margarita76 » Beretninger » Fra Orlando til Miami

Fra Orlando til Miami
Sept 2005


Vi landede i orlando efter en flytur over Island.

De kommende ude tager vi med turarrangøren "Trek America" fra orlando nedover til Everglades, Key West mm. Miami og tilbage til Orlando

TrekAmerica

Tour: Florida Beaches

Travel Route: Orlando - Everglades - Key
West - Miami - Orlando

Facilities during trip: hotel 2 nights, lodge 2 nights, camping 3 nights (2n
same camp)

Tour leader: Hans

Must see on trip: sunsets, sunrises, everglades, Miami´s nightlife &
plastic fantastic richee

Recommendation from us: Easy, cheap, laid-back & fun way to see the highlights
of Florida.
Great opportunity to make new international friends and perhaps future
sleeping-adresses all over the world! The travellers themselves are responsible
for the success of the road trip as they put up camp, shopping, cooking, (and
optional sing-along, if you feel like round the bush-television (camp-fire)
etc..

What to bring and "needs to know before departure": Flashlight is
very useful in the campgrounds, sleeping bag is necessary also..

This trek is for people who enjoys beaches and camping

Day 1

KENNEDY
SPACE CENTRE

After a
good nights sleep at Howard Johnsons, we headed for the Kennedy Space Centre
located about 45 minutes east of Orlando. After
having all of our bags searched thoroughly at the entrance, we were ready to
explore NASAs head quarters, from which all of the United
States crewed space
launches are executed. We boarded a tour bus to take us around the area. On the
way the bus driver told us different facts about the area and showed small
videos about space history on the televisions installed in the bus. On the
way around we saw one of the launch complexes (from a distance, and with no
rocket in it). We also passed the The Assembly building (one of the biggest
buildings in the world). Some of us even saw an alligator on the way around, as
the area is also a wildlife refuge for turtles, birds and gators. During
the day, we saw the control centre, watched a movie about the race into space
and later we went to the Saturn V exhibition (giant rocket).It was all quite impressive, but it would
have been nice with a little bit more interaction.(Apparently it is possible to
have lunch with an astronaut and have a full day of astronaut training for US$
225) The Imax is also suposed to be nice, but unfortunately we were late for
that.

-Kennedy
space centre is an optional activity on the Florida Beaches Trek

-SEBASTIAN
INLET CAMPGROUND

After the visit to Kennedy Space Centre, we went to Sebastian Inlet Campground which
is a nice spot surrounded by water. The Atlantic Ocean is on
the east and the Indian River Lagoon to the west. We
started by unloading the van and Hans (the tour guide) showed us how to put up
the tents.(not exactly rocket science by the way:-). Hans was also in charge of
the cooking that night, so we had a first class meal with barbequed chicken and
vegetables. He even made us brownies for desert in his brand new dutch oven.

Before
eating we watched a beautiful sunset by the water. After dinner Hans gave us
some information about the activities of the following days and declared that
he was going to get up by 4.15am to watch the sunrise. About
half of us joined him. We graped our sleeping bags and drove for a couple of
minutes to the beach on the other side of the road. At the campground entrance we
were informed that the sun would rise at aproximately 7 am, so we had a good
couple of hours to wait in the dark. (some might say, that we could have waited
for a while before getting up, but it was not a total waist of time, as we saw
lots of shooting stars. Right before impatience started to se in, we witnessed
a beautiful sunrise. (Hans sleped trough most of it, I believe)

General information:
Day 3
We Went to "everglades" which i a big swamp area. Here we meet up with a guy who took us around in the swamp in his both. This was really cool and funny and we sow many animals like crocodiles, birds and turtles.....must do!
Day 4
This day we had to drive for 6 hours to get to KeyWest, but not making thedrive too long we made a stop at Ron Jon Surf Shop, which is a mega big shopwith a huge selection of swimsuits, surfboards, wetsuits etc.In Key Largo(one of the first keys), where some of us went snorkeling.
From Key Largoyou only have to sail for half an hour to get to the reef.In Floridayou can also snorkel and dive in Key West, but you have to sailfor about 1 and a half hour to get the reef. Thereef is not that colorful as Great barrier reef but the fish are ascolorful as everywhere else. The people who wanted to go snorkeling lend wetsuits ( in dec the water is cold soa wetsuit is recommendable). It cost USD 5 to rent the wetsuit. Itcosts USD 27 to go snorkeling. You could also just join the boattrip withoutsnorkeling for USD 20.A very beautiful trip.
The people who did not go snorkeling went to a national park just to enjoy the sunon the beach or to take a walk or play fresbee. You might have an imaginationthat all the beaches in Florida are nice with white fine sand but many places it is small stones. Wehad the lunch and the daily look at the map before we took the ride over theabout 47 bridges, incl 7mile bridge. It was a greatride and one of the things you have to do if you go to FloridaTo go by car in Florida is the best way to travel (beside Trek Americaof course..) but it is also possible to fly from Miamito Key West and take buses on the island. Wearrived to the campsite and put up the tents.

Boyds,Key West Campground.
Mile Marker #5 Highway U.S one 401Malone,Key west Avenue 330-40
Priceabout 45US
The campground is located just next to the sea in a open area which mean withouttrees nearby and therefore no shade but with a nice view and a pool to cool ofin on the warmest months of the year. The place is kept clean and nice and thepeople in the reception are helpful but also strict about keeping the placesilent after 11 o´clock. Which means that the staff must "love" to have Trek Americaas their guests. After a good dinner made by our guide Hans, we started drinking anddrinking and a little more drinking until we had to leave the campground.We tried to find the bar nearby, but because Hans also got a little too much,we first found the bar when it was closed. So we just went back and took the last beer before going to bed. A really nice day.

Day 5.
Key West. The last of the keys. Where everything is " the most southern".We had a whole day in Key West to spend as we like.And we liked it!!!
Key West is a very laid back place with plenty to see and do. There is no shortage of bars orrestaurants. And they are open almost 24 hours a day.
We also recommend a stroll through the backstreets of Key West, where the streets are lined with beautiful old wooden houses.
Ernest Hemmingway spend many years in Key West. His houseis now a museum. There is an entrance fee of USD 11.
Shopping is mainly souvenirs and t-shirtsin the center of Key West.
Every day the sunset is celebrated at Mallory Square.This is something you should not miss out on.
There are lots of small stands, where youcan buy everything from candles to jewelry. There are also acrobats, not tomention the cats and the chicken that are all over the square.
From the waterfront you can watch the mostbeautiful sunsets, while the pirate ships, catamarans and sailboats sail by. Oryou can join these sunsetcruises.
Wejoined a 2 hour booze cruise (sunset cruise) on a big catamaran. This costapprox. USD 30per person. This includes free bar with whitewine, champagne, beer and soft drinks.
That was amazing....do it if you go there:)

Day 6.
Hotelname: Howard Johnson Dezerland Miami
Public transportation close by: City Bus down to SouthBeach,leaves every 20-30 minutes.
From/toairport: Take the SR 112/195 E towards MiamiBeaches. Go to A1A (CollinsAve) Head North (left turn)to 87th street.Hotel is on right hand side. Taxi takes about 35 min. (37 USD). Shuttle bus is21 USD.
Impression of reception area, public areas, staff in general:Lots of space in lobby. Inspiration of the fifty's with pictures of James Dean,old cars etc. The restaurant has cars where you can sit and have dinner in.Nice pool area with a pool.
Description of rooms: Big room with 2 queen size beds, oceanview, TV, safe hair dryer, coffee maker, iron, kitchenettes or fridge.
Other facilities at the hotel: Restaurant, outdoorpool, room service available, luxury spa, coin operated guest laundry, jet skirentals, complimentary shuttlebus service to SouthBeach and Aventura Mall, Internet.
Breakfast included: Yes, good American breakfast buffet.
Description of hotel surroundings: Close to beach, quiet area.
General Impression: Nice and spacious rooms, different and cool restaurant, nice pooland a good location on the beach, Only takes about 15 min down to South Beachby taxi (20 USD), Most popular places to go to on South Beach is Ocean Drivebetween 8th - 16th avenue. Art deco area. Shopping at Collin St. and Lincoln Ave.

Day 7
We took a ride back to Orlando...6-7 hours more or lessTropical Palms Campground, OrlandoThe campground was very nicely taken care of, it was clean and stylish area.Staff was friendly.The cabins were with two bedrooms and a loft (+couch, total 7 pax) and veranda.Facilities in the cabins were fully equipped kitchen, bathroom (toilet &bath), tv, radio, coffee machine, microwave and hairdryer.The campground is a shaded woodland area, there are parking near cabins, publicbathrooms and showers. General impressions of the campground were that it was well maintained, nearbyshopping centre and there is an easy access to Sea World and Disney World(there is a free shuttle to Disney World!) We went to Sea Wolrd but you can also go to Magic Kingdom,Universal studios, a roller coaster parc.....etc. which I did on my first tour. All really great places:)Then it was time to say goodbuy to Florida and go back to Denmark.
It is a
favorite spot for picnicking, swimming, surfing, fishing, shrimping, clamming,
crabbing, boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, bird watching, camping and
enjoying nature. Sebastian Inlet S.R.A. has something for everybody.