Day excursions / shopping:
Fort Lauderdale is about a one hour drive from Miami and has 190,000 residents. In order to get a good overview of Fort Lauderdale, we recommend to ride with the Jungle Queen. This is located at the Bahia Mar Marina. It is an excursion boat that goes through the entire canals. It drives past many luxury villas and yachts. The tour lasts three hours and there is a 45 minute break on a small island where you can watch a crocodile show. Please do not forget your camera, because there are a lot of chances to take great photos. For those who enjoy shopping, there is the largest outlet in the world somewhat outside of Fort Lauderdale. It is the Sawgrass Mills Mall. A gigantic shopping complex with 350 shops. If you come by car, then we suggest you remember where you parked. The mall has a lot of entrances and parking spaces. The most famous spot in Fort Lauderdale is the Las Olas Boulevard.
Swimming and walking:
On the eastern side of the inland coast waterways, you will find a small coastal shoreline that is connected to the inland with multiple bridges. The wide beaches with powder-like sand are surrounded by stunning palm trees. The hotels on these beaches are a little less expensive than in Miami and are more family-friendly. Between the hotels there are public parks with good access to the beaches. Across the beaches on the avenue you will find more inexpensive hotels, restaurants, shops and parking spaces. Miami and South Beach may attract international jet-setters, but Fort Lauderdale attracts families with children, congress participants, students or vacationers who are looking for a less expensive holiday. The Las Olas Boulevard reaches from the beach to the West up to the rich 'Venice' region and to the inner city. For multiple corners of houses in the inner city, the street is surrounded by a selection of boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and night clubs.
Golf:
Greater Fort Lauderdale has more than 60 golf courses and thus, more than 60 reasons for you to golf in the Venice of Florida. Now there is a new one: the newly opened Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club with 18 holes and a driving range. The highlight: the golf course is located in an 85 ha nature park. Through the course and the bordering grass and swamp landscape, there is a 2.4 km long hiking path that invites nature lovers to discover the nature. After golfing, you can meet in the club house, in the gourmet restaurant or on the sunny patio.
'The new Plantation Golf Course & Club offers golfers of all levels challenging terrain. It was created completely in harmony with the natural environment and thus allows visitors to have an unlimited natural experience', described John Webb, responsible for the sector of sport tourism in the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.