Travel Information for Florida Hotel Guests
If you are searching for an inn, hotel, motel or resort near a Florida attraction, amusement and theme parks, or close to shopping, cultural events, historic sites, museums and performing arts centers, or nearby zoos, a festival, a golf course, a Florida state park, this is where you will find it.
FLORIDA is famed not only for its beaches, its theme parks, its glitz and its glamor, or as a shopper's paradise, but also has astonishing fishing and birdlife and is home to some 4,000 miles of nature trails suitable for hiking, biking, canoeing and kayaking. Thousands of festivals celebrate Florida's rich history and diverse culture.
Take a walking tour of Historic Fernandina Beach given by the Amelia Island Museum of History on AMELIA ISLAND.
In the heart of Florida's EVERGLADES visit the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation; nearby is The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.
At CHARLOTTE HARBOR & THE GULF ISLANDS visit The Fishermen’s Village, a waterfront complex in PUNTA GORDA. Historic Park/Old Punta Gorda are historic buildings set in a park-like environment; the Babcock/Webb Wildlife Management Area is 65,000 acres managed to maximize wildlife.
CLEARWATER's island beaches and large recreational fishing fleet make it one of Florida's most popular vacation spots; Brooker Creek is an 8,500-acre wildlife preserve northeast of Clearwater.
In CORAL GABLES, The Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami presents 13 exhibits annually with a collection spanning 5,000 years of art; the Fairchild Tropical Garden is a living museum with collections of palms, cycads, and other tropical plants.
The IGFA headquarters in DANIA BEACH includes the Fishing Hall Of Fame and Museum.
DAYTONA BEACH is one of the premier surfing spots on the East Coast but there are interactive activities at Daytona USA "The Ultimate Motorsports Attraction"; Haunts of the World's Most Famous Beach ghost tours is owned and operated by a certified ghost hunter.
EVERGLADES CITY nestles between Everglades National Park , Big Cypress National Preserve and the 10,000 Islands; the Museum of the Everglades showcases Florida's history.
FLORIDA'S SPACE COAST is spread along 72 miles of Atlantic beaches; here unspoiled nature preserves exist in perfect harmony with several space-age attractions.
FT. LAUDERDALE is the "Venice of America", a city of islands held together by an intricate web of canals, rivers, bays and waterways hundreds of miles long. Among its attractions are the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Stranahan House, a restored Victorian-style home that had been the city's trading post, town hall, and post office, Bonnet House, a 35-acre subtropical, historical museum, and the Museum of Discovery & Science; the airboats of Grass River Adventures take visitors deep into the heart of the Everglades.
Attractions in FT. MYERS, called the "City of Palms" because of its palm-lined avenues, include The Fort Myers Historical Museum and the Imaginarium Hands-On Museum & Aquarium; the Edison/Ford Winter Estates is a combination of the historic winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.
GAINESVILLE attractions include the Northeast Historic District, a 63-square-block area of 290 historic buildings, and Morningside Nature Center exploring the lifestyle of a Florida family farmer of 100 years ago; nearby, Paynes Prairie State Preserve is the site of a wildlife sanctuary where a rare herd of buffalo roams.
The GULF BEACHES of Tampa Bay rank consistently among the top ten in the world. Each town along the coast has its own character, from Belleair Beach down to St. Pete Beach.
GULF COUNTY includes Mexico Beach and the barrier islands. Located on Florida's Southwest Coast, just south of Tampa Bay, Florida's GULF ISLANDS of Anna Maria and Longboat Key and the Bradenton Area are easily accessible by automobile as well as two major international airports; Gulf Islands National Seashore, stretching from Mississippi to Florida, is a paradise for beach lovers.
ISLAMORAD, the “Sportfishing Capital of the World”, has a vast collection of shipwreck artifacts at the Somewhere In Time Treasure Museum.
JACKSONVILLE, Florida's River City by the Sea, has a riverfront festive marketplace and miles of uncrowded beaches.; attractions include a Budweiser Brewery Tour, the Museum of Science and History, and the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH has family entertainment at Adventure Landing/Shipwreck Island Waterpark. There are miles of unspoiled sandy beaches at JENSEN BEACH on Hutchinson Island.
KEY LARGO is known as the diving capital of the world and is home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, a spectacular underwater park.
KEY WEST visitors can relive more than 450 years of history aboard one of Key West's most popular attractions, the Conch Tour Train, or visit the Key West Shipwreck Historeum, and the home and gardens of the Ernest Hemingway Home.
Almost 70 miles west off Key West lies a cluster of seven islands, composed of coral reefs and sand, called the DRY TORTUGAS; along with the surrounding shoals and waters, they make up Dry Tortugas National Park, accessible on the Dry Tortugas National Park Adventure Ferry.
On the doorstep of Central Florida's major attractions, KISSIMMEE has a few of its own, including the World of Orchids, the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, and Old Town, a shopping, dining and entertainment attraction.
MELBOURNE attractions include the Liberty Bell Memorial Museum, Brevard Museum of Art and Science, and Brevard Zoo for jaguars, llamas, kangaroos, wallabies, exotic birds and red wolves; Historic Downtown Melbourne provides a picturesque but busy setting reminiscent of Florida's past; the Henegar Center for the Arts and the Phoenix Theater offer live theater. From the chic and cultured to the diverse and outrageous,
MIAMI's attractions include the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Miami Museum of Science & Space Transit Planetarium and the Miami Seaquarium; the Parrot Jungle and Gardens is a tropical bird sanctuary, wildlife habitat and botanical garden; at the South Beach is a revitalized Art Deco District; Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is an Italian Renaissance-style villa with antique furnishings and decorative arts.
NAPLES has a long history as a winter retreat for the rich and famous; the nature center of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida provides ways to explore Southwest Florida's natural environment; the Caribbean Gardens offers mature foliage surrounding animal exhibits; the Teddy Bear Museum of Naples is a whimsical "dream home for teddy bears" which has nearly 4,000 bears.
OCALA, “The Horse Capital of the World”, has some of Ocala's finest horse farms and can be seen by horse-drawn carriage or trolley wagon.
OKEECHOBEE, the Gateway to South Florida, offers outdoor recreation and wildlife viewing; Lake Okeechobee, the second largest inland lake in the US, is the #1 big bass lake in the south.
With more than 90 attractions to choose from, ORLANDO is one good time after another.
The world’s major theme parks call Orlando home. Walt Disney World is at LAKE BUENA VISTA with four theme parks. Visitors can live a storybook fantasy at the Magic Kingdom, step into the bright lights at Disney MGM Studio, explore the unpredictable world of animals at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and touch the future and travel the world at Epcot. Downtown Disney is an entertainment, dining and shopping complex, and The Disney Institute is a resort where guests take classes in activities like cooking, golf, rock climbing and animation; Universal Orlando has two theme parks, Islands of Adventure with five "islands" of rides and attractions, and Universal Studios, the largest working movie studio outside of Hollywood with more than 40 rides, shows and attractions. Universal Orlando’s CityWalk is a 30-acre dining, shopping and entertainment mecca. Another major theme park is the SeaWorld Adventure Park Orlando. Other attractions include Gatorland with live educational and entertaining shows, Pointe*Orlando, another shopping, dining and entertainment complex, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, Skull Kingdom, a haunted castle with live actors, and Wet 'n Wild waterpark; at the hands-on WordSpring Discovery Center guests explore the world of languages, cultures and Bible translation. You can see Orlando and the Central Florida countryside with Magic Sunrise Ballooning or just see how it all works from the ground on the Orlando Mapping System. At Lake Buena Vista visitors can drive a stockcar at the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
North of Orlando at SANFORD, visitors can explore the world of nature at Lake Monroe’s Central Florida Zoological Park.
With over 150 courses, PALM BEACH COUNTY claims the title of "Florida's Golf Capital".
PANAMA CITY is one of the "100 Best Small Art Towns in America" and host to a variety of local treasures like the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida.
The sun shines 320 days a year on PANAMA CITY BEACH's 27 miles of snow white sand; it’s always showtime at Gulf World Marine Park and for the kids there is Coconut Creek Family Entertainment.
PENSACOLA is an historic and picturesque city known as the "City of Five Flags” and reminders of its varied heritage can be seen in the Historic District and the Civil War Soldiers Museum; to the west of Pensacola is the Naval Air Station, which boasts the world-renowned National Museum of Naval Aviation. The hub of Santa Rosa Island, first discovered centuries ago by Spanish conquistadors, PENSACOLA BEACH is home to the protected Gulf Islands National Seashore; nearby Pensacola Village is a museum complex which brings the romantic heritage of Northwest Florida to life.
More than 100 life-sized model dinosaurs are displayed in a natural landscape at PLANT CITY's Dinosaur World.
SANIBEL and CAPTIVA ISLANDS are neighbors on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida. Connected to the mainland by a three-mile-long scenic drive across a causeway, Old Town Sanibel with its quaint village shops is just footsteps away from its world-famous shelling beaches; more than 200 varieties of shells litter the beaches.
SARASOTA is a haven for artists, thespians and musicians; attractions include the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, a 22-gallery art museum, Museum of the Circus and the Ringling's mansion; the Sarasota Jungle Gardens has jungle animal exhibits.
With its old-world charm, "The Nation's Oldest City", ST. AUGUSTINE, is one of Florida's top vacation destinations; attractions include the residents and craftspeople of mid-18th century St. Augustine at the Spanish Quarter Village and at the Old Florida Museum; the IMAX Theater-World Golf Village includes the World Golf Hall of Fame; at the Oldest House (Gonzalez-Alvarez House) 400 years of history are waiting to be explored – the Oldest Store Museum is a turn-of-the-century general store-turned-museum. Other entertaining attractions are Potter's Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum, and the St. Augustine Alligator Farm; St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum is an active aid to navigation as well as a maritime museum; see St. Augustine from the air with Old City Helicopters.
The 4,400-acre wilderness preserve Forever Florida at ST. CLOUD includes a working cattle ranch. ST. LUCIE COUNTY includes Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie and Hutchinson Island; the PGA Village, on Florida’s Treasure Coast in Port St. Lucie, features the award-winning PGA Golf Club, PGA Learning Center, PGA Historical Center and PGA Education Center.
ST. PETERSBURG attractions include The Pier with food, shopping and entertainment, the Salvador Dali Museum which showcases the most comprehensive collection of Dali works in the world, the Museum of Fine Arts, and The Florida International Museum which provides major educational, cultural and historical exhibitions.
At SUNRISE, Gameworks has been created as the quintessential entertainment destination.
The kaleidoscope of activity in TAMPA BAY ranges from its port brimming with shrimp boats, banana barges and cruise ships, to its festive marketplaces, and its multi-ethnic restaurants and shops; attractions include Adventure Island, a family waterpark, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a 335-acre African-themed family entertainment park, Florida Aquarium, and MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry). Visitors are beckoned to another era by historic YBOR CITY, once the "Cigar Capital of the World"; today, Ybor City is a shopping, dining and entertainment district; the state museum offers a look into the area's ethnic past with a glimpse into how the typical cigar worker lived.
On the shore of the Indian River, TITUSVILLE is also known as the Intracoastal Waterway; among its attractions are the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex which tells the story of NASA's exploration of space.
Spanning the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and most of Florida Bay, EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK is the only subtropical preserve in North America; Miccosukee Indian Village is in the heart of The Everglades.
WINTER HAVEN is in Central Florida’s region of freshwater lakes; the carillon tower at Bok Tower Gardens, surrounded by 157 acres of gardens, houses 57 bronze bells ranging in weight from 17 pounds to nearly 12 tons; visitors can come nose-to-propeller with an array of vintage aircraft at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City and the American Water Ski Hall of Fame depicts the history of water skiing and champion skiers.
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