Christmas in Miami

The story

FLORIDA

period: from 13 to 26 December 2007 Flight with Delta Air Lines (booked directly on the website). Hertz car rental with pick-up and drop-off in Miami (booked with Expedia). Kilometres driven: 2410.

Areas covered: Miami, Everglades National Park, Flamingo, Key West, Orlando, Tampa, Apollo Beach, Sanibel, Naples.

13 December, flight Pisa-New York

Because of a departure delay we missed the connection to Miami. So we slept in New York and took the first flight to Florida the next morning, which wasn't to Miami but to Lauderdale. From there Delta got us to Miami by limousine, where we picked up the car booked with Hertz.

14 December

Visit to Miami with an evening walk and dinner in the Bayfront Park area. Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel)

15 December

Everglades National Park (southern part) At the park entrance there's the park information office. There you can pick up the map to plan your visit. Worth seeing is the "Anhinga Trail" area, where you can spot dozens of alligators and all the wading birds in their habitat as you walk. After visiting the park we headed for the Keys along the legendary "1", the road that runs through the whole of Florida all the way down to Key West. Dinner at the "88", good fish, by the sea Night at Islamorada (Hotel Lookout Lodge Resort)

16 December

We drove the whole "1" down to Key West. Visit to the town of Key West, with its beautiful waterfront. We also visited the Key West Lighthouse Museum [ Key West Lighthouse was built in 1847. Present location is 14 feet above sea level. The tower is 86 feet high. The Light Keeper's Quarters was built in 1887 and houses the museum's collection of lighthouse artifacts and the maritime history of the Keys. Night at Islamorada (Hotel Lookout Lodge Resort)

17 December

Long transfer to Orlando. Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

18 December

Universal Park and Islands of Adventure [ Dinner at the park's "Bubba Gump". Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

19 December

Universal Park and Islands of Adventure [ Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

20 December

Cape Canaveral "Kennedy Space Center" Visit to the space centre and we saw the launch of the "Delta 2" rocket that put the 5th Navstar GPS 2R satellite into orbit. The space centre is beautiful and well organised. To enjoy it fully, take the audio guides, which give you detailed information in the language you want as the visit goes on. Visiting the site beforehand, as we did, also lets you plan your holiday around a launch. Well, on 10 January the Shuttle Atlantis launches, so if you can... For information see on: Besides the space centre, the area includes an enormous park where, just driving through, we saw an armadillo and lots and lots of dolphins in the adjoining channel. Night in Orlando (Days Inn Hotel)

21 December

Tampa A day devoted to a pleasure drive, with no visits planned, enjoying the scenery as we drove the whole St. Petersburg peninsula up to Bradenton and Lake Manatee (despite the name, there are no manatees here). Night a little further south of Tampa.

22 December

Manatee Viewing Center at Tampa Electric Company [ ] It's the best place in the world to be sure of seeing manatees in their habitat. This bay, close to a power station, attracts dozens of manatees and other wildlife thanks to its warmer waters. The area has therefore been closed to navigation, and the power station lets you visit the spot in comfort, while at the same time allowing close study, without taking away their freedom, of this almost extinct species. We spent the rest of the day at Sanibel, the shell beach. It's an enchanting place, perhaps the nicest to live in that we saw in Florida. Night in Naples

23 December

Everglades National Park (northern part). Starting from Naples along the "41", we skirted the "Big Cypress National Reserve" and the "Everglades National Park". The northern part of this park is the one that lets you visit the mangrove expanses and their channels by airboat. It's an experience you absolutely must have. At the start of the park you'll find an information point with all the brochures you need so you don't forget a thing. We went with "Captain Doug's" [ ] Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel Miami Beach)

24 December

Miami. Visit to Key Biscayne, where there's the Cape Florida State Recreation Area with its lighthouse (Cape Florida Lighthouse) and lovely beaches to spend a nice day by the sea. Park entrance ($5.00 per car). Visit to the aquarium. It's nothing special; it's only worth it if you haven't seen manatees (Lamantino) or the Orca Marina. There's the usual dolphin show and a nice circular tank for sharks (but with few, and only one kind). In my opinion they should change its name and not call it an aquarium, since you go in and see alligators, deer, parrots and other tropical birds. A small tank with a few fish in it, among which two nice groupers stand out. If you want to see the sea eagle, don't go to the aquarium, which has only one, but go to the pier at the Manatee Viewing Center south of Tampa.

There there's a sign listing the species you can see pass by, and I swear that spending an hour there watching the manatees we saw a shark (Bonnethead Shark), a ray (Southern Stingray), their sea eagle (Spotted Eagle Ray) plus tropical fish and birds in their natural habitat. Anyway, the aquarium's address is:, it may be useful to look it up first to choose better. Dinner at "Mambo", a Cuban restaurant on the Bayfront Side. Night in Miami (Days Inn Hotel Miami Beach)