Plan on a full day to explore NASA Kennedy Space Center launch headquarters, located on an island wildlife refuge eight times the size of Manhattan. Each year, millions of visitors from across the world make the trek to this hub of technology and discovery, where many of mankind’s greatest accomplishments take place. At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, you get the unique chance to tour – up close – NASA’s launch and landing facilities, experience interactive simulators, enjoy live shows and have jaw-dropping encounters with massive rockets. Plus, you can even meet a member of NASA’s Astronaut Corps. It’s all what you can expect from an inspiring day at Kennedy Space Center in Florida!
Days Inn Florida
Days Inn hotels offer great value all over the Florida map. Whether your Florida vacation brings you to the golf courses, the amusement parks, or the sandy beaches, tis sure to be a Days Inn hotel nearby. Enjoy great savings with our Sunsational Rates at participating locations.
Click for a select property listing to make your reservation and save even more.
Welcome to Steve Ellis Tours!
We offer you the Best Vacation Value! Our tremendous buying power combined with our experience, resources and influence allow you to choose from a wide selection of travel programs designed to provide the best possible value for your personal travel dollar. Whether you enjoy discount shopping, the Smoky Mountains, a sunny beachfront resort, a luxurious spa, world-class golf vacation, big city sightseeing, road trips, or cruises, Steve Ellis Tours and Discountours.com has the vacation package that is right for you. We also offer guaranteed departure trips with exciting trips you won't find anywhere else. More...
Travel Media
Florida is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, with visitors heading to ‘The Sunshine State’ in search of fun, sun and thrills. Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom Park and Busch Gardens are just a few of the man-made attractions for which the State is famed. But there is more to Florida than Mickey Mouse and white-knuckle rides. Winding waterways, freshwater lakes, hills, forests, exciting cities, 13,560km (8426 miles) of coast, countless bays, inlets and islands, and a legendary climate make this one of the most popular States in the USA. World Travel Guide
Online Traveler
Florida has something for everyone -- St. Augustine for the history buffs, lakes and oceans for the fishermen, beaches for anyone, South Beach in Miami for the jetsetters and hangers-on, professional sports, college sports (Go Noles!), shopping, fantastic seafood, and lots of theme parks thanks to the Mouse that roared. Just remember your sunscreen, and in the summer, your rain poncho or umbrella for the afternoon thunderstorms, although these have not been as frequent in recent years leading to drought conditions in many parts of the state. Virtualtourist.com User
Welcome to Florida
Top 5 Must Do / Must See / Must Experience
The Florida Experience
First sighted by Don Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513, Florida was originally named La Florida, or Land of Flowers. Today, the climate of this southern state continues to encourage the growth of many exotic, sub-tropical and tropical plants. Because of the climate, Florida also calls numerous visitors to the pristine beaches that line the peninsula, from the eastern coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean to the western beaches and panhandle areas that line the Gulf of Mexico. Off the mainland are thousands of island escapes, including the famous Florida Keys.
Florida's sandy beaches, stellar attractions, historic spaceport, ancient city, everglades, and coral keys are just waiting to be discovered.
See St. Augustine by Carriage
Come see the oldest city with the newest carriage company, Country Carriages. They offer relaxing tours with over 400 years of history from the early Spanish settlers to the rich and famous of the Flagler era to modern times of today. Sit back and enjoy the sound of the horse's hooves as you travel down some of the quaint brick streets. For the romantic, they can also provide quiet rides for proposals or weddings. Special pickups and group tours are also available.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
See 23 species of crocodilians from around the world including rare white alligators. Watch fascinating shows every hour including the "Rainforest Review" featuring macaws and cockatoos. Experience the adventurous Alligator feedings twice a day. The natural rookery in the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park is home to hundreds of egret, ibis, heron and other wading birds and part of the Florida Birding Trail including around 150 American Alligators and many native turtles.
Shopping at St. Johns Town Center
For all the shopaholics out there: Make sure to visit St. Johns Town Center! Jacksonville's newest and most talked about shopping destination - the St. Johns Town Center kicks off the autumn season offering the world’s finest retail, residential, hotel, and dining choices for Jacksonville area shoppers. Shop, enjoy fine dining, and end your shopping extravaganza on a sweet note with an ice cream. Make sure you bring your girlfriends a long for the ride and follow the motto "Shop 'til you Drop!".
Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park
In 1836, the Second Seminole War swept away the prosperous Bulow Plantation in Flagler County where the Bulow family grew sugar cane, cotton, rice, and indigo. Ruins of the former plantation-a sugar mill, a unique spring house, several wells, and the crumbling foundations of the plantation house and slave cabins-show how volatile the Florida frontier was in the early 19th century. Today, a scenic walking trail leads visitors to the sugar mill ruins, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Flagler County's Bulow Plantation Ruin State Park has picnic facilities and an interpretive center that tells the plantation's history.
Culinary Delights of Amelia Island
Amelia Island is known for having some of the best food on Florida’s first coast. Eat your heart out at any number of the island’s scrumptious restaurants, celebrate for their delectable dishes, famous chefs and distinctive atmospheres. Come and spend a delicious time on Amelia Island, the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry, where shrimpers still bring in their catch and local chefs create meals with the most mouth-watering shrimp you’ll find anywhere!
Surfing and Beach Fun
From the Canaveral National Seashore to Sebastian Inlet State Park - whether working on your tan, flying a kite, surf-fishing, or taking a romantic stroll - Florida’s Space Coast beaches have something to offer all vacationers. Three of "Florida's Ten Best Beaches," as declared by Southern Living, along with six others, ribbon along Florida's Space Coast, offering distinct settings from secluded, sea-oat scattered strands to sun-splashed excitement beside the breakers. The Space Coast is home to over 100 of the best surf spots on the East Coast. Whether you are a pro or a grommet, you will be able to find a killer spot.
Brevard Zoo
Brevard Zoo in Melbourne is home to more than 550 animals representing over 165 species from North America, South America, Australia and Africa. The Zoo at Florida’s Space Coast boasts "The World's Largest Volunteer Community Build." Over 20,000 people of all ages joined forces to help build the zoo in the spring of 1992. The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne is the only zoo in the country where you can actually kayak on site and view animals from Africa and Madagascar as you paddle down the Nyami Nyami River in Expedition Africa.
Discover All Natural Wild Florida
Florida Eco-Safaris at Forever Florida invites families and fun-loving people to discover Old Florida. Spend a fun-filled day enjoying Eco-Safaris, Horseback Safaris, Nature Trails, Pony Rides, Petting Zoo, and just relaxing and rocking on the veranda. Country-dine for Brunch or Lunch in the beautiful one-of-a-kind Cypress Restaurant or outside on the Heron Deck. It's 100% real (not plastic) and there's a lot to see and do for all ages. Come experience a Florida pioneer's life and the Sunshine State takes on a whole new meaning!
Budweiser Brewery Tours
Along with Florida sunshine, the Anheuser-Busch Jacksonville brewery offers guests an opportunity to see how its products are made during complementary tours. Guests discover first-hand how the world’s greatest beers are carefully crafted using the highest quality ingredients and packaged in a state-of-the-art facility. At tours end, guests 21 years of age and over can sample their favorite brews and relax in the Hospitality Room or browse the Anheuser-Busch Gift Shop for a wide selection of the latest in merchandise.
Magnolia Point Golf and Country Club is a 27-hole country club located off US Highway 17 in Clay County which is just south of Jacksonville, Florida.
The course has a wonderful mix of challenges and breaks. The 6904 yard course is in excellent playing condition. There are tight fairways, long and short par-4s, an excellent variety of par-3 holes, and a few 'grip-and-rip holes' that let you swing away. There are no unfair holes at Magnolia Point which makes the course really fun to play.
What begins as the Treasure Coast, tracing Palm Beach's lifestyles of the rich and famous, moves on to Miami's South Beach and some of the best people-watching in the world, before ending in Key West, the southernmost point in the continental United States, and the final destination of all that is Florida.
Is that enough to keep you entertained?
This final stretch of U.S. Highway 1 and State Road A1A could easily be a three-week tour, with adventures in art and culture, sports and entertainment, fine dining and late-night dancing. The only problem might be finding time to sleep. Read this and other driving tours
First sighted by Don Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513, Florida was originally named La Florida, or Land of Flowers. Today, the climate of this southern state continues to encourage the growth of many exotic, sub-tropical and tropical plants. Because of the climate, Florida also calls numerous visitors to the pristine beaches that line the peninsula, from the eastern coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean to the western beaches and panhandle areas that line the Gulf of Mexico. Off the mainland are thousands of island escapes, including the famous Florida Keys.
Come see the oldest city with the newest carriage company, Country Carriages. They offer relaxing tours with over 400 years of history from the early Spanish settlers to the rich and famous of the Flagler era to modern times of today. Sit back and enjoy the sound of the horse's hooves as you travel down some of the quaint brick streets. For the romantic, they can also provide quiet rides for proposals or weddings. Special pickups and group tours are also available.
See 23 species of crocodilians from around the world including rare white alligators. Watch fascinating shows every hour including the "Rainforest Review" featuring macaws and cockatoos. Experience the adventurous Alligator feedings twice a day. The natural rookery in the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park is home to hundreds of egret, ibis, heron and other wading birds and part of the Florida Birding Trail including around 150 American Alligators and many native turtles.
For all the shopaholics out there: Make sure to visit St. Johns Town Center! Jacksonville's newest and most talked about shopping destination - the St. Johns Town Center kicks off the autumn season offering the world’s finest retail, residential, hotel, and dining choices for Jacksonville area shoppers. Shop, enjoy fine dining, and end your shopping extravaganza on a sweet note with an ice cream. Make sure you bring your girlfriends a long for the ride and follow the motto "Shop 'til you Drop!".
In 1836, the Second Seminole War swept away the prosperous Bulow Plantation in Flagler County where the Bulow family grew sugar cane, cotton, rice, and indigo. Ruins of the former plantation-a sugar mill, a unique spring house, several wells, and the crumbling foundations of the plantation house and slave cabins-show how volatile the Florida frontier was in the early 19th century. Today, a scenic walking trail leads visitors to the sugar mill ruins, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Flagler County's Bulow Plantation Ruin State Park has picnic facilities and an interpretive center that tells the plantation's history.
Amelia Island is known for having some of the best food on Florida’s first coast. Eat your heart out at any number of the island’s scrumptious restaurants, celebrate for their delectable dishes, famous chefs and distinctive atmospheres. Come and spend a delicious time on Amelia Island, the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry, where shrimpers still bring in their catch and local chefs create meals with the most mouth-watering shrimp you’ll find anywhere!
From the Canaveral National Seashore to Sebastian Inlet State Park - whether working on your tan, flying a kite, surf-fishing, or taking a romantic stroll - Florida’s Space Coast beaches have something to offer all vacationers. Three of "Florida's Ten Best Beaches," as declared by Southern Living, along with six others, ribbon along Florida's Space Coast, offering distinct settings from secluded, sea-oat scattered strands to sun-splashed excitement beside the breakers. The Space Coast is home to over 100 of the best surf spots on the East Coast. Whether you are a pro or a grommet, you will be able to find a killer spot.
Brevard Zoo in Melbourne is home to more than 550 animals representing over 165 species from North America, South America, Australia and Africa. The Zoo at Florida’s Space Coast boasts "The World's Largest Volunteer Community Build." Over 20,000 people of all ages joined forces to help build the zoo in the spring of 1992. The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne is the only zoo in the country where you can actually kayak on site and view animals from Africa and Madagascar as you paddle down the Nyami Nyami River in Expedition Africa.
Florida Eco-Safaris at Forever Florida invites families and fun-loving people to discover Old Florida. Spend a fun-filled day enjoying Eco-Safaris, Horseback Safaris, Nature Trails, Pony Rides, Petting Zoo, and just relaxing and rocking on the veranda. Country-dine for Brunch or Lunch in the beautiful one-of-a-kind Cypress Restaurant or outside on the Heron Deck. It's 100% real (not plastic) and there's a lot to see and do for all ages. Come experience a Florida pioneer's life and the Sunshine State takes on a whole new meaning!
Along with Florida sunshine, the Anheuser-Busch Jacksonville brewery offers guests an opportunity to see how its products are made during complementary tours. Guests discover first-hand how the world’s greatest beers are carefully crafted using the highest quality ingredients and packaged in a state-of-the-art facility. At tours end, guests 21 years of age and over can sample their favorite brews and relax in the Hospitality Room or browse the Anheuser-Busch Gift Shop for a wide selection of the latest in merchandise.
This final stretch of U.S. Highway 1 and State Road A1A could easily be a three-week tour, with adventures in art and culture, sports and entertainment, fine dining and late-night dancing. The only problem might be finding time to sleep. 
