We are confident that your stay in one of our luxury vacation homes will be quite memorable, but what if you turned it up a notch? What if your Florida vacation added in some extraordinary activities that would make it epic? We have a few summer bucket list ideas to help you do that.
Swim with dolphins
Who doesn’t love dolphins? They seem to be so playful and have a permanent smile, not to mention being smart. While you may see some dolphins during your stay on Anna Maria Island, you can actually swim with them at Discovery Cove. This day resort is in Orlando, about 2.5 hours from the island and it does require reservations because the park keeps attendance numbers low. There are many activities, like the Grand Reef, where you can snorkel with tropical fish, rays and more, or the Wind-away River which lets you float relaxingly along waterfalls and caves. You can even don a dive helmet for an underwater walking tour that puts you face to face with sharks. But the Dolphin Encounter is the big experience. You meet your dolphins, learn about them from the trainers, then actually get pulled through the water by your new companion. More information can be found at the Discovery Cove website.
Skydive
Freefalling for 30 seconds over Southwest Florida, then seeing your chute open while you float through the sky for the next 5 minutes. If that sounds like your idea of a thrill, Skydive Sarasota is a great way to check skydiving off your bucket list. A short drive south brings you to their hangar. Skydivers without experience will do a tandem jump the first time. This has you jumping with an instructor that has over 2,000 tandem jumps, keeping you safe and letting you do nothing but enjoy the experience. The instructor will even take care of your photography needs. Skydiving is open to adults aged 18 or older and in good health. For more information on the requirements and times, check out the Skydive Sarasota website.
Watch a Rocket Launch
There are plenty of places in the US to skydive and even a few others where you can swim with dolphins, but rocket launches are tough to come by…unless you are in Florida. On the east coast of Florida is Kennedy Space Center, America’s premier launch facility for over 60 years. Visit the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to see the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Rocket Garden, simulators, meet astronauts and more. If your timing is right, you can see a rocket launch. Take it from us, they’re unlike anything you’ve seen before. The Kennedy Space Center website has an exhaustive list of things you can do there and has a running calendar of scheduled launches. Maybe one will be during your trip!
Culture List
Not everything exciting has to be an adrenaline rush. For visitors with a more subdued bucket list, the Gulf Coast of Florida has some unique offerings. A short drive to St. Petersburg brings you to the Salvador Dali Museum. The museum is home to more Dali masterpieces than any other in the world. Even the design of the building itself was inspired by Dali’s surrealism style. Visit their website for more information on visiting.
Another unique museum is the Ringling Museum of Art, the official art museum of the state of Florida. This museum is on the Ringling Estate and houses over 10,000 objects, including a collection of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens. After the art museum, visitors can tour the Circus Museum, the Pullman train car that Ringling used to travel the country and gardens. Wrap up the day with a tour through Ringling’s Venetian Gothic-style waterfront home Ca’ d’Zan (the House of John). This fully restored home is an example of luxury living in the 1920s and 1930s. Visit their website for more information.
These are just a few of the exciting summer bucket list ideas you may want to do while visiting your Serendipity vacation home. Or you may want to just enjoy the quiet, sun and sand of Anna Maria Island. Whichever of those sounds like a great choice to you, our local experts are here to help.
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