Florida Members - Visiting Flordia..... What to do?

Looks like the wife and I will be going to FL for my 1yr anniversary. We will be there for a whole week but the plan is to start in a different city each night. The plan starts at Destin then follows Panama city beach, Tampa, Miami and last stop is Orlando. As a visitor I have no clue what to do other than visit the beach. So I figured I'd ask LS1Tech for some help maybe some sight attractions or some fun places to visit. Also if anyone has any "hook ups" on hotels or what not let me know aswell :D

Thanks for your help! :cheers:

Kool guys thanks! lol

If your staying in Destin we have the most beutiful beaches in the world so the beach is a must see. As for nightlife check out Baytown @ the Sandestin Beach Resort, good food, live music, shops etc. Also for shopping check out Destin Commons, by Bass Pro Off hwy 98. Plenty of other nightlife and resturants in downtown Destin Check out AJ's for good seafood and live music you can also walk the boardwalk there and see all the charter boats come in, and if you feel real adventures rent some jet skis and hang out at Crab Island ( by the Destin Bridge ) The Emerald Grand is a very cool place to stay at the foot of the Destin Bridge. Hope you enjoy!!

tampa is a lot of fun. tons of clubs, restaurants and beaches.


id take a ride to key west also.

Skip Orlando. Do the Beach. Daytona Beach! Unless you are doing a theme park, find a good place on Daytona beach. Relax and watch the waves! The Plaza in Daytona beach Shores is pricey but an awesome hotel! Deck Down Under in Port Orange for dinner. Let me know if you need any other help east coast, and if we can, we love the Deck. Be here on a weekend and we'll take you out on the boat if you promise not to make fun of us new amateur boaters! LMAO!

Don't forget a stop at Daytona Speedway! Free to go in gift shop and walk out to stands to see track. Friday and Saturday you can see the Richard Petty Driving Experience doing laps at 170mph :-)

Stay out of the ocean, i heard sharks live there. j/k they're friendly. in tampa be sure to check out ybor city lots of interesting folks out late night. as for the key west suggestion i wouldn't try to make that a stop. its a nice drive but 100miles of 35-45 miles per hour gets old quick. and cops in the keys love speeders. miami would be a blast but bring a butt load of cash. a night out can be a couple of hundred dollars for dinner and drinks.

tampa is a lot of fun. tons of clubs, restaurants and beaches.


id take a ride to key west also.
ahhhh i forgot about key west.... may skip out on Orlando and jump to Key West! :D


Thanks to everyone helping me out....

Stay out of the ocean, i heard sharks live there. j/k they're friendly. in tampa be sure to check out ybor city lots of interesting folks out late night. as for the key west suggestion i wouldn't try to make that a stop. its a nice drive but 100miles of 35-45 miles per hour gets old quick. and cops in the keys love speeders. miami would be a blast but bring a butt load of cash. a night out can be a couple of hundred dollars for dinner and drinks.

Have you seen the video of the lady who caught a fish(in S.C I believe) and while she was reeling it in a shark jumped out the water and took it?

Panama has nice beaches, but is more of a party town from what I've seen. When you're there check out coyote ugly, thats a cool bar. Spinnakers and Sharkys are cool beach clubs/restartaunts there too. Orlando is best for the parks, if your not going to one its just tourists everywhere and alot of traffic to battle. I've never had a vacation in miami but I'm sure its a good time. Key West is cool, but theres not a whole lot to do there from what I remember (its been a while though). Tampa is alot of fun. If you like rollercoasters then you should go, best rollercoaster park in Florida! As for tampa nightlife Ybor city is where its at. Theres alot of clubs and bars and cool shops down the strip there. Have a good anniversary man! Its a cool idea going to so many different places through florida

And yes, saw that video! That was crazy. I thought it was in the intercoastal though, but I have no idea

Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmN6SRqmmmk

Now that I think about it, you should go offshore fishing if you like to fish. There are plenty of good charters to go on down there in Miami

In Ocala on I75, there is the Don Garlits drag racing museum. It is amazing.

In Orlando, there are infinite theme parks. My favorite is EPCOT Center. It has a lot of science and global culture. SeaWorld is a great place to see and has some amazing shows.

In Tampa, you have Busch Gardens. It is like a African Zoo and theme park in 1 place. Tampa also has the Florida aquarium, which is nice to observe from a conservationists viewpoint.

On the Gulf Coast near Tampa there is Clearwater Beach. Clearwater Beach is fun on Friday and Saturday nights. There is live music, street entertainers, fire jugglers, arts and craft sellers, the pier, the ocean and a great family atmosphere.

Also near Tampa is the St. Petersburg Pier and Vinoy Hotel and Resort. Tons of local restaurants, museums and activities all in walking distance. This is one of our favorite destinations and it might be nice to be someplace where you don't have to be in the car for a whole day. They Vinoy also has a spectacular champagne brunch but it is $40 each.

Miami has amazing high energy level. It is a predominantly Cuban culture with a very fast pace. South Beach has some awesome clubs and some awesome ladies on the beach, but the area is expensive, noisy and has crime.

Key West is a place to itself. Huge gay culture there with a lot of really odd clothing choices and some strange over the top public displays. It is also a very long drive from Miami. Several hours to get there.

Daytona Beach has a unique vibe. It has some how managed to maintain the old Florida beach town feel, even though it is a destination city. I always enjoy going there, but find it kind of boring if there is no event to attend.

Panama City is a great place to spot tourists. Bring patience. Lots of it.

Definitely hit the Keys. I would not personally drive ALL the way to Key West, as its a tourist trap, and there is plenty of other cool stuff to see and do along the way...

Enjoy!

Skip Orlando if u are not going to theme parks. I would much rather spend in at the beach on a beach front hotel!

Panama has nice beaches, but is more of a party town from what I've seen. When you're there check out coyote ugly, thats a cool bar. Spinnakers and Sharkys are cool beach clubs/restartaunts there too. Orlando is best for the parks, if your not going to one its just tourists everywhere and alot of traffic to battle. I've never had a vacation in miami but I'm sure its a good time. Key West is cool, but theres not a whole lot to do there from what I remember (its been a while though). Tampa is alot of fun. If you like rollercoasters then you should go, best rollercoaster park in Florida! As for tampa nightlife Ybor city is where its at. Theres alot of clubs and bars and cool shops down the strip there. Have a good anniversary man! Its a cool idea going to so many different places through florida

Well we couldnt make up our mind to where to spend our anniversary so we came up with the great idea of spending it at multiple places :D

In Ocala on I75, there is the Don Garlits drag racing museum. It is amazing.
In Orlando, there are infinite theme parks. My favorite is EPCOT Center. It has a lot of science and global culture. SeaWorld is a great place to see and has some amazing shows.
In Tampa, you have Busch Gardens. It is like a African Zoo and theme park in 1 place. Tampa also has the Florida aquarium, which is nice to observe from a conservationists viewpoint.
On the Gulf Coast near Tampa there is Clearwater Beach. Clearwater Beach is fun on Friday and Saturday nights. There is live music, street entertainers, fire jugglers, arts and craft sellers, the pier, the ocean and a great family atmosphere.
Also near Tampa is the St. Petersburg Pier and Vinoy Hotel and Resort. Tons of local restaurants, museums and activities all in walking distance. This is one of our favorite destinations and it might be nice to be someplace where you don't have to be in the car for a whole day. They Vinoy also has a spectacular champagne brunch but it is $40 each.
Miami has amazing high energy level. It is a predominantly Cuban culture with a very fast pace. South Beach has some awesome clubs and some awesome ladies on the beach, but the area is expensive, noisy and has crime.
Key West is a place to itself. Huge gay culture there with a lot of really odd clothing choices and some strange over the top public displays. It is also a very long drive from Miami. Several hours to get there.
Daytona Beach has a unique vibe. It has some how managed to maintain the old Florida beach town feel, even though it is a destination city. I always enjoy going there, but find it kind of boring if there is no event to attend.
Thanks for information i will take it all under consideration :drive:

Panama City is a great place to spot tourists. Bring patience. Lots of it.
Hopefully our plan of staying one day in each city will help out on the patient part! :cheers:
Definitely hit the Keys. I would not personally drive ALL the way to Key West, as its a tourist trap, and there is plenty of other cool stuff to see and do along the way...
Enjoy!
So speed limit while driving to Key west :eek2: ill have the wife drive for that lol
Skip Orlando if u are not going to theme parks. I would much rather spend in at the beach on a beach front hotel!
Ill take this into consideration aswell!

if you want to be in a new place every day, you will be driving most of the day. key west is much further then you think. between panama city and i75, you have tallahassee (shithole of florida) and woods. and its a fairly long drive. and if you want nice beaches and clear water stay on the gulf side. if you want waves and green water go to the atlantic (at least thats how jax beaches are). as stated before, busch gardens roller coasters are badass but orlando has universals city walk with bars and such so i would research on where you would like more

You can take the trolley car from Ybor to Channelside in Tampa or vice versa.

if you want to be in a new place every day, you will be driving most of the day. key west is much further then you think. between panama city and i75, you have tallahassee (shithole of florida) and woods. and its a fairly long drive. and if you want nice beaches and clear water stay on the gulf side. if you want waves and green water go to the atlantic (at least thats how jax beaches are). as stated before, busch gardens roller coasters are badass but orlando has universals city walk with bars and such so i would research on where you would like more

Not true. the further south the bluer the water. Westpalm / boca / etc have have top notch beaches. But all the Melbourne beaches and up all have sand color and dometimes it's clear

Not true. the further south the bluer the water. Westpalm / boca / etc have have top notch beaches. But all the Melbourne beaches and up all have sand color and dometimes it's clear

i guess ive gotta go further south then. last time i was in WPB the water was green. in jax you cannot see past a foot down in the water but when i went to panama city, out on the pier you could see 20ft to the bottom no problem

For Miami you gota come check out south beach.

I can not wait to head out! I will be leaving saturday morning!!! COME ON SATURDAY!!

Skip Orlando if u are not going to theme parks. I would much rather spend in at the beach on a beach front hotel!

What he said - and bring water.

Do the Panhandle, it really is beautiful. Continue to Tampa see a Rays game, maybe Ybor City(use caution at night) Go over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and see where people jump off, keep going south and see Sanibel Island/Captiva Island(stay there) Go to Ft. Myers and catch the boat(Key West Express) TO Key West I believe it's 3 1/2 hr trip and they run to Key West daily, stay a night if possible, it is a lot of fun/history. Make your way back through Orlando, Disney is still Disney, Epcot is good, try to find Dwight Howard if you can and kick him in the ass just for me(might want to run after that though) Continue on to Daytona AREA, stay in Daytona Beach Shores like said before, Daytona gets scummy at night(I live south of DB Shores, not in Daytona but, I do know) By this time you're either well tanned or burnt as hell and ready to get back home. I kind of like spending other peoples money!!!! LOL

If you go through Ocala you need to stop at the risque cafe.

Have you seen the video of the lady who caught a fish(in S.C I believe) and while she was reeling it in a shark jumped out the water and took it?

Yeah pretty insane video. sharks dont play games when they're hungry.

if your going to the keys i wouldn't drive all the way to key west but stop and take a snorkling trip. they have boats that take you out to coral reefs and provide everything you'll need for the trip. resonable prices for a few hours of fun.