Florida's Natural Wonders and Luxurious Spas Await YouDaytona Beach
Enrich your stay at the SpaTerre & Fitness Centre at The Shores Resort & Spa. SpaTerre offers a personal refuge for relaxation and renewal, incorporating the style and traditions of Indonesia to promote health of body, peace of soul and relaxation or spirit. www.shoreresort.com. Everglades
Florida Keys
The Little Palm Island Resort and Spa is a hidden treasure only accessible by boat or seaplane. In these tranquil surroundings, private bungalows look out to sea. There are endless sporting adventures above and below water, and for those purely looking to relax, the world-class spa offers the perfect opportunity to unwind. The spa offers a range of treatments from a basic massage to specialised treatments such as a Thai Kelapa Ritual, an indulgent tropical spa experience. There is also a salon offering manicures and makeup lessons, as well as a fully equipped fitness center for those wanting to keep toned on vacation. www.littlepalmisland.com. Fort Lauderdale
The 63-room Regency House Natural Health Spa in Hallandale Beach is a holistic health and living centre that is geared to helping people lose weight and minimize body fat. The program is based on a high quality, vegetarian diet combined with stress management and behavior modification, including consistent aerobic exercise. The Regency takes pride in teaching guests how to build and maintain high-level health and thinner body image, especially when they return to their regular lives. Facilities at the beachfront resort include a gym, massage rooms, body centre, outdoor pool, Jacuzzi and sauna. The spa provides shopping and cooking classes, work out programs, a basic training boot camp, evening dance classes, yoga, meditation classes, aerobics, health and nutrition lectures and three meals a day. 800-454-0003. www.regencyhealthspa.com. Kissimmee/St. CloudVisitors will never forget the "Real Florida" adventures that compliment the man-made thrills found at nearby theme parks. Hiking, kayaking, and wildlife watching at area wildlife preserves and nature parks top the list of activities. Forever Florida is a 4,700 acre working cattle ranch and nature preserve centered on the heritage of the Florida Cracker Cowboy. Guests can explore nature tours through the cattle ranch and wildlife preserve on an elevated cracker coach or by horseback. www.floridakiss.com. The newly complete Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate, Kissimmee offers a full service, 10,000 square foot spa to help work out sore muscles from a long day of exploring. A long list of unique treatments for both men and women to relax revive and rejuvenate. Among the exclusive treatments designed for this property is the Orange Crush Salt Glow, which captures the essence of the hotel's Florida location. Soft music and the sounds of nature enhance the natural blend of freshly squeezed orange crush and purifying salt to massage cares away. www.omnihotels.com. Marco IslandExperience a "spa"-ritual retreat at the Marco Island Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa. Treat the senses with personalized Balinese therapies at the upscale, 24,000 square-foot The Spa at Marco. Located on three-and-one-half miles of sandy, pristine beaches, The Spa at Marco provides an incredible haven of tranquility. Exotic sensations, subtle touches and delightful surprises are offered in a tropical spa setting where guests can feel relaxed and at ease. Encounter the healing wonders and revitalizing therapies, methodically performed in 24 seaside retreats. www.marcoislandmarriott.com. MiamiIn 1933, six monkeys were released into the dense south Florida hammock. Over 70 years and nearly 400 primates later, Monkey Jungle, a 30-acre reserve allows visitors to view freely roaming monkies. It is one of the few protected habitats for the endangered primates in the United States and the only one the general public can explore. The Monkey Jungle rainforest serves as an excellent breeding sanctuary for South American primates and many "first-in-captivity" births have occurred there. The unique habitat resulted in a true living museum and laboratory of the highly valued and threatened ecosystem. www.monkeyjungle.com. The Spa at Mandarin Oriental has split-level private suites with all the makings of the ultimate escape - luxury, tranquility and the greatest pleasures to stimulate the mind, body and soul. Guests can remain in the haven of their personal suites and pay for the time the suite is used, rather than the treatments selected. All boasting dramatic bay views through a windowed wall of glass, the Mandarin Suites are designed for any of the luxurious or signature treatments. The Oriental Suite is for traditional Thai or Shiatsu massage performed on a soft Asian mat, and the Couples Suite has two treatment tables so that twosomes can enjoy simultaneous splendor. www.mandarinoriental.com Naples
The Registry Resort & Club opened the doors to its Zen-inspired spa facility, The Sanctuary, in November 2004 offering spa services designed to indulge mind, body and soul. Features include 13 modern Asian-style treatment rooms and relaxation area, tranquil water features, natural maple cabinetry and bamboo flooring and views of the tropical mangroves that surround the resort. www.registryresort.com. OrlandoTake a hike in The Little Big Econ State Forest, just 20 minutes from downtown Orlando. This hike begins at the Barr Street trailhead and follows the banks of the Econlockhatchee River to a junction with the Henry Flagler Rail-Trail. From the junction visitors retrace their steps to the parking lot. This trail is a haven for wildlife including fox, otters, bobcats, sandhill cranes, wild turkeys, bald eagles and osprey. This trail is one segment of the 1300-mile Florida National Scenic Trail. www.fl-dof.com. As travelers place greater importance on personal health and relaxation, resort and day spas throughout this area are growing to meet the demand for innovative rejuvenating therapies, pampering treatments and fitness solutions. Papillon the Spa at Westgate Lakes touts its Papillon Experience, a signature deep-kneading massage, and its Moor Mud Detoxifying Body Wrap, among many offerings at the 10,000-square-foot haven of relaxation. www.papillon-spa.com. St. PetersburgOffshore Sailing School offers a diverse range of sailing courses from beginner through advanced cruising and racing coupled with the perfect accommodation. Offering several sailing locations throughout Florida, each point ensures perfect year-round sailing conditions at fabulous world-class resort hotels. www.offshore-sailing.com. For more information on places to go in Florida, visit the website www.VISITFLORIDA.org. Edited by Erika Wright |
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On the land of the Seminole Indian Tribe, visitors can experience first hand the eco-system of a land on the edge of civilization with Billie Swamp Safari. Take an airboat ride through the delicately balanced Everglades eco-system and see sawgrass, cypress domes and hardwood hammocks. View alligators, snakes, turtles, fish and more in their natural environment. Experience a swamp buggy eco-tour, voted one of Florida's Top Guided Tours. Learn about the history of the Florida Seminoles and visit an authentic, re-created Seminole encampment. See and learn about the native flora and fauna and marvel at native and exotic wildlife from deer and antelope to bison and wild tusked boar. 
Butterfly watchers can discover an incredible diversity of species at Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Butterfly State Park. Species to be seen include the Schaus Swallowtail, Silver-banded Hairstreak and both Hammock and Mangrove Skippers. Rare tree snails, which feed on the lichens and bark of the tropical trees, can also be observed. 
This area offers another diverse ecosystem, about 15 feet below sea-level. The coral reef eco system is home to thousands of species of marine life. Here in the salt-water environment of the sub-tropical Atlantic, live herds of staghorn coral, swaying stands of gorgonia, shy angel fish, steel-eyed barracuda, leatherback turtles the size of coffee tables, green moray eels that sew their way in and out of cracks and crevices and spiny lobsters that skitter across the sandy bottom. Sixty-nine miles of natural reef in three tiers offer opportunities to visit parts of this vast underwater society in depths shallow enough to snorkel in or deep enough to challenge the most proficient SCUBA diver. Greater Fort Lauderdale has an active artificial reef building program -- where among other things, ships are sanitized and then sunk to create a new underwater infra-structure, which becomes home for new coral growth, shelter for fish and new sites for diving and sport fishing. 