Day 1
FLORIDA • DINNER:
This morning we
board our Prevost motorcoach for a
relaxing vacation to sunny Florida. Our
route takes us through South Carolina
and Georgia heading to Florida's “First
Coast” region, our destination for
the night. Dinner is included this
evening. (D)Day 2
ST. AUGUSTINE • CASTILLO DE SAN
MARCOS NATIONAL MONUMENT •
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER • IMAX
THEATER:
This morning we tour St.
Augustine, the oldest permanent
settlement in the United States. At
the Castillo de San Marcos National
Monument we see the fort that serves
as a grim but venerable symbol of
the Spanish presence in Florida. It is a
unique specimen of a vanished style of
military architecture and engineering.
Now we're off to the Kennedy Space
Center, where we take a guided bus
tour of the facility and take in the show
at the incredible IMAX Theater. The
theater's huge 5-1/2 story, 70-foot wide
screen makes the film both spectacular
and unforgettable.Day 3
JUNGLE QUEEN CRUISE • MIAMI
• DINNER:
Ahead of us this
morning is a scenic drive southward
through rolling citrus orchards and
past some of Florida's many lakes. In
Fort Lauderdale, the riverboat Jungle
Queen will take us on a cruise up the
intercoastal waterway. See why this
city is aptly nicknamed the “Venice of
America.” Overnight accommodations
await us in Miami. Dinner is included
this evening. (D)Day 4
VIZCAYA • FLORIDA KEYS
• KEY WEST:
We begin the day
with a visit to Vizcaya Museum and
Garden. This is an elaborate 72-room
Italian Renaissance-style villa with an
extraordinary collection of European
furnishings and art. After lunch we
enjoy a spectacular drive across the
Florida Keys. We spend two nights in
Key West.Day 5
KEY WEST TOUR • GLASS BOTTOM
BOAT TOUR • FREE TIME IN KEY
WEST:
Today we begin our exploration
of the island with a guided tour of
Key West, noted for its 19th Century
gingerbread houses and its Cuban
foods and dialects that became a part
of the culture when cigar-making was
the island's chief industry.
You're sure
to enjoy this next event: a glass
bottom boat tour over the coral reef.
You'll have some free time to enjoy
this tropical city before our included
dinner. (D)Day 6
EVERGLADES • GATOR PARK • EVERGLADES AIRBOAT SWAMP TOUR • FORT MYERS:
Today we return to the mainland of Florida, where we follow Highway 41 across a portion of the Everglades. We visit Gator Park, an alligator adventure in the heart of the Everglades National Park. At the wildlife show watch alligator wrestling, and see the great power and agility of the gators. We take a unique airboat swamp tour in what's often called “the eighth wonder of the world,” spotting alligators as we travel. Then we turn north along the coast to Fort Myers. Enjoy the Kick-Back dinner tonight at our hotel. (D)Day 7
THOMAS EDISON'S WINTER HOME
• SARASOTA • RINGLING MUSEUM
OF THE CIRCUS • RINGLING MUSEUM
OF ART • RINGLING RESIDENCE •
DINNER:
This morning we tour the
winter home of inventor Thomas
Edison. This house, built in Maine, was
brought by ship to Florida in 1885. The
museum, also located here, contains a
rare and beautiful collection of antique
phonographs as well as an exhibit
depicting the history of electric light.
Today in Sarasota we visit the Ringling
residence, a million-dollar Venetian
Gothic mansion patterned after the
Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy. The
Art Museum is an Italian-style villa
created by local craftsmen from
shiploads of columns, doorways, roof
sculptures and marble collected in
Italy by John Ringling. It has one of the
best collections of Baroque art in the
western hemisphere. The Museum of
the Circus has a collection of circus
wagons, calliopes, costumes, handbills
and posters covering the history of the
circus from Roman times to the present.
From here we drive across Tampa Bay
on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge through
St. Petersburg to Tampa for our
overnight. (D)Day 8
WORLD EQUESTRIAN CENTER
• AMELIA ISLAND:
As we travel
through Florida to Ocala, we see the
World Equestrian Center. This worldclass
facility is the largest equestrian
center in the U.S. Later this afternoon,
we arrive at beautiful Amelia Island,
our home for the night. Dinner is
included this evening. (D)Day 9
HOME:
You'll have time this morning
to take a walk along the beach
before we depart for home. We have
completed the Florida Circle with lots
of fond memories, arriving home early
evening.