Gladeview, FL Outdoor Activities

Squalo Divers, a PADI Five Star Dive Center, works in tandem with top industry brands such as Aqualung, Mares, and GoPro to outfit divers so they can explore underwater ecosystems. Equipment such as tanks, depth gauges and buoyancy-control devices prepares landlubbers for underwater travel without tricking a whale into swallowing them. Alternatively, the shop’s maintenance services can whip older gear into working order before each aqueous adventure.

Taught by certified instructors, Squalo Divers' courses run the gamut of scuba instruction, ranging from basic open-water certification to emergency-responder techniques. Courses incorporate cutting-edge training materials—including dependable gear and online study aids—and are taught in English or Spanish. The scuba center also offers trips to explore local waterways renowned for their extensive array of marine life.

Located in North Miami Beach, H2O Dive Center facilitates safe diving experiences with a staff of SSI-certified instructors, informative ocean-exploration courses, and quality equipment rentals. During each dip in the center's pool, professional scuba divers prep beginners for open-water dives by demonstrating how to properly use the provided equipment and imitating the accents of sea turtles. Seasoned divers can further their studies during advanced diving courses or a three-part open-water certification course.

When the lights go down on Revo Soccer's stretch of realistic indoor turf, glow soccer transports the game into an otherworldly dimension decorated in swooshes of invisible paint that pop under blacklights and a twilit cityscape that appears on one wall. In the darkened arena, players decked out with glowing T-shirts, glow sticks, and face paint imitate their favorite bioluminescent athletes as they send an eerie orb careening around the field. During daylight hours, instructors help sharpen students' skills through weeklong camps, private lessons, and soccer academies. Twice a week, players can drop in to make friends or finally acquire an arch-nemesis during pickup games, or strengthen team bonds during league play.

In Action Town Florida's 34,000-square-foot enclave, battles take place with paint, lasers, and putters. A professional paintball team designed the outdoor paintball arena, which sprawls across 2 acres and encompasses terrain such as a village, a wooded area, and a professional field filled with inflatables. Area 51, the 25,000-square-foot laser-tag arena, fuels competition with high-tempo music and glow-in-the-dark obstacles. The nine-hole miniature golf course also glows in the dark, offering a helpful way to distinguish between real obstacles and imaginary friends' heads. Action Town Florida also fills its facility with arcade games, bumper cars, and climbing walls, as well as a bounce-house city with very reasonable property taxes. Its party packages give guests a taste of all offerings, along with refreshments and food.

Miami’s azure beaches and kaleidoscopic cityscapes beckon eyes downward as Miami Seaplane Tours’ Cessna 172 Seahawk skirts across the horizon. With more than 30 years of experience, pilot Tony Anderson flies jet-setting adventurers above Miami in the renovated interior of his ultralight Cessna, which accommodates up to three passengers. The aerodynamically enhanced craft now offers four distinct seaplane tours, ranging in length from 30 minutes to two hours. Passengers soak in panoramic views of downtown Miami’s hotels, beaches, and mansions, or sail over the soiree of Fort Lauderdale. Tours can also glide north of the city, all the while dodging clouds and errant beach frisbees thrown by Dan Marino.

SeaRide Watersports' fleet of Sea-Doo jet boats helps both novice and experienced boaters traverse Fort Lauderdale's Intercoastal waters and bay areas. Designed for ease of use, the sleek vessels carry temporary captains over scenic waterways and toward beaches, where passengers can swim or protest the unjust land use of nearby sand castles.

SeaRide Watersports' staff rents their boats for full or half days, and can complement aquatic journeys with picnic baskets full of sandwiches and snacks. They also maintain an online safety guide that teaches how to understand marine navigation systems such as buoys and traffic signals given by whales.