Ft Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach... got recs?

Hi everyone!

I'll be taking the family to Florida very soon. Does anyone have any recommendations for leisurely places to go in the area? Beaches, reserves, etc. No theme parks, boat rides or anything like that. We'll have a car so distance is not too much of an issue.
Oh and if you know of any free WiFi spots that would be helpful, too.

Thanks in advance!
Jules

I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, so if you end up going there, I can tell you a couple decent places along the beach to go. Also, a nice quiet beach area without the crowds and traffic on the main Ft. Lauderdale beach if you would prefer that.

As for Boca and West Palm, I never went to those places, so I can't tell you anything about them.

Yeah tell me! I'd appreciate the info. Here or PM would be OK too!

We take our time shares in ft lauderdale and west palm often. At the Marriott resorts, Ft Lauderdale has a lot of cool place and restaurants right around the resort so we went to the places surrounding it. West Palm, the resort pretty much provided amenities and entertainment but I really don't know where to send you. We always go to this one retaurant called Sailfish. Its pretty good and offers a nice view of the harbor at lunch time.

milessthomas said:

We take our time shares in ft lauderdale and west palm often. At the Marriott resorts, Ft Lauderdale has a lot of cool place and restaurants right around the resort so we went to the places surrounding it. West Palm, the resort pretty much provided amenities and entertainment but I really don't know where to send you. We always go to this one retaurant called Sailfish. Its pretty good and offers a nice view of the harbor at lunch time.

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LOL, I worked at the Marriott timeshare! Small world. How did you like it? Which side did you like to stay on?

One great beach is just a little bit further north - Bathtub Beach in the Jensen Beach/Stuart area.

In Boca Spanish River Park is nice. Lots of trees and shade i think its a couple bucks to get in but right on the beach. My favorite breakfast place is John G's in Lake Worth right on the beach. No credit cards so bring cash.. For night life Las Olas Riverfront has a ton of Restaurants and bars and a cool downtown area. The wife loves to go to Butterfly world @ Tradewinds Park. Most of the McDonalds down here have wifi. Panera Bread has it too there are a few around scattered across the area.
http://www.riverfrontfl.com
http://www.butterflyworld.com/
http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/rec/parks/spanishriver.shtm
http://www.johngs.com

go to a Florida Panthers Hockey game.

The main road is US 1. If you go south of Ft. Lauderdale you'll quickly get to Dania Beach. You take the Dania Beach Blvd. over to the beachfront and it's a very nice, laid back, natural setting. It's much nicer the the crowded crazy Ft. Lauderdale beach IMHO. It's the only beach I would go to to hang out, relax and rollerblade on the boardwalk. Dania Beach is also known for it's antique shops if you're into that.

But if you want the exciting beach, go to Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Just a couple blocks north of Las Olas Blvd. (one of the main roads over the intercoastal waterway) is Beach Place. There's a bunch of shops and restaurants there, and some smaller shops along the oceanfront there.

Another nice spot is a little north of there at A1A and Comcercial Blvd. (another main road over the intercoastal called Lauderdale by the Sea. There's a few nice little restaurants and a beach area with a big fishing pier. It's a decent laid back place.

Also in that area is Birch State Park. I never went in there, but it's supposed to be nice. And there's just a ton of other small interesting things you can check out. Sometimes families take their kids to the Ft. Lauderdale port to see all the cruise ships. It's the busiest cruise port in the world. They have day cruises to the Bahamas and evening gambling cruises if you're into that. Also, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is very close (where Anna Nicole Smith died). The only bad thing is they don't have blackjack, my favorite. You have to go on a boat for that.

A trip to the Everglades to see some alligators is also a lot of fun. you can go on a fan boat and/or what they call a "swamp buggy" which looks like a monster truck/school bus mix. It's a lot of fun and you see a bunch of animals. While you're out west at the Everglades, you could stop by Sawgrass Mills mall. Even if you're not into shopping, it's just a cool place to visit. It's gigantic and has a lot more than just stores. A lot of people go there to eat at the outdoor-style restaurants or go to the clubs or movies.

Anyway, I could go on forever. But that's a few highlights.

I forgot about that one, the Hollywood-Dania Boardwalk. Thats a cool spot. Very laid back to walk or bike and some little beachfront restaurants. If you feel like going fro a drive there is monkey jungle in Miami. Its a preserve for monkeys that roam free in the area pretty cool.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34296-c3776/Hollywood:Florida:Hollywood.Broadwalk..html
http://www.monkeyjungle.com/

jensen beach is real nice. my grandma lives there and its really fun.

fleurya said:

LOL, I worked at the Marriott timeshare! Small world. How did you like it? Which side did you like to stay on?

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The West Palm one? We always got the same unit, if your facing the resort from the beach it was the one that was 2nd left from the check in office.

We take our trade there because our 1 unit 1 week share in hawaii trades to two weeks with a 2nd economy suite attached anyplace in Florida. We're not taking our time share in florida anymore though, we're going to France this spring.

It really was a great resort to stay at though.

Hey thanks for all the info! This is great, I appreciate it!

Well... see you all in 11 days or so!

I live in miami.....
If you are willing to take a drive, It may be nice to go to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens...
http://www.fairchildgarden.org/