Florida Guide and Deals

After meeting at the Beachview Inn starting point and undergoing a training session that frowns upon Segway jousting, your tour group will segue on their Segways to the Ream Wilson trail and follow it to the Clearwater Memorial Causeway to spot a fantastic panorama of the Gulf of Mexico. Once you've snapped a few shots of people smiling, jumping, and balancing Segways on their noses, buzz down the corkscrew to Coachman Park before continuing to historic Harbor Oaks and the Clearwater Beach Walk. Along the way, there's a chance you'll spot manatees, dolphins, stingrays, and wild parrots. After two hours, you'll have covered seven miles worth of sunny landscapes and wildlife.

Miami Gliders’ crackerjack aviators bring a wealth of experience to an air-tripping array of glider rides in addition to other airborne adventures. During 40- to 50-sky-spanning minutes, gliders traverse a lush panorama of Florida’s scenic vistas as they gently descend from an Icarus-melting height of 5,280 feet. Guided by a skilled pilot who melds an airy blend of telekinesis and earthly physics to keep afloat, passengers indulge peepers with VIP views of the Everglades, Redlands, and Biscayne National Park. Bring your own camera or take advantage of the aircraft's recording device, which grants guests striking snapshots from the outside of the glider, capturing the area’s picturesque landscapes and Dadaist crop signs.

A two-day pass aboard the Hop On Hop Off Tour provides riders with accessible transit and the cranial expansion of local knowledge. Throughout the route, a narration crafted by expert locals will keep you up to speed on where you are, where you are going, and where to direct your photographic and human irises. Non-English-speaking guests or bilingually curious natives can tune in to multilingual headsets along the ride. In addition to directing rubberneckers, the local good-times gurus at Gray Line lead wide-eyed wonderers into cultural hotbeds and fashionable storefronts. Riders who want to simply sink into the sun-soaked sand can browse the beach buffet out their window, hopping off when the bus reaches a towel-worthy strip.

Founder Carole Baskin never dreamt she'd one day oversee a 55-acre sanctuary inhabited by some of Earth's largest cats. In 1992, she and her late husband were at an exotic-animal auction seeking out llamas for their farm. A man had a 6-month-old bobcat that he could no longer care for, and the pair decided to give it a place to call home. They then traveled to a bobcat breeder for another playmate, but upon seeing the horrible conditions the animals were kept in, they bought all 56 kittens. They rehabilitated them back to health, and gave them permanent homes on their then-40-acre site. Soon, word of her knack for nurturing spread beyond the Tampa area, and callers began donating abandoned or orphaned cats. Her mission to save these animals also reached the ears and hearts of many celebrities, including contributors Harrison Ford and Bo Derek.

After 20 years of hard work and learning, Carole is still caring for abused and abandoned big cats at her rescue site, accommodating more than 100 medium and large creatures from bengal tigers and black leopards to lynx and lions. Her staff of volunteers helps care for the animals and leads groups in tours that educate visitors on the plight of these animals both in the wild and in captivity.

Manning a fleet of Robinson R44 whirlybirds, the pilots of Tallahassee Helicopters introduce sightseers to the clouds through tours and commercial flights, and also train new crops of aspiring pilots. Flights depart from Tallahassee Regional Airport, shuttling passengers into the great blue yonder to see the downtown skyline, local country clubs, lakes, and parks from above. The service also offers lunch and dinner tours, allowing tourists to make a strong impression as they arrive at restaurants in style and carve their steaks with the helicopter’s whirling tail rotor.

The company also operates its own academy, where students begin with introductory flights that put them in control of the helicopter for 90% of their flying time. The full piloting program prepares students for their first solo flights, while the R44 transition program teaches already licensed pilots the nuances of operating the R44 helicopter.

Palm Beach Segway Tours' experienced and witty guides lead motorized conga lines through Palm Beach and the historic downtown of West Palm Beach. Wind cascades over helmeted noggins as mansions, yachts, and museums scroll by, set against a tropical backdrop of beaches and sea creatures. Intrepid tourists may also rent 49 c.c. retro gas scooters, the same vessels that Italian explorers piloted when they discovered America in 1958.