Group tours in the Sunshine State never fail to amaze and inspire… and resonate long after they’re over. Following is just a fraction of what’s available.
BY WATER
Whether you’re doing the paddling or someone else takes the wheel, the view from Florida’s waterways will both relax and invigorate you.
Amelia River Cruises and Charters, Fernandina Beach
With Cumberland Island, Georgia as the ultimate destination, Amelia River Cruises and Charters showcases the history and unspoiled nature of Northeast Florida, departing from Fernandina Beach and sailing past the Civil War-era Fort Clinch, with salt marshes and wilderness beaches along the way.
Reaching Cumberland Island, you might hear a collective gasp as guests spot the island’s wild horses or majestic bald eagles soaring overhead.
“We offer a nature and history tour,” says Sales Manager Angela Dye. “You learn all about the history of Fernandina as well as the Carnegie history of Cumberland Island and all its natural features.”
The company operates a 49-passenger boat as well as a larger boat comfortably hosting about 85, with private charters and twilight cruises available.
Indian River Queen, Cocoa
There’s nothing quite like it in Florida—the boat and its destination. The Indian River Queen is a full-service, triple-deck paddlewheel river boat, a private charter specialist, and it sails the scenic Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s Central East Coast, called the most biologically diverse estuary in North America with more than 4,300 plant and animal species, including birds, bottlenose dolphins and a full third of the nation’s manatee population.
To maximize its private charter potential, the Queen recently launched a new corporate meetings division (www.IRQcorporatemeetings.com) to handle lunch and dinner cruises, custom cocktail parties and theme parties.
Blue Heron River Tours, DeLand
Sailing from the Hontoon Landing Resort and Marina in DeLand—inland from Daytona Beach—two-hour, fully narrated Blue Heron River Tours head south on the St. Johns River past the manatee refuge at Blue Spring State Park.
“We see manatees mostly in January and February, but we do see them at other times,” notes Tiffany Smith, office manager. “We see all kinds of birds, alligators, turtles and land animals like bobcats, monkeys, wild boars and turkeys.”
The tour also plies the waters of an old logging canal—created for shipping cypress trees—as well as the Dead River, so named because it literally has no current; a boat could stand overnight and move no more than five feet.
“We show the Florida that was here before the homeowners’ associations, before Disney,” Smith says. “It’s a whole other side of Florida that a lot of people don’t see and will never see.”
Blue Heron’s boat holds up to 49 passengers, and groups are free to bring their own food and drink, Smith says.
KeyZ Charters, Florida Keys
The vast water wonderland of the Florida Keys comes into focus with Islamorada-based KeyZ Charters, which can arrange a host of one- to three-hour ecotours as Captain Samantha Zeher guides her six-person boat through narrow mangrove channels and across shallow flats, looking for the rare American saltwater crocodile, egrets, herons, ospreys and iguanas.
Zeher also treks to the islands of Indian Key and Lignumvitae Key, illustrating the hardscrabble lives and determination of early Keys pioneers.
While groups of six are Zeher’s max, she says it’s possible to join forces with other boat captains to accommodate larger groups.
“At this moment, I’m sitting with a bunch of other boats at an island event for about 300 people,” she said during a recent phone conversation. “Larger groups can definitely be arranged.”
BY HORSE
From the deep forests of North Florida to the open prairies of Central Florida and subtropical wilderness of South Florida, dry land (or almost dry in some cases) is a pretty good place to be in the Sunshine State, especially when horses are in the picture.
Farm Tours of Ocala
Many people don’t associate Florida with farms, but they’d be missing a big chunk of the state, whose midsection includes Ocala—“horse capital of the world,” thanks to more than 700 horse farms and thoroughbred training centers.
Farm Tours of Ocala takes you through Ocala’s horse country, going behind the scenes of working farms and interacting with horses as well as the professionals who work with them. If you visit during an event such as HITS Ocala, it might also be included on the itinerary.
PageBreak
Forever Florida, Kissimmee
The call of the cowboy can also be heard south of Kissimmee at Forever Florida, a cattle and horse ranch offering guided horseback excursions across a 4,700-acre conservation area highlighted by natural streams, forests, pastures and wetlands.
Attendees can be a “Cowboy for a Day” at Forever Florida’s Crescent J Ranch, learning to rope or ride; or work together in a teambuilding activity to drive in and work with a herd of heritage cattle.
Other experiences here include zipping above the treetops across a zipline course that includes 10 towers, seven zips and three sky bridges.
Tours on Horseback, St. Lucie County
If you love horses, and love the beach, those two concepts combine at only a couple of places in the Sunshine State, and one of them is St. Lucie County, where Tours on Horseback leads one-hour beach rides for up to 16 people on Hutchinson Island.
“We talk about the different birds and vegetation along the way,” says Tammy Hayes, whose parents own the company. “We ride right along the ocean, so if there’s aquatic life visible, we talk about that, too.”
Hayes says that no prior riding experience is required.
“People who haven’t ridden before do fine,” she says.
Babcock Wilderness Adventures, Punta Gorda
In Southwest Florida, deep into the slough lands occupied by Calusa Indians 10,000 years ago, Babcock Wilderness Adventures leads 90-minute bus tours through a working cattle ranch and four distinct ecosystems, including swamps, to give visitors a close-up look at local wildlife while opening a window onto the Florida of long ago.
BY THE UNDEAD
The living don’t have a monopoly on good tours in Florida. The dearly departed have their say regarding local history and other happenings on ghost tours offered throughout the state.
Historic Monticello Ghost Tours
Once part of the Confederacy but with a modern history going back to Spanish conquistadors, North Florida has the look and feel of antiquity—and the promise of ghostly encounters—especially in towns like Monticello, 30 minutes from Tallahassee, which conveniently enough has been called “the most haunted small town in the South.”
“It’s not at all unusual for people to have encounters on our tour,” says Betty Davis, founder, owner and creator of Historic Monticello Ghost Tours. “People have been touched. People have had pebbles thrown at them. They’ve seen ghosts,” she adds, referring to sightings of John Denham, whose 1872 home is now a B&B.
Davis’ 90-minute tours include 14 of the town’s most haunted sites; group size is about 25 people per guide and she has two guides (plus herself).
“Our town looks exactly like you would picture Mayberry to be,” she says. “When you’re here, you see kids with lemonade stands and fishing poles. But at night, another world takes over.”
Tour St. Augustine
Imagine treading the narrow cobblestone streets of one of the oldest cities in the New World, a lantern guiding the way toward supernatural sightings. It’s all in a night’s work with Tour St. Augustine, whose St. Augustine Ghost Tours are among the most requested by corporate groups, reports Fondie Rittman, director of sales and marketing.
“At 450 years old, St. Augustine has had a lot of interesting history which comes alive during our boutique walking tours,” she says. “Since many residents and visitors alike have experienced unusual occurrences that can’t be explained by conventional wisdom, there is a huge interest in ghost tours.”
If spooky sojourns are not on the agenda, the company also offers food and chocolate tours as well as pub crawls.
The Original Ghost Tours Key West
America’s “Southernmost City” is also one of its most haunted, according to the purveyors of the Original Ghost Tours Key West.
Tales of love, deceit and betrayal highlight these lantern-led walks through the historic streets of Old Town Key West, which end in what is touted as the world’s only haunted Hard Rock Cafe.
