topic Re: Florida side trip ideas? in Community Chat

Florida side trip ideas?

Marybella — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:05:21 GMT

DH and I will be in Florida for the month of March. We will be staying near Daytona Beach. We are not people who want to sit by the pool each day and would like ideas of some day, or two-day trips to see the state. Is there any area that we should make sure to see while we are there? Where is your favorite spot in Florida?

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

lolakimono — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:11:37 GMT

You should go to the Dalí museum!

http://thedali.org/

And eat at any of The Columbia Restaurant locations!

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Burnsite — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:12:36 GMT

Saint Augustine is in closer distance to Daytona and it is a wonderful place. They have outlet malls to the west near I-95 as well.

The Space Coast is also in striking distance, with tours of the Shuttle facilities and a museum. (I should say I have never been there, but I have heard it is lots of fun.)

Orlando is a few hours drive away, with the theme parks.

My favorite place to visit in FL is Key West, but that is a few hundred miles away from where you'll be. If you do visit there, don't miss Hemingway's house and the Truman Little White House at the old Naval base.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

I am still oxox — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:14:38 GMT

On 2/18/2015 lolakimono said:
You should go to the Dalí museum!

http://thedali.org/

And eat at any of The Columbia Restaurant locations!

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/

We did both when we stayed near Tampa, the Columbia Restaurant was great

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

esmeraldagooch — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:17:20 GMT

NASA Kennedy space center. Right before you get to the entrance STOP at the Valiant air command warbird museum. One of the best we've seen. Daytona speedway tour and ride on the track Richard Petty driving experience. Sanibel island with pink sand and shells.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Mi47 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:19:04 GMT

St Augustine fl. Would be a nice day trip. It's north of Daytona beach. If u go, I sugguest u take the city tour trams. The tour takes u to all the sights, u get off, tour the sight and another tram will pick u up to go onto the next sight. U can stay on or get off, your choice. A nice restaurant is Columbia. Cuban style. It's located in old town. Old town is a nice place to walk around. There is the Flagler museum. If u like to shop, there r two outlet malls on I95. If u have the time, take A1A south back to Daytona, very pretty ride. I pretty sure st Augustine has a web site, get more info. Hope this helps. Been there many times and enjoy the city.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

terrier3 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:16:26 GMT

We stay every year near there at Ponce Inlet.

You can climb to the top of the lighthouse and go to the seafood places on the water...have some local seafood and watch the dolphins jump!

It's just 20-30 minutes south of Daytona.

We usually spend a day at Disneyworld too...t's not too far away and it's great without children!

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Lucky Charm — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:04:14 GMT

How bout Cuba?

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Caffeina — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:13:53 GMT

If nature, animals, and a glass-bottom boat ride are your thing, I recommend visiting Silver Springs.

www.floridasprings.org/visit/map/silver springs

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Helen852 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:25:34 GMT

250 miles north is Savannah Ga. A wonderful place to spend time.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

I am still oxox — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:30:03 GMT

On 2/18/2015 I am still oxox said:
On 2/18/2015 lolakimono said:
You should go to the Dalí museum!

http://thedali.org/

And eat at any of The Columbia Restaurant locations!

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com/

We did both when we stayed near Tampa, the Columbia Restaurant was great

Also in the same area is the ClearWater Marine Aquarium where Winter and Hope Dolphins live. Their rescues were told in Dolphin Tale 1 and 2.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

FrostyBabe — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:44:50 GMT

I'm definitely a beach person, but there's plenty to do on the west coast from Tampa down to Sarasota to keep you busy for several days.

Ybor City and Tarpon Springs near Tampa are always fun places to visit. If you're into theme parks, Busch Gardens in Tampa will easily fill an entire day.

In the Sarasota/Bradenton area, the barrier islands of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are fun to explore, but will be extremely crowded in March.

Mote Aquarium and St. Armands Circle in Sarasota (at the south end of Longboat Key) are very close to each other. I'm a member at Mote and always take guests there for a day. St. Armands has great up-scale shopping and restaurants and is lots of fun for people watching. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota are beautiful. The Ringling museum and Ca d'Zan Mansion are located together in Sarasota and could easily occupy a full day.

If you want an up close experience with manatees you could snorkel with them at Crystal River north of Tampa. Myakka State Park outside of Sarasota has both boat and tram tours. If you're really adventerous, they have a very cool canopy walk, but there is some climbing involved.

If you're into baseball, there's spring training in Tampa, Bradenton and Sarasota. If you enjoy hockey, there's an NHL team in Tampa.

Enjoy!

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Justice4all — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 04:48:43 GMT

Lola, just took the virtual tour -wow- would love to see the current Pablo/Salvador exhibit. Thanks

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

lolakimono — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 04:55:26 GMT

On 2/18/2015 Justice4all said: Lola, just took the virtual tour -wow- would love to see the current Pablo/Salvador exhibit. Thanks

I've been there twice. Once, when it was in transition, and again when the new building was built. I really like it. His paintings are like Escher, where after the docent explains the painting you start to see several layers, sometimes as many as five. Some of his paintings are on such a large scale that it's hard to believe he was able to manage the logistics.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

terrier3 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:04:40 GMT

My favorite spot in FLA is Sanibel Island, neat Fort Meyers.

The Red Sox will be in town in March (we go at the end of March).

The shelling is OUTSTANDING!!!!

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

brii — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:34:14 GMT

Tampa is beautiful. The Florida Aquarium is in Tampa. It's an awesome place to spend the day.

Our favorite place is Marco Island. We've stayed there many times. Naples is about a half an hour away. That's worth seeing too.

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Marybella — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 20:51:46 GMT

Thanks, everyone! I knew I would get lots of great ideas from this board! Appreciate all your comments!

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

ms traditional — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 02:33:07 GMT

Captiva Island

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

~Serendipity~ — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 12:40:47 GMT

Siesta Key and Longboat Key

Re: Florida side trip ideas?

Autumn in NY — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 14:37:18 GMT

All of these suggestions are great. Enjoy your trip!