The best spot I have been so far for long hiking trails in the Pompano area. Easy hiking. Didn't…read moreget bit by any type bugs, spiders, mosquitoes , snakes or alligators. The Trails are clean. Nature Center is great. Perfect trails for all ages. Restrooms and refreshments available. I did the Half mile boardwalk loop trail which is very shaded, so it wasn't feeling too hot. Very tropical. Felt like it was actually misting but no rain. Lots of water under the walkway. It's a Lush forest. Then I did the 1 mile loop prairie trail plus an extra 300 yard loop trail off the prairie trail. Overall a nice forest. Check it out if you haven't been. It's free and plenty of parking was available on a Saturday. They Even had a cleaning station with a water hose and foot scrubber to clean your shoes on the way out.

We live waking at Fern Forest. The trails are beautiful and the "treehouse" in the middle is great…read morefor events and kids to explore. It's also a great spot for photos! One thing that could be improved is the wildlife children's center needs a major deep clean. It doesn't look like it has ever been cleaned. There is so much dust everywhere and has lots of spiderwebs around the baseboards and underneath the furniture. Great spot to get a spider bite. Lots of the content and activities are old and out of date.

The Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Chamber of Commerce promotes and supports the local business community…read more This is a nonprofit organization that plays a crucial role in fostering economic growth and development with business advocacy, networking opportunities, community development, and promotion of the local economy. The Chamber of Commerce provides information and resources to those living in the community and to visitors. One of their most important jobs is tourism promotion. The Chamber of Commerce serves as the catalyst for economic prosperity by contributing to the well-being of both the business community and the broader local community. They help visitors to the town discover the meaning of the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea slogan "Relax, you're here." The Chamber of Commerce is located in a quaint historic building along Ocean Boulevard. They can point you to the best places to stay, shop and dine in the "Shore Dive Capital" of Florida. Popular past times include walking the pier, fishing, and relaxing in an Adirondack chairs around town. The Chamber of Commerce has a number of brochures, maps, flyers, and coupons to the different businesses in town as well as magazines and local papers like The Pelican. On the day I visited the ladies working were very friendly and eager to assist. Even as a local I learned something new. There is an upcoming event, the Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Garden Club Fundraiser that I am interested in attending and a Farmer's Market held in El Prado Park. Unfortunately the Chamber of Commerce is only open during the week or I would probably stop by more often.

This visitor center has the famous giant beach chair that many people sit in and take pictures…read morewhile in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. It's located on A1A, maybe about 3 or 4 blocks from the main intersection of Commercial and A1A. Not a far walk or drive from the many restaurants, bars and hotels in the area. The place is not too big, but they do have lots of information on things to do in LBTS as well as people to help if you have any questions. The center also have many coupons for restaurants and attractions in the area. Why visit this town???? If there was ever a Norman Rockwell-style painting done of a South Florida beach town, it would look like Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. This cozy little village exudes retro Florida charm with its low-rise buildings and mid-century style architecture. Not only is the 2.5 mile beach beautiful and unspoiled, but you can snorkel or dive right from shore. Recognized as "South Florida's Beach Diving Capital," the near-shore reefs are just 100 yards off the coastline. In fact, the 1900 SS Copenhagen steamship shipwreck is now the most-visited Underwater Archaeological Preserve in Florida, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The downtown Beach Pavilion and plazas are right alongside the beach and stretch for several blocks west, past State Road A1A. It's a haven for people-watching and socializing. Hotels, shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors and live entertainment are all within breezy walking distance. You can rent a bike or hop on the free "around Town" Pelican Hopper bus. All this information for all these attractions and more can be found here at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor center.

The Little Havana Welcome Center sits in a tiny building on Calle 8 between Domino Park and…read moreMcDonald's. Little Havana is a major tourist destination so it is helpful to have this center to provide aid. I have been here several times and it has always been closed but this time I finally caught it open. Inside is a small counter staffed by a helpful person who can speak in English and Spanish. They can give information on what to see and point out the different tours operating in the area. There are a number of attraction brochures and there is a history wall sponsored by Bacardi. I was able to pick up a handy dandy Explore Little Havana brochure that includes a map, points of interest, the murals of Calle Ocho, and the Walk of Stars. If you are only here for a few hours it is a great guide to have. I just wish the Welcome Center was a little larger. I don't think more than three people can fit at one time. I also wish it had better hours. As I was coming back the other way it was already closed again.

This Shark Valley trail itself is five stars, but the way it's operated isn't…read more Get there early if you'd like peace and quiet before the trams start which seems to be 9:30. Trail is paved, direct sunlight. In Jan saw over 60 gators a couple crocs. Took about 2.5 hrs with stopping to watch. Most national parks will allow you to access and pay earlier hours -- this park doesn't. This park gate opens at 8:30am, and creates a line that goes out into traffic, clearly only catering to people using the trams. We had to park on the Hwy and bike in, which was allowed but there was someone at the booth even at 730 to take money-- why not just open the parking lot early if someone is manning it anyway? To cater to the trams, which are very expensive. We were trying to enjoy watching some baby gators and the tram came up to about a foot behind us on our bikes to loudly scream over an intercom about the babies. Really takes away from the natural experience.

I am generally a fan of National Parks. The Everglades is fairly uniform and spread out over a huge…read morearea. There are multiple entrances (and perhaps visitors' centers) but we only checked out this one. Shark Valley is about an hour west of Miami on Hwy 41. En route, you pass 3 - 4 airboat tour companies that all take you near or into part of the park on their tours. That is, to me, the quintessential Everglades experience. However, you can't do that tour at the Park HQ. At Shark Valley, the main apparent draw is a large (15-mile) loop road that goes south from the highway. At the far end is some tall observation tower. You cannot drive on this road, so you have 3 options: walk it, rent a bike from the ranger station, or take a periodic tram tour (2 hours) that costs (I think) about $34. When we arrived, it was already 3 p.m. and if we took the 4 p.m. tram tour, we'd have been driving back through downtown Miami in the dark. Traffic there is scary enough in daylight, so we skipped that. They also had a boil water advisory that day (?), so we could not refill our water bottles. The ranger station was nice enough, with a few exhibits. I think the entrance fee is $20 per car. When we arrived, the lot was full so you could either wait in a short line of cars (where the let one in as one left) or park out on a wide shoulder of Hwy 41 and walk to the ranger station (probably about 1/3 of a mile one way). Depending on what sort of Everglades experience you're looking for, this may be worth a stop. Or you may just want to choose one of the airboat places instead.

The Florida turnpike is the Florida turnpike. It was constructed in 1957 and expanded again in the…read moreearly 60s. It was initially built using bond money from numerous sources that were voted on by the people; in the year 2000, the tolls were supposed to have paid off the highway and removed, and to this day, 20 years later, the tolls remain. The voters that voted The expulsion of the turnpike fees in the year 2000 or are most likely dead and can't speak for themselves. Consider that when you vote for a long-term bond, once they got your money, they never let go. In defense of the politicians, the turnpike has expanded from the original 262 miles stretcher from Miami to Wildwood, and the roads are in pretty decent shape

Avoid this company at all costs! I've never been baited and switched and passed around with so many…read morelies in all my life. And in that time frame I've done about a hundred presentations looking for the right company to go through for our vacations. We vacation for at least one month out of the year own a condo on Daytona Beach for Bike Week, and a gold crown condo on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. worst part about a tall is what I booked a year and a half ago is not even part of the deal anymore as they sunk the original cruise ship we were supposed to have a window cabin for! It a shady RCI booking company.. do not do business with them unless you love wasting 3 days of your life, like we have with a six month baby in tow.. :-( ( I forgot to mention due to them changing our tour date, we are now running late for our cruise ship boarding and vacation village the timeshare sellers.. also since we had to drive all over Fort Lauderdale following the seller from condo to condo we wound up breaking our $1,200 stroller.... not happy NOT HAPPY AT ALL. That we might have bought into had has not been a problem Oh I forgot to tell you about the biggest lie of them all... All your meals are covered during the presentation. No what they give you are vouchers that don't even cover the cost of one meal!! $31 for a continental breakfast for two that's free for most hotels and all they covered was $14 of it so no meals are not included I'm afraid to even think what they're all inclusive would mean

This park was named for Pompano pioneer Robert aka Bob McNab who came south after the frost of 1899…read morein Central Florida with his brother Harry. Harry was a city councilman and banker who opened the first movie theater and ran the post office and grocery store while brother Bob spearheaded the city's agriculture and commercial development. The brothers made their fortune in farming which enabled them to own most of old Pompano. They were the first people to own an automobile and have electric lights. I stopped by because I noticed the beautiful large Christmas tree that the city had set up in the park. They also added decorations that light up at night. While it was beautiful display I felt uncomfortable because they were at least 20 homeless people in the small area of the park. At least one was smoking pot right next to a toddler. As I was leaving I ran into a security guard who told me the homeless could be there and it seems like they have made it their gathering spot. It's sad that the homeless of Pompano can't get better services to help them off the street. The city could have saved the money of the decorations and put it towards that. The really ironic thing is the park is directly behind the Pompano Beach visitors center. I don't think this is the welcoming look of Pompano that they wish to convey to tourists. Although I can't recommend a visit the park it also has a clubhouse, tennis and racquetball courts, basketball court, and a children's playgrounds but honestly take your kids somewhere else.

Visitors center, event space, gift shop, and lounge in little haiti. It's definitely a stop fpr…read moreout of towners visiting the area... for info, shopping opportunities, as well as food and evening cultural programming. The day I went world famous Gardy Girault from haiti was in the lounge/garden spinning alongside miamis own Dj Kumi. It was a great night of music! They also had a bar and a food truck serving delicious haitian food. On weekends, they host a brunch that I heard was good, so I look forward to coming for that.

We had Budget shuttle drop us off at Terminal 19 for Royal Caribbean. Easy access boarding…read more Upon return, the area was a bit crowded. Very easy to go thru xray scans, get passes and everything else On departure, your luggage is given a number and you pick it up at that section- easy peasy If you had a confiscated item, you can get it Right before you exit the building

Port Everglades offers both covered and uncovered paid parking options. Upon arrival, be prepared…read moreto show your driver's license to enter, and security may randomly select vehicles for inspection and ask a few questions. One thing that could definitely be improved is the signage. Once inside the port, there were no clear directions or signs showing where to go for the Royal Caribbean ship or any of the terminals. We had to drive around for a while before finally finding someone who could point us in the right direction. Once we located the drop-off area, the process was smooth and not too crowded around 9:30 AM. Debarkation was much easier than embarkation, and there were plenty of taxis waiting outside when leaving the port. I'm not sure whether Lyft is allowed inside the port area. Overall, the experience was okay, but better signage and directions would make a huge difference.

I am new to kiting and took lessons with Epic. Nick was my instructor and was passionate and…read moreprofessional. Never made me feel like I was new. His equipment is top of the line and in great shape. After taking multiple lessons I purchased all of my gear from them and am very happy. They also do excursions all over the world. They are super friendly and amazing instructors. I would highly recommend them to anyone at any level.

Professional people to deal with ,fast response with text and calls , everything they promised and…read morekite gear is in excellent condition not old , absolutely will use them again,