West Palm Beach Vacation (Boca Raton, Jupiter: 2014, rental, amusement park)

[jacobgc]

My family is going down to West Palm Beach this Christmas and we were wondering what would be some good things to do while we were there. We are open to pretty much anything as long as it isn't to expensive. There are four people one parent and three teenagers. Any ideas??

[ByeByeLW]

Are you nature lovers? I wont post a list of places if that's not your thing.

[jacobgc]

I wouldn't mind maybe taking a trip to the everglades. I heard it is better to go to the everglades in the winter so we might stop there. where would be the best place to go?

[LordyLordy]

Originally Posted by jacobgc

I wouldn't mind maybe taking a trip to the everglades. I heard it is better to go to the everglades in the winter so we might stop there. where would be the best place to go?

One of my bucket list things is to kayak the Everglades waterway, there is a system of chikees set up so people can overnight with their kayak safely (well, nothing is safe from pythons - the place is crawling with them now - stupid people managed to ruin that beautiful spot too).

Make sure you see the Morikami Japanese gardens. As for going out - Cityplace, Downtown at the Gardens,nearby Midtown at the Gardens etc. if you are into the posh stuff. There are also a lot of lesser known places around that are as good or better (imho) - ask for specific cuisines (e.g. if you like Italian maybe Carmines, if you like sushi there are a few decent joints, so on and so on). People routinely recommend Guanabanas and Square Grouper, I personally did not care for the former, the latter is OK, depending how old you are, what your scene is and who is with you.

What do you like to do? It really depends on what your and your family's interests are.

[klaucka]

rent a couple of paddleboards....could get two for about $70 for a few hours and you could all take turns (paddleboarding for two hours straight isnt easy so it would easily work for two people at a time). you could head down to delray beach ( about twenty min drive from wpb) and there is a rental place right on the beach...there is also a quaint'ish old style florida downtown in walking distance from the beach that is nice if you wanted to grab some lunch. pizza rustica which has a good pizza actually delivers at the beach.

also if you play (or wanted to try) golf, check out the palm beach par 3 golf course on the a1a. they have a smalll driving range so even hitting balls is inexpensive and fun. really beautiful small public course right on the beach. there is also a cool looking bowling alley at city place in wpb.

and for some palm beach history, check out the flagler museum. at a minimum, definitely drive over to "the island" and in particular, worth avenue, on a saturday afternoon to see the rich and famous in their convertible rolls royces.

for some nature, the loxahatchee state park is supposed to be great for bird and gator watching.

[Vincent23]

The teenagers will love this place. Boomers Boca Raton - Attractions

[ByeByeLW]

Loxahatchee ARM refuge as klaucka mentioned is fun. One of the last cypress stands around here. The visitor center has a virtual airboat ride and a night in the swamp exhibit that's fun.
Wakodatchee Wetlands on Jog Rd in Delray and Green Cay Wetlands on Hagen Ranch are considered "musts" for nature lovers Green Cay has a visitor center where the kids can see baby gators and I believe Hooty the owl is still there.
Loggerhead on A1A up in Jupiter for sea turtles.
Jonathan Dickenson State Park Jupiter has tour boats down the Loxahatchee River.
Mc ArthurBeach State Park in Jupiter has kayaking along with tons of other activities and is an incredible place
Lion Country Safari has the driving tiurbut also has zoo and amusement park.

Just fyi, Loxahatchee ARM is considered the northern 'Glades but it consists of impoundments so you don't get the sense of the vastness of the 'Glades that you would get down in Shark Valley etc.

Grassy Waters Preserve has atrail system with sections where youcan get a bettersense of it. That is in West Palm .The Apoxee park trail is where I go when I need a quick 'Glades fix lol.

Seeing gators anywhere is a matter of luck.

You are more likely to see more wildlife with less effort at Green Cay and Wako than at Lox.

There is nothing like a real airboat ride. The problem is some of the operators do ridiculous illegal and unethical things like feeding the wild gators.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by LordyLordy

One of my bucket list things is to kayak the Everglades waterway, there is a system of chikees set up so people can overnight with their kayak safely (well, nothing is safe from pythons - the place is crawling with them now - stupid people managed to ruin that beautiful spot too).

You do realize they conducted a python hunt and 1600 people went out to catch them.........they caught 68. Moral of the story is the Everglades isn't crawling with them.

Shelved Sequel: Florida Won't Hold Amateur Python Hunt in 2014 | TakePart

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Vincent23

The teenagers will love this place. Boomers Boca Raton - Attractions

That place will be considered "lame" by most teenagers

[klaucka]

Originally Posted by ByeByeLW

Loxahatchee ARM refuge as klaucka mentioned is fun. One of the last cypress stands around here. The visitor center has a virtual airboat ride and a night in the swamp exhibit that's fun.
Wakodatchee Wetlands on Jog Rd in Delray and Green Cay Wetlands on Hagen Ranch are considered "musts" for nature lovers Green Cay has a visitor center where the kids can see baby gators and I believe Hooty the owl is still there.
Loggerhead on A1A up in Jupiter for sea turtles.
Jonathan Dickenson State Park Jupiter has tour boats down the Loxahatchee River.
Mc ArthurBeach State Park in Jupiter has kayaking along with tons of other activities and is an incredible place
Lion Country Safari has the driving tiurbut also has zoo and amusement park.

Just fyi, Loxahatchee ARM is considered the northern 'Glades but it consists of impoundments so you don't get the sense of the vastness of the 'Glades that you would get down in Shark Valley etc.

Grassy Waters Preserve has atrail system with sections where youcan get a bettersense of it. That is in West Palm .The Apoxee park trail is where I go when I need a quick 'Glades fix lol.

Seeing gators anywhere is a matter of luck.

You are more likely to see more wildlife with less effort at Green Cay and Wako than at Lox.

There is nothing like a real airboat ride. The problem is some of the operators do ridiculous illegal and unethical things like feeding the wild gators.

byebye, thx so much for the great suggestions. FINALLY getting some time off at the end of the year and plan on hitting all of these on your list