We nearly made the very tough decision to miss Key West given we have been there before and it adds on about 4 days to our trip but it was were we got engaged over 7 years ago so didn't seem right not paying it a visit on our Honeymoon.
We are driving through the Everglades twice, firstly from Miami down towards Key West and then going from Key West over to the West Coast. Last time we drove through the Everglades, it was during as massive storm and we were both too scared of getting out of the car and exploring in case we were struck by lightening! Hopefully this time we can see a bit more of this National Park and maybe get in some trials.
We haven't completely missed all the theme parks in Florida, we're actually going to see a natural theme park, Ichetucknee Springs State Park. This park contains a natural lazy river. You can hire a tube (blow up doughnut thing) and lazily flow down the river for 2 hours before being picked up by a train which takes you back to the beginning. Sounds like our type of theme park!
| State: | Florida |
| Towns of Interest: (FB) = Firebreak | Miami (FB) Key West Fort Myers St Augustine Tampa Pensacola |
| National Parks: | Biscayne National Park Dry Tortugas National Park The Everglades National Park |
| State Parks of Interest: | The Barnacle Historic State Park (Miami) Bahia Honda State Park (Keys) Ichetucknee Springs State Park (Gulf Coast) |
| Places of Interest: (N) = Night Stay | Miami Airport / Downtown (Nx3) Downtown The Metro Mover (10 minute shuttle around Miami - best way to see downtown) Bayside Market Place (Eating, drinking, shopping - best place to park downtown) Bicayne Bay Boat Trips (completed previously - will not repeat) Little Havana (11th - 17th Avenues- Cuban area of Miami) Coral Gables and Coconut Grove Coral Gables Driving Tour (14 miles - best counterclockwise on Sun and Wed) - See Screenshot from book Coconut Grove Village (Pretty village to drive around) Dinner Key (Huge Marina and Sea Plane Base) Shrine Our Lady of Charity / Ermita De La Caridad (Church - First turn north of Mercy Hospital) Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (Italian Renaissance-style villa and formal gardens) The Barnacle Historic State Park (A glimpse of frontier life during The Era of the Bay) Airboat Tour (Buffalo Tiger Airboat Tours) The Everglades National Park (Towards Keys - 76 mile round trip) Ernest F Coe Visitor Center (Best place to start in the park - there is a good video giving an overview of the park) Royal Palm Visitor Center (Located at 4 miles - there are two short trails here that are worth a stroll - Gumbo Limbo Trail and Anhinga) Anhinga Trail (1/2 mile trail along a broadwalk which skirts the shallow freshwater slough. Home to 18 dfferent grasses and flowers, you will certainly see alligators and birds including the one the trail is named after. If there is one running, it is worth doing the ranger led version of the trail - times for this at the Vistor Center) Gumbo Limbo Trail (1/2 mile trail, named for a tree whose peeling red bark gives it another name: tourist tree. The trail takes you to a hammock, an elevated island of tropical hardwood - including gumbo limbos and stranger figs - in a sea of saw grass) Pinelands Trail (Located 7 miles along the road, this 0.75 trail takes you through the pines that once covered Florida) Pinnacle Rock (A very short broadwalk stroll that leads to this sample of the porous limestone that is Southern Florida's bedrock) Pa-hay-Okee Overlook (At mile 13, this overlook meaning "grassy waters" is the Indian name for the Everglades. A boardwalk takes you to a shaded observation stage where you can look out on a seemingly endless prairie of grassy waters) Mahogany Hammock Trail (Located at 19.5 miles, this is where a broadwalk leads to the largest living mahonany tree in the USA) Flamingo (Take a board tour from the Marina. It is 2 hours long and enters the Buttonwood Canal, built in 1957. Among the mangrove you should see crocodiles. The cruise crosses Coot Bay and enters White Water Bay, where backcountry canoeists camp on chickees, tent-size platforms raised on poles) Florida Bay (While you are waiting, take the self guided half-mile walk around the waterfront to see Florida Bay, a marine nursery protected by the park) If you want to stop for a picnic, try Paurotis Pond (at 24.5 miles), Nine Mile Pond (at 26.5 miles) or West Lake (at 30.5 miles) Homestead (N) Biscayne National Park Enterance a Convoy Point (Miami) Glass bottom cruise (3 hours) Dante Fascell Visitor Center Big Pine Key Bahia Honda State Park (N) National Key Deer Refuge Key West (Nx2) Southernmost Point Duval Street Dry Tortugas National Park Organised trips from Key West Garden Key Harbor Light Fort Jefferson - self guided tour Bush Key - Swim to or land bridge The Everglades National Park (Towards Naples - 49 miles one way) Follow The Tamiami Trail (US 41) Shark Valley Visitor Centre (15 mile loop road only accessible on foot, by bike or on a 2 hour narrated tour on a concessioner tram. Here you will see alligator trails leading to hammocks in sea grass, alligators and wading birds. A pathway leads to a 65 foot tower looking down on the vista that became the name: glades that seem to go on forever. Its a great place to spot turtles, alligators, wading birds, hawks and kites) Big Cypress Swamp National Preserve (Return to US 41 which veers northwards into this preserve which is part of the Everglades eco system. Most of the water flowing into the park comes through four floodgtes that you can see north of the highway along the park boundary. At Fla. 29, turn south for Everglades City) Oasis Visitor Center (visitor center for the Big Cypress Swamp National Preserve) Chokoloskee Everglades City (N) Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk The Gulf Coast Naples Sanibel Island (N) Captiva Island (Only visit if you have time - Sanibel has better shells on its beaches but Captiva has better restaurants for dinner. Plus the sunsets on Capitva Beach are very romantic. The beaches are quieter but parking is difficult) Periwinkle Way (Island's main thoroughfare is home to several restaurants and shopping opportunities. Consider purchasing a kitschy souvenir at Tiki Jim's, browsing for beaded jewelry at Valhalla and noshing on a char-grilled hot dog at Schnapper's Hots. Recommend renting a bike as there is a path that links all the shopping spots together) Bowman's Beach (well known for having beautiful, unusual shells, but you'll have to put a little effort into finding the true gems along this beach. Recent travelers found the best method is to step waist-deep in the water and dig your feet into the sand to find the shells. There are no public restrooms or refreshment stands and you should plan on bringing your own food instead of visiting one of the popular restaurants located about a mile down Bowman's Beach Road, as they can get pretty pricey. $2-an-hour parking fee by the shore) Sanibel Lighthouse (One of the first lighthouses on Florida's Gulf Coast, this station on the island's eastern end used to light the entrance into San Carlos Bay) J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Named after a political cartoonist and conservationist, the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge was originally meant to conserve the Sanibel Island mangrove forest. Now, the refuge (which occupies 6,300 acres of land or half the entire island) shelters those same mangroves, as well as animals like crocodiles, alligators and a countless number of birds. You can hike or bike through one of the many refuge trails or along the 4.5-mile Wildlife Drive, which is also open for vehicles and an open-air tram.) Sarasota (Drive along the really good beaches - suggest you stop here for some lunch and drink in one of the bars and restaurants that overlook the beaches) Chassahowitzka River (N) (Shallow river with tidal creeks, Oyster bars, Mangrove-populated keys and vast Saltmarsh - recommended to hire a canoe or paddleboard from the campsite to see the river) Ichetucknee Springs State Park (N) (Tubing amd Hiking) The Panhandle St. Joseph Peninsula State Park (N) (miles of white sand beaches, striking dune formations, a heavily forested interior, and a favorable climate for year-round outdoor recreation. The 2516 acre park is surrounded on two sides by the waters of St. Joseph's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. An isolated 1750 acre Wilderness Preserve occupies the tip of the peninsula) Panama City Beach (White sand and warm Gulf waters) Destin (Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, which gets its name from its beautiful, clear green water) Fort Pickens (State park on the beach with camping) (N) North East Mayport Ferry (Car ferry ever 30 mins approx $6 - use to avoid driving through Jacksonville) St Augustine (should be explored on foot) (Nx2) St George Street (Pedestrian shopping, dining, drinking area) City Gate (Old city gates) Plaza de la Constitucion (Central park) Miniature Tourist Train (Ripley's Red Train Tours - 90 minute tour of the city) Oldest Wodden School House Castillo de la San Marcos (Oldest masonry fort in the continental United States) St. Augustine Distillery Company (Free 30 minute tours) Miami Beach (Nx2) |
| Routes of Interest: | Highway 17 Route A1A Routes US19 and US41 The Tamiami Trail (US41) The Overseas Highway (US1) |
| Where to Stay: | Miami Airport Miami Airport Marriott ($114) Courtyard by Marriott Miami Airport ($100) Pullman Miami Airport Hotel ($103) Homestead Super 8 Florida City/Homestead ($56) Knights Inn Florida City ($44) Ramada Florida City ($54) Bahia Honda State Park Camping in the State Park ($36) - Booked! Key West Southernmost Beach Resort ($381) Casa Marina Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection ($395) El Patio Motel ($133) Lighthouse Court Hotel in Key West ($183) Everglades City Everglades City Motel ($85) Captain's Table Lodge & Villas ($85) River Wilderness Waterfront Villas ($110) Sanibel Periwinkle Park & Campground ($58) Chassahowitzka River Chassahowitzka River Campground ($23+tax) Ichetucknee Springs State Park Ichetucknee Springs ($15) - 2 nights if staying at weekends St. Joseph Peninsula State Park Two campgrounds ($23): Shady Pines Gulf Breeze - recommended Fort Pickens Fort Pickens Camping ($26) St Augustine Bayfront Inn ($111) Edgewater Inn ($92) Historic Inn ($50) Old Town Inn St. Augustine ($56) South Beach Miami Marriott Stanton South Beach ($293) The Savoy Hotel ($115) Chesterfield Hotel & Suites ($193) Marriott Vacation Club Pulse, South Beach ($159) |
| Useful Links: | http://www.floridasprings.org/visit/map/kelly-park-rock-springs-run/ http://www.orlandodatenightguide.com/2014/11/hiking-tubing-kelly-park/ https://www.floridastateparks.org/park-activities/Bahia-Honda#Camping http://floridastateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/bahia-honda-sp/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=FL&parkId=281005 |
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