DESTINATIONS GULF COAST THE US
PENSACOLA TO APALACHICOLA How far: 164 miles See: The prettiest route from Pensacola is via Highway 399, flanked by pastel beach homes and shortbread-hued sand dunes. Along the equally lovely Highway 98, which hugs the slate-blue Gulf of Mexico, Destin’s boardwalk and seafood restaurants make a good lunch and leg-stretch option. Suggest a detour to Seaside, where 1998 Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show was filmed. Small fishing town Apalachicola
nestles in a nub of land where the Apalachicola River empties into a bay of the same name. Visitors can explore Orman House Historic State Park, an antique-stuffed antebellum home with botanical gardens, before eating freshly shucked oysters at Up The Creek Raw Bar. Suggest a sunset cruise from the Apalachicola Maritime Museum (£25 for two hours), during which customers will learn about the town’s history as a 19th- century cotton depot, while watching the sky blaze orange and pink. Stay: Water Street Hotel and Marina in Apalachicola has spacious, stylish suites with balconies overlooking the river, where you can watch passing oyster boats. Doubles from £135.
waterstreethotel.com
APALACHICOLA TO CRYSTAL RIVER How far: 217 miles See: The road skims between the waterfront and Apalachicola National Forest, dense with needle-thin longleaf pines, and passes St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, where the marshes, creeks and islands provide habitat for bald eagles, ospreys and river otters. It’s a perfect build-up to a highlight of the trip – swimming with wild manatees in the Crystal River. More
than 400 ‘sea cows’ gravitate to Kings Bay during winter. A growing number stay all year round, understandably reluctant to leave these temperate, limpid springs. Daily snorkelling trips from the Plantation Adventure Center cost £50 for two hours. Stay: The Plantation on Crystal River has traditional, cosy rooms by the water, steps from where the tours depart. Doubles from £90.
plantationoncrystalriver.com
TOP: The Plantation on Crystal River
LEFT: The Riverwalk, Tampa
42
travelweekly.co.uk11 April 2019
CRYSTAL RIVER TO TAMPA How far: 79 miles See: Refreshingly cosmopolitan Tampa makes a lovely finale (or start) to the trip. For an adrenaline rush, there are belly-flipping rides and wildlife at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Or suggest clients explore downtown. The Riverwalk, a raised walkway tracing the curves of the Hillsborough River, connects cultural highlights including the Tampa Museum of Art and Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. Tampa’s streetcars are free, and it’s a 20-minute ride to Ybor City, founded by cigar magnates in 1885 and still a hub of Cuban culture, from shops where you can watch cigars being hand-rolled to the huge, meat-packed Cuban sandwiches said to have been invented here. Stay: Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk has simple and stylish rooms, and a pool/ bar area next to the river. Doubles start at £120.
marriott.com
SAMPLE PRODUCT
Car hire with Hertz starts at £24 per day. The company’s Road Trip Planner has information and inspiration for routes throughout the US.
hertz.co.uk
Norwegian launched direct flights from
Gatwick to Tampa in late 2018, with one-way fares from £175.
norwegian.com
PICTURES: MICHAEL GEORGE PHOTOGRAPHY; SHUTTERSTOCK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
