| Florida Everglades and Alligator Alley Miami to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida This tour unites the populated amusement parks and glitzy hotels typical for Florida with the picturesque, remote southern swamplands. Start in Miami for its cultural life and luxury hotels and to bask in the sunshine of the Biscayne Bay. Visit Miami's Venetian Pool and Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium before heading west to the Everglades. Once there, stop in the Everglades National Park for a wonderland of swamps, salt parries, pine islands, alligators, water turkeys, and spoonbills. A bit farther, the Miccosukee Indian Village provides an opportunity to capture Native Americans in the act of craft-making and art. Head east to the last stop of the trip, Fort Lauderdale, a city of rivers, canals, bays, and islands. Use our route planner to find hotels for your next trip. | BEST OF THE ROAD:
|  | ||||||||
 | | |||||||||
| Miami Seaquarium 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway Miami, FL 33149 Call (305) 361-5705  |  | This marine mammal theme park is home to Lolita the killer whale, who performs in educational shows daily. Watch the Top Deck Dolphin Show or visit Flipper at the original lagoon where the "Flipper" TV show was shot. Learn about the habits and habitats of the endangered manatee, believed to be the source of mermaid legends, then catch the sea lion show. If the shark-feeding frenzy leaves you hungry, visit the Manatee Bay Cafe. | | |||||||
| Parrot Jungle Island 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail Miami, FL 33132 Call (305) 258-6453 |  | Parrots are the big attraction here, but there are many other types of wildlife, including reptiles and a baby orangutan. Each day, visitors can see the trained-bird show and flamingo feeding. The Serpentarium features a rare albino alligator. Kids especially enjoy the exotic animal shows at Jungle Theater, and there is a playground and a petting zoo. Visit the Parrol Bowl and watch the Winged Wonders show. Stroll through the tropical gardens or stop for a bite to eat in the cafe. Admission is charged. | | |||||||
| Monkey Jungle 14805 SW 216th St Miami, FL 33170 Call (305) 235-1611 | | Walk through this wild-animal park and learn just about everything there is to know about monkeys. Visitors go through a caged walkway to see monkeys roaming freely in the jungle. You can also watch one of the four shows presented each day, and see the daily feedings. There is a snack bar on site. | | |||||||
| Miami Metrozoo 12400 SW 152nd St Miami, FL 33177 Call (305) 251-0400 | | There are more than 1,300 animals representing more than 400 species within the 290-acre, state-of-the-art, cageless zoo. The petting zoo provides opportunities for kids to ride elephants, pet giant lizards, snakes and birds, and learn about exotic creatures during animal presentations. The African Plains represents a plateau rich in African wildlife. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, or ride the two-story, guided monorail to four points in the park. Food stations are located throughout the park. | ||||||||
| Vizcaya Museum and Gardens 3251 S Miami Ave Miami, FL 33129 Call (305) 250-9133 | | Built in 1916 in the style of an Italian Renaissance villa, this museum has 34 rooms containing antique furnishings that date back several hundred years. The site covers ten acres and features guided tours and educational programs. Downtown Miami is nearby. | ||||||||
| Bass Museum of Art 2121 Park Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139 Call (305) 673-7530 | | Founded in 1963, the museum houses a permanent collection of European paintings, sculpture, photographs, and textiles with examples from every major culture. There are also collections of American, Asian, and contemporary art. The museum offers outreach programs, special events, and interdisciplinary education programs. | ||||||||
| Coral Castle 28655 S Dixie Hwy Homestead, FL 33033 Call (305) 248-6345 | | Built entirely out of limestone coral rock over a period of 28 years, Coral Castle is a National Historic Site and has been compared to the Great Pyramid at Giza and England's Stonehenge. | ||||||||
| Everglades National Park 40001 SR 9336 Homestead, FL 33034 Call (305) 242-7700 | | Brown pelicans and Florida panthers are but two of the many species of birds, animals, and plants, some endangered, that live in Florida's Everglades. Water is the key ingredient in Everglades National Park. It nourishes six distinct ecosystems, which provide habitats for the varied flora and fauna. Flowing through the park is the slowly creeping "River of Grass," a huge waterway 50 miles wide but only one to three feet deep. Saw-grass prairie disguises this fresh water slough, home to an entire interdependent chain of creatures, from algae to fish to great white herons. A prime wildlife watching destination, the Everglades themselves are in serious danger because water has been diverted to supply city, farm, and flood control demands in south Florida. Without the proper amount of water at the right times, several species lose nests and feeding grounds. Located only 18 miles from suburban Miami, the park competes for water with people and agriculture. Ecosystem preservation has become an overriding concern. | ||||||||
| Miccosukee Indian Village Miami, FL 33144 Call (305) 223-8380 | | Guided tours of an authentic Indian village that has been occupied for more than 100 years are provided by members of the Miccosukee Indian tribe. Visitors can watch Miccosukee artisans demonstrate doll making, patchwork, beadwork, and basket weaving. The museum features artifacts and a film. Airboat rides to an Indian camp deep in the Everglades are available. | ||||||||
| Big Cypress National Preserve 33100 Tamiami Trail East Ochopee, FL 34141 Call (239) 695-2000 | | In Big Cypress National Preserve, rounded cypress domes mushroom up from otherwise flat expanses of marsh and prairie. Ibises stalk pools teeming with tasty fish. Alligator snouts break the surface of tranquil water. Big Cypress preserves these scenes intact but more importantly, it helps ensure the integrity of the Everglades watershed. In 1928 the Tamiami Trail between Miami and Tampa opened, enabling easy human access to this vast wilderness. Lumber, oil, citrus groves and sugarcane all danced before developers' eyes. Soon most of the enormous bald cypress trees, some over 600 years old, had been logged out and much swampy area had been drained. The Everglades, which depend on a constant influx of freshwater, suffered from the slow destruction of its watershed, prompting the park service to set aside 720,000 acres in 1974 and call it Big Cypress. Today, visitors hike or drive through a landscape that alternates from swamp to pine stands to hardwood hammocks to dry prairie in a tangle of variety unique to the southern tip of Florida. | ||||||||
| Museum of Discovery and Science 401 SW Second St Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 Call (954) 467-6637 | | This 85,000-square-foot museum showcases seven permanent interactive exhibit areas: Florida EcoScapes, Runways to Rockets, Great Gravity Clock, Living in the Everglades, Discovery Center, and Gizmo City, plus special traveling exhibits. The Blockbuster IMAX 3DTheatre features a five-story-high screen and digital sound. | ||||||||
| Butterfly World 3600 W Sample Rd Coconut Creek, FL 33073 Call (954) 977-4400 | | At Butterfly World, visitors stroll through nearly three acres of tropical gardens amidst thousands of brilliantly colored butterflies and hummingbirds. Eight different species of hummingbirds may be seen in the Jewels of the Sky aviary. The "clowns of the bird world" perform at the Lorikeet Encounter. There are also botanical and water gardens, an insectarium, and butterfly museum. | ||||||||
| ||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | |
|
Franchise Opportunities |
Company Information |
Careers |
News Room |
Hotel List |
Destinations
Online Privacy | Terms of Use | Site Map LQ Management LLC © 2009 LA QUINTA and RETURNS are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office |
|
 |
 |
Florida Everglades and Alligator Alley