Tours in Palmetto

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.

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.

Armed with thermal meters, night-vision equipment, and EMF detectors, Ghost Party's paranormal experts tiptoe through darkened buildings. As they lead guests through basement morgues and four-story mansions built in the 19th century, the foundations settle, releasing eerie sounds. Guides escort groups along the streets of areas such as Ybor City during tours, which combine tales of murder and untimely death with facts about historical architecture and numerous photo stops. The tour, which has been featured in the Tampa Tribune, regales visitors with information about the locations and how to tactfully ask a ghost to wash its sheet. Continually adding to a record of spooky sightings, personnel revisit local haunts or rendezvous with clients for private tours throughout the U.S. at known ghostly locales such as Eastern State Penitentiary, Waverly Hill Sanitarium, and creaky-door factories.

The founders of St. Petersburg probably didn't imagine future visitors rolling down its streets on upright, self-balancing machines. Mounted on Segway HTs, visitors on All About Fun Tours can do just that, cruising along the waterfront on devices that intuitively respond to their movements or fear of jellyfish. Tour options abound, and guides deliver a tutorial on Segway basics before leading groups around the historic city.

An herbaceous haven, Bok Tower Gardens' manmade Arcadia harbors the historical Pinewood Estate and a bell tower filled with a cluster of carillon bells. Delicate white azaleas, pink snapdragons, and velvety camellias peek out from behind shrubbery leaves, and lemon marigolds smile back at the sun with brilliant yellow petals. The centerpiece of the verdant paradise, the Singing Tower rings out at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily, its 60 carillon bells delighting garden strollers and frightening away tulip-thieving lawn gnomes. The garden also caters to kids with enchanting features including secret areas, a vine-covered tunnel, and a picnic area with a sandbox and toys. Built in the '30s, Pinewood Estate boasts carved woodwork and intricate wrought iron that evoke a Mediterranean manor and provide a glimpse into luxurious lifestyles of decades past. The gardens are open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., when all the flowers are gently tucked into bed for the evening.

Engines start to roar, propellers spin, and a large parachute expands into the sky, carrying a light aircraft and its passengers toward the clouds. Silver Lining Aviation's certified instructors create adventures like this every day as they teach visitors to soar behind the controls of sport aircrafts such as powered parachutes, weight-shift trikes, and gyroplanes. Led by licensed FAA flight instructor Craig Ewing, Silver Lining's team takes prospective pilots on introductory flights that allow them to experience aircrafts such as the Airwolf 912 and nibble on different flavors of clouds. The aviation experts also sell sport aircrafts, which patiently wait onsite as customers work through custom ground- and flight-training programs. In most cases, the flight instructors prepare their pupils for aerial navigation in as little as two weeks. They also assist new pilots with replacement parts, provide 24/7 support, and cook oil soup to feed hungry aircraft.