Taking off Travel blog

Theme Parks - Florida's Got 'Em!

Florida is one of my favorite places. Here, Adriano Comegna shares the reasons he thinks the Sunshine State is worth a visit.

1. Florida enjoys 3,200 hours of sunshine a year. Orange juice is the Official State Beverage and over two million alligators patrol the state’s waterways. It is a playground for the super-rich and a hideaway for eccentrics. From the beginning of June to the end of November it’s hurricane season. And, of course, it is the theme park capital of the world.

2. Standards of service are universally excellent. In Florida, as in the rest of the US, servers are paid half the minimum wage, the balance being made up by tips. 15%-20% is customary to the extent that it can be taken as an insult if a tip is not forthcoming. Obviously if service is bad, complain. Service matters here – people are proud of what they do and, if you accept this cultural difference and budget accordingly, you will be guaranteed a smashing time.

3. A local delicacy well worth seeking out is the stone crab. The only part that’s eaten is the claw, which with a blindfold and mayo, is as close as you’ll get to lobster without actually eating lobster. Stone crab fishermen remove the biggest claw from stone crabs before dropping them back in the sea. The crab can still defend itself and within 18 months has grown a new claw.

4. Florida is known as the sunshine state. Those 3,200 hours a year help produce mangoes, papaya, guava, passion fruit and citrus of every description. Breakfast can seem like the best meal of the day. If options allow, choose the buffet.

5. Sited as far south as feasible, in order to benefit from the ‘slingshot’ effect of the spinning earth, the Kennedy Space Center saw the last shuttle roll to a halt on July 21st 2011. It remains a monument to the first space age. Attractions include the Saturn V rocket, the launch simulation room at the Apollo Centre, the Rocket Garden and tours of the launch pads.

6. The Florida Keys are closer to Cuba than the US and have a charm and laid-back intensity all of their own. The writer Ernest Hemingway loved it here and, on wilder nights, would referee boxing matches in a local restaurant.

7. The Art Deco architecture of South Miami is famous worldwide and is a magnet for photographers. Sign up for one of the gossipy walking tours and discover niches and corners usually undiscovered by tourists.

8.Founded by conquistador Leon in 1509, St Augustine is the oldest settlement on the US mainland. Cobbled streets, Spanish renaissance architecture and a sprinkling of galleries and antique shops make for a quaint break from the bustle and shine of 21st century Florida.

9. No visit to Florida would be complete without a visit to a theme park. The choice is staggering, the theme park business having been almost invented here. Disney of course is king, with all things mouse and Pixar celebrated here. Usually the ride is constructed after a hit movie. Not so with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ at Disneyland. Expect a soaking. [Ed: check out Orlando Airport Parking if you're planning a visit to a Florida theme park.]

10. The Everglades are a primeval landscape of mangroves and alligators. Take an airboat tour to glimpse wildlife and enjoy a landscape that hasn’t changed since the last ice age. Complete your journey in Miami with a spicy Cuban style dinner. The food here seldom disappoints. Enjoy.

Adriano Comegna writes on behalf of Thomson holidays, a leading travel operator specialising in Florida holidays.

On my recent trip to Florida, one restaurant chain stood out for both taste and value – Sweet Tomatoes (also known as Souplantation in some areas). We happened into it one afternoon after rejecting the nearby Italian restaurant we’d been considering.

Sweet Tomatoes, Dania Beach

When we walked in we were greeted by a salad bar several feet long, and this on its own would have been enough to keep us happy. Not only did it have a huge selection of fresh individual salad items (including a couple of things I’d never heard of), but it included three lettuce based salads, two pasta salads and potato salad. You could put as much on your plate as you wanted, though we discovered that if you were too full of salad you would miss out on the other items on offer. To accompany your salad you could choose from water, iced tea, lemonade, strawberry lemonade and soda. Read more »

This is part 2 of my Florida vacation roundup. You can find Part 1 here.

On the Friday, we took a one hour boat trip along the Florida waterways near Las Olas. Part of the enjoyment for some participants was the opportunity to gaze at the multimillion dollar homes and boats of stars and celebrities. There were so many of those that in some ways the tour was like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, complete with the captain as omniscient narrator.

Las Olas Waterways

I’m less interested in celebs, but I still had a great time looking at the majestic waterways, spotting the water taxis and generally enjoying being out in the open. However, our next boat trip was to prove far more exciting. Read more »

I’m just back from a trip to Florida, in the Hollywood/Dania Beach area. (It seems the person who planned the area was originally from California, hence the name.) It was fun. Flying in and clearing security went smoothly, and we were through in less than half an hour. Just as I was thinking we’d be in the pool by 2, we hit a snag – the extremely lengthy Alamo car hire process. We had prebooked so it should have been smooth. Instead we had to wait for the rep to:

• double check our reservation
• try to con us into upgrading to a bigger vehicle (for more money)
• try to sell us insurance coverage which we already had
• get a GPS system

Finally, we had to be bussed to the Miami offsite airport parking lot to collect our car. Most of the time when I hire a car, the reps give me the car that’s available. With this Alamo rental, we had the novelty of walking to the appropriate parking lot section and picking anything we wanted – and all of them were quite big enough for our luggage, despite the rep’s dire warnings.  We plugged in the GPS (later to be christened the ‘gremlin’ but that’s another story) and away we went to our hotel, one of the Marriott chain.

Pool at Marriott Springhills Suites, FL

The room was spacious, though the bathrooms needed a refurb and we had a great view of the pool and a few palm trees. (Overall, we thought the hotel was a good choice, as it was close to places to eat, local attractions and Interstate 95 without being too noisy.) Free internet access and breakfast added to the value. By about 4.30 we were finally able to hit the pool, which was practically deserted. That’s what you get for traveling at the tail end of the season when most kids are back at school.

Read more »

I love Florida, yet I’ve only seen a small part of it. My first trip there was in the 1980s. I’d just started my first job and a few of us decided to book a long weekend in Miami. Truth to tell, I didn’t do much sightseeing then; it was enough for me to be in a different place and soak up the sun. But I made up for it on subsequent trips. The one thing I haven’t done yet is take an eco-tour of Florida, but I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’ve come up with a list of places I’d like to visit. Here are a few of them: Read more »