave.

Okeeheelee Nature Center - West Palm Beach - (561)233-1400 - 7715 Forest Hill Blvd.

Palm Beach Cruise Line - Port of Palm Beach - 1-800-841-7447 - featuring the Palm Beach Princesscasino/entertainment cruise ship.

Palm Beach Zoo - West Palm Beach - 561-547-WILD or - 561-547-9453 - at Dreher Park.

Puppetry Arts Center - Boynton Beach - 561-687-3280 - at 3633 S. Fed. Hwy

Rapids Waterslide Mini-Golf - West Palm Beach - 561-848-6272 - at 6566 N. Military Trl.

S.D. Spady Cultural Arts Museum - Delray Beach - 561-279-8883 - at 17 N.W. 4th Ave.

SkyDance Air Tours - Skydance Air Tours provides unforgettable scenic tours in a bright yellowopen-cockpit biplane over the beaches, mansions, waterways and wildlife of Palm Beach County.

South Florida Science Museum - West Palm Beach - 561-832-1988 - 4801 Dreher Trl N.

Will Museum, Lawrence E. - Belle Grande - 561-996-3453 - at 530 S. Main St.

Punta Gorda

Babcock Wilderness Adventures (Punta Gorda)

Regional

Orchids Egrets Eco-Tours (Southwest FL)

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