hp500efi

Help me out....family decided to go to Florida instead of the New Orleans area and need some info.

We are going down around the end of May for about a week. Will spend a few days at Busch Gardens and one of the other theme parks around Orlando. We will be staying in and around the Orlando area. Will be renting a car for travelling around.

Looking for some good seafood restaurants, good beaches to visit along with some marinas that might have some powerboats..Thought about driving to Daytona beach...is it worth it or is it better to stay on the Gulf side?

Anyone know of a good everglades swamp tour?


let me hear from all you florida guys


Thanks
Jeff

Formula Outlaw

By end of May, Mickeyworld should be starting to thin out a little (right......). Busch gardens in Tampa is pretty cool. Further south, the Boathouse at the Hyatt in Sarasota is kinda cool, overlooking the "Basin" and tons of boat pictures on the walls. Lot of cool bars up in the St. Pete/St. Pete Beach area. There are a few good everglades tours, but I'm not personally familiar with them. As far as "hi-perf." boats to look at, with any luck OPBA might be doing some kind of "run" when you're down here. Usually something is going on just about every weekend. Go to their website: www.opbafl.org
and check it out. There should be a message board up now, or at least very soon. Have a good/safe vacation.

CigDaze

Orlando is okay, kind of weak for most adults. If you have kids, that's a different story.

While near busch gardens, check out the Tampa waterfront. There's great shopping and dining at channelside and it has trolly service through town. The aquarium is a must see(not quite sea world, but very nice), and there are some neat sightseeing, dolphin watching catamarans(the big, slow kind) you can catch from the area.

The Sarasota and St. Pete beaches are some of the best on the Gulf coast.

Like FO mentioned, the Hyatt in Sarasota is a great place to hang for a few hours and grab a bite to eat at the boathouse, there ares performance boats in and out of there on most any given day. The history there is great, lots of good pictures on the walls.

hp500efi

TTT

RollWithIt

Its definately worth it to drive around for a while. Sarasota should be approximately an hour and a half from you if you are staying anywhere near Disney. That would make Tampa approximately an hour from you and Daytona will take about the same. That is, depending on how bad construction is on I-4. Daytona is a blast to visit. If you do go there, you have to hit Lollipops. Its an adult club right up your alley and owned by board member Big Cat. Very class place. You also have Ponce Inlet with a lighthouse for the family to check out just south of Daytona. Other than Ybor City. I haven't really gotten to Tampa yet. Ybor is a blast but its not too much of a family atmosphere if you know what I mean. Also, as recommended above, definately hit Sarasota if you can. Its a beautiful city with just as beautiful water. And, the Boathouse, has some really good food. Goodluck.

JPD Motorsports

I like siesta key in sarasota and the the old salty dog off of longboat key south end, right on the water by the draw bridge, and also a free water ski show across the street around 2pm on sundays. lots of boats coming and going out the pass as well. The hyatt is nice also, and if you want some fun seafood with steamer buckets goto phillipi creek, south sarasota, kinda rustic on the water as well.

WARPARTY36

If your in Sarasota, I highly suggest sneaking out to Cheeta's after the kids go to bed

Formula Outlaw

Cheetah's certainly does leave an "impression" doesn't it?????????

Troutly would give it four "richards"

CigDaze

Cheetah's...a must see.

Dangerous Dave

If you're going to be in the St. Pete area check out Gators at Johns Pass. It's supposed to be the worlds longest outdoor waterfront bar. Theres usually some nice boats coming in and out of there especially on the weekends. I would also recommend Sloppy Joes in the Bilmar Resort on Treasure Island. They have good food there and it's right on the beach. You could also go to the Pier in downtown St. Pete which is kinda touristy but pretty cool if you've never been there. Cha Cha Coconuts is on the top floor and has nice outdoor seating overlooking Tampa Bay. Finally, check out the Rattlefish Grill in Tampa. It's just south of the Gandy bridge on Tampa Bay. It's tough to find by car because it's in an industrial area and you'd never expect to find a nice restaurant on that street as your driving down it. If you see a Cigarette 28 SS parked at the docks there it's probably me.