| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Sun December 18, 2011 01:42 PM UTC
There's plenty to do between Miami and Tampa -- lots of refuges and nature to see. I'm not as familiar with that section of Florida as I am with the panhandle (Pensacola area) through the New Orleans. Basically that area there isn't a whole lot of beauty to see, but the Gulf Islands National Seashore is worth a stop along the way. I typically tell people to just drive on through this area and get to the more interesting places, but since you are looking for nature, this is a pretty neat area. You can make it an overnight - plenty of hotels near the water or, if you want to save some money, head up closer to I-10 for less expensive places since they are out of the touristy section.
I-10 is interstate - similar to the Autobahn but with speed limits ;-) It is usually smooth going. While the temperatures rarely dip to freezing, be aware that a good bit between Pensacola and New Orleans are bridges, so IF (a big IF) it is rainy and freezing, you need to use caution on the roads more so since bridges will freeze faster. Other than that, it isn't a bad trip at all. We made a similar trip (New Orleans to Pensacola earlier this year in January) and the weather was nice - this area is one place you don't want to go in the middle of summer due to the heat and humidity!
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Sun December 18, 2011 03:47 PM UTC
Ditto to the above.
This part is not well visited by tourists and there are plenty of bays and islands and rivers and places to stay. It reminds you of days gone by, yet it is easy to reach and travel through.
On the west coast of Florida, going up north, there are quaint towns and keys. The drive from Miami to Tampa is easy and fairly straightforward but the drive up to New Orleans is long and time consuming especially if you wish to stop to enjoy what is in between. Not recommended for a hurried trip, in my opinion.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Sun December 18, 2011 04:21 PM UTC
piece of cake up I75 and I10 get directions here
www.mapquest.com
Tarpon Springs, is nice, the beaches of Fort Walton and ¨Panama city are nice,the views on the road are nice.
hope it helps
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Sun December 18, 2011 05:08 PM UTC
Destin and Fort Walton, Fl are beautiful beaches, some of the whitest sand you'll ever see, looks like snow.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Sun December 18, 2011 07:00 PM UTC
Check out Crystal River and the manatee snorkelling trips - absolutely amazing experience swimming and interacting with these wonderful animals.
There are lots of natural springs north of Tampa, we camped at a few, and they had good mangrove swamps as well. Quite a lot of wildlife.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 12:23 AM UTC
Actually ... what I found most interesting in Florida was the Everglades park - but this is way south of Miami. Here is the official link:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/photosmultimedia/index.htm
We have a couple of neat places in Orlando (no, nowhere near the parks - this is up where normal people live) - these are Wekiva Springs State Park and Blue Springs state park - you can google them. In Wekiva you can rent a canoe and paddle down the river. There are plenty of hotels around - but further up I-4. Well, actually, I-4 officially runs East-West, but it runs north-south in Orlando - so East is really north and west is really south. Lake Mary is a nice place to stay - pretty residential and about equidistant to both parks. I've never been a big fan of Tampa although the beaches are 'ok' - too many manta rays, althogh we have sharks here near Orlando - take your pick :-)
I really cannot see any reason to drive from Miami to Tampa. OK, Naples is a nice beach and community - that's about it. I know I'll have people disagreeing.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 12:59 AM UTC
Oh I will disagree with Nomad. What is wrong with the beautiful Beaches In Venice, and Sarasota North to Clearwater. After Clearwater there are no good beaches until you get to some of the best beaches in the USA on the Panhandle of Florida. In between is the area known as the "Nature Coast". The Homasassa State Wildlife Park and the springs in Crystal River. Manatees can be viewed up close in both Places. Stay off I-75 and I-10 and take the coastal roads off US 19 in that area and US 98 west of Perry toward Pensacola. At Pensacole you can get on I-10 to go further West. The local roads and US 19 are in good shape for the most part. You migh find some construction in a few places but since it is not a high traffic area, you should not get held up very much. January is not exactly tourist season.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 01:06 AM UTC
BTW, There are no ocean beaches in Orlando. The ocean is about 50 miles away. And sharks would only be in a aquarium.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 02:10 AM UTC
I agree about the Everglades - I would go to the east entrance and as far as the Anhinga Trail even if you didn't do anything else.
We basically did more or less this trip in February of 2011. Starting from Miami, we stopped at Corkscrew Swamp (an Audubon Preserve) and then stopped at Estero State Park which was where the Hollow Earth Society was headquartered. The next day we drove over to Sanibel Island to visit the lighthouse. This is also a big shelling area. We've been to Ft Myers to Edison's place in the past and we didn't stop in Sarasota or revisit Tarpon Springs where the old sponge diving was done either, but went up to Crawfordville south of Tallahassee for the next night. In the morning we went to the St Mark's National Wildlife Refuge to see another lighthouse, and then we had lunch (and visited another lighthouse) on St. George Island and by this time we were near Panama City. We skipped Pensacola (where we used to live) and spent the night in Mobile which is an attractive city. Near there is Dauphin Island, and Theodore which is where Bellingrath Gardens is located although I thought the Leu Gardens in the Orlando area were better. The following day we got to lake Ponchatrain and New Orleans is on the other side of it.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 09:48 AM UTC
I agree on Clearwater Beach and also St Pete Beach, and the Fort DeSoto National Park ,one of the best beaches in the USA! yeah plenty to see, to the OP,do you have more days available ? hehe
have fun in the sunshine state.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 10:55 AM UTC
To many people in Orlando, New Smyrna Beach is our local beach - the fact that it's a few miles out is a minor detail. Cocoa is nice if you don't want to be looking out for the cars, but the beach is not as sandy, you step in more rocks, and the undertoe is atrocious - my husband had to rescue one of the boys from being pulled out. Sharks in acquarium - think twice:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2008-04-18-shark-beaches-forbes_N.htm
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Mon December 19, 2011 05:45 PM UTC
funny thing nomad when I lived in Ormond Beach, the orlando folks call Cocoa Beach their beach, and my family in Orlando still goes there....
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Tue December 20, 2011 07:42 PM UTC
Hey folks, thanks so much for all the tips! I certainly will do the drive all the way to New Orleans. I've good 10 days to go there from Tampa, so I'll focus on the Florida part and drive the rest in 1 or 2 days.
All the best to all of you,
Ralf.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Tue December 20, 2011 07:44 PM UTC
great you will love it.enjoy the ride.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Wed December 21, 2011 04:21 AM UTC
Sounds like a plan, Ralf. Safe travels!
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Thu December 22, 2011 01:00 PM UTC
Glad the op has things settled!
gwened - yes, it is funny who considers what beach. My son was a teenager at the time and all the kids at Winter Park High School seemed to go to New Smyrna - we did too as we liked the softer sand --- did not even know about the sharks then, in fact, once I went pretty far out, I freaked when I saw the photo but it could be that the sharks moved down later.
I think if you have little kids that don't go past the shore, Cocoa Beach is a better option because cars don't drive on the beach, which was my only stress at New Smyrna. Things were usually fine, but you had to keep tighter control when the kids ran around due to the cars driving. Cocoa Beach is nice too - but I did find it a little rockier. Guess it depends what beach style you have. I lived in Cuba and was used to going in the water and walking in clear sandy beaches - although don't have any photos, went mostly to Jibacoa although I lived in Cojimar. Anyhow - guess it depends on everyone's preference and what your circle of friends do.
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| Florida |
Re: Driving from Tampa to New Orleans Posted: Thu December 22, 2011 01:11 PM UTC
yes that stretch is call Shark Alley, if you see the records of shark attacks its one of the highest in the world, but then again, very high concentration of surfers too, men and women.
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