The southernmost tip of Florida has lots to offer, including Everglades National Park, the Florida Keys, and of course, Miami. If you’re serious about spending your Florida holiday exploring the Everglades, the best place to start is Everglades City. From here, a causeway takes you to Chokoloskee Island, a throwback to frontier days. Tour the Everglades on naturalist-narrated boat tours through the maze of Ten Thousand Islands featuring lots of birds, alligators and aquatic life. If you’re an avid outdoor-type, explore the area via the 98-mile Wilderness Waterway canoe trail. You’ll want to do this (and most Everglades activities) in cool weather, or the mosquitoes will drive you away. There are also any number of swamp buggy and airboat tours in the Everglades area.
Miami is a great place to spend your Florida holiday. Cosmopolitan Miami sparks adventures of the ethnic and cultural variety, which combine to give Miami its flair for style, fashion, music and cuisine. South Beach, or SoBe as it has come to be known, is most suitable for adults, and Lummus Beach provides lots of action for older children, with its water sports rentals and sidewalks perfect for biking and in-line skating. Topless sunbathing occurs with frequency in the South Beach area.
The Florida Keys is a whole different world. Part Bahamian, part Caribbean, and part totally unclassifiable—a perfect place to visit on your Florida holiday. Since all the waters surrounding the keys were designated as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, they are protected. Here is a diver’s paradise, where angelfish, barracuda, octopuses, conch and lobsters abound. Fishing is a prime activity on the Florida Keys, and the area is particularly noted for its bonefish, tarpon, dolphinfish, grouper, sailfish and marlin. Fishing charter and party boats are found at most large resorts and marinas—definitely a great way to spend all or part of your Florida holiday!