Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami 2006

This year we planned a full ocean vacation. It started with a stay at an oceanfront location in Pompano Beach that was readily accessible to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. The ocean family walks took place in the mornings and evening, and then we scheduled more shade activities for the afternoon. It was a great place for a first-time snorkel to see how the group members would fair.

Quick Tips:

When I planned the trip for July, everyone told me how crazy I was for taking a Florida trip at this time of year, but as long as you plan your day and stay near the ocean breeze, it was really not a significant problem. You need lots of sunblock, and schedule a second application for protection. Purchase batches of bottled waters and freeze them the night before, and use them either for their coolness when frozen next to your skin or for cold water as they melt, which they will do pretty quickly. I had made all of the reservations for all of the activities prior to our arrival. I probably didn’t need to do this, as no place at this time was full, and most of the activities I could have gotten discounts on from the local coupon books.

Best Way To Get Around:

Without a doubt, you must have a car. It is only an hour's drive from Pompano Beach into Miami and 15 minutes from the heart of Fort Lauderdale from Pompano Beach. There really is no reasonable alternative to having your own automobile in the area.

This is a very wonderful place to stay with a nice, quiet ocean front location. We had two rooms, a two bedroom and one bedroom unit.

The two bedroom had one king bed in the largest bedroom and a queen size bed in the smaller bedroom. There was a full kitchen which was small but convenient. The two bedroom unit had a very nice view of the pond and pool. The ocean was not visible from the room (having been on the first floor) but it still provided a nice setting.

The one bedroom unit had a spectacular view of the pool, palm trees and the ocean. There was a balcony to utilize to enjoy the view, the weather and the location.

There are two women who work the desk and are very nice, friendly and are very knowledgeable of the local establishments and events. The location is great, about 15 minuets north of downtown Fort Lauderdale, and just under an hour drive to the majority of Miami. Having the beach on site is very nice, which made early morning and late night walks on the beach very easy. There are plenty of businesses close for groceries, sun block and souvenirs at reasonable prices.

Mai-Kai Polynesian Dinner Show

The Mai-Kai dinner show is a very nice way to spend an evening and everyone will be entertained. The meal is good and they have child friendly choices in addition to the menu. I would advise calling the restaurant for reservations rather than getting the on-line deals through the travel sites. This way you are just ordering off the menu instead of just getting whatever you deal gives you. The pre-pay items are about 40.00 per person and the menu will be about 10.00 more person by the time you get out.

The show is very bright and colorful and has male fire dancers which will appeal to the children. They have souvenir glasses which are a bit pricey but are fun for the family. This seems to be a very popular spot for birthday and anniversary celebrations.

After the show there is a small walking path which has all sorts of decorations which provide very nice photo opportunities.

Oasis Café

Located right across the street from the beach this is a place you must try. The restaurant is made up of outdoor gliders which you move while you are waiting for your food and enjoying the view and you will again find yourself rocking your group after the meal.

The menu is varied and essentially reasonably priced for what it is. They have great fish items and a full bar with many very good specialty drinks. The kids will think the gliders are fun and it will become one of their favorite spots . . .each time we considered where to eat the Oasis always came up from at least half of the group - -which meant we ate there far more than anywhere else we went!!!!

You have the cars driving by people walking and the beach . . . . this location will definitely give you a wonderful memory and a great meal!!!

Discovery Cruises has a unique experience of a one day trip to Bahamas. It leaves from Fort Lauderdale at about 7:45 am (you need to be through customs and registration so your arrival time needs to be about 6:30 a.m.). I decided to take the trip because as of January 1, 2007 in order to do this you will have to have a current passport. Until then you just had to have original birth certificates and IDs. The ship arrives in the Bahamas at about 1 and leaves at 4:45 . . .so there is very little time in the Bahamas.

The cost of the day is about 145.00 per adult, 125.00 per child. There are three meals included - -none of which are anything to speak highly about . .the food quality is about that of the average buffet restaurant (which isn’t all that good in my opinion). We had fun picking out what was ‘re-cycled’ from the previous meal . . .As the left over (and not very good) bread pudding from lunch (which had been made from the left over breakfast breads) was sliced and fried as a desert for dinner. Most of the food items had their origins in the previous meal. We were lucky being a group of 8 so we had a private table at meals. Smaller groups are sat together. They do a good job herding people in and getting the meals turned around.

The pool is salt water and filled on the trip over and dumped on the way back. I did pay the extra 140.00 for a ‘suite’. It was nice to have the room since it was pretty competitive for open seating anywhere. There are pay lockers available for items you wish to store (i.e. your clothing when you change into a bathing suit to go to the pool) during the ride.

If you are doing the one day (lots of people are on the ship as transport to stay and return on a different day) you are given a wristband to color code you as one of the first ones off the ship (which is very necessary since there is so little time and the disembarkment process takes time). When you arrive at the Port in the Bahamas there is nowhere to walk . . .you must get a cab which is 5.00 per person to go to one of the two shopping areas on the island. They have it worked out and have plenty of cabs and fill them to the brim with 8 to 12 people depending upon the vehicle. The cab driver will tell you when they will meet your group again in a few hours, and will be there as described. It is then 5.00 per person back to the port.

You are only on the island for about 2 and a half hours . . .which isn’t much time except to say you have been there.

The Duck Tour of Miami is a very nice way to see an overview of the city. The amphibious vehicle starts you on a street tour and then enters the waterways for a water tour. We have taken the trips in various cities and they always include a colorful tour guide working their best at getting all the riders involved and enjoying the tour. The Miami Tour is no exception.

The tour includes South Beach, including Ocean Drive, the Versace mansion, News Café, and Collins Avenue. The Duck drives into beautiful Biscayne Bay. The vehicle cruises past the homes on Star, Palm, and Hibiscus islands. There are lots of beautiful homes to see during the water tour. Lots of celebrity homes mentioned but are on the far side of the island the tour views (no doubt so the loud speakers and quacking isn’t bothering to the very high end homeowners.


The cost is about 25.00 per adult and 18.00 per child. You can pre order the trip at expedia.com but you may end up with local discounts from your hotel if you wait until your arrival to book. There was no problem getting a same day trip when you call (during July when we were there) but the tour does have a lot of interest.

Most of the other Duck tours have been on old WWII vehicles . . this was the first tour I have taken which had a recently manufactured vehicle - -it was very nice. The tour lasts just about an hour and a half and is well worth the cost. It is a fun tour to take the kids on.

Parrot Jungle

This whole summer trip started as a desire to recreate family memories I had as a child. I have photos of myself at 3 years old with a parrot on top of my head during a family vacation and again during my teens when we returned. I wanted to have the memories with my granddaughter. Of course the place has changed so much I never would have know it . . .the only thing I did recognize was the large parrot sign in front of the parking garage which was ‘restored’ and placed from the original Parrot Jungle. They still have a bird show at the parrot bowl which was very nice and they have also expanded into various other types of animals. They set up in a posing area (where personal cameras are not allowed) and take the photos you would like of your family holding parrots.

They have a wild animal show at the Jungle Theater which has the most creative ‘gotcha’ at the end. The show ends with them bringing out the most adorable Siberian tiger cub and baby chimpanzee . .they announce you can come up and get your photo take (up to five in a group) for a 40.00 donation to their wildlife fund . .after you tell the kids you are willing to do that - - -as you present your payment they ask you which animal you want your photo with - -one animal is 40.00 two is 60.00 GOT YA!!! So you get a real nice photo for 60.00.

They had the largest alligator which is really worth seeing. . .they call it the ‘crocosaurus’. Hugh is an understatement!!! Then also have a cross between a lion and tiger called a liger which is a real focal po9int of the park. Peanut and Pumkin are their twin baby orangutans who are very cute.

This is a very nice ½ day event. It will keep you very entertained and the lots to see. Bring quarters for the feed machines you will walk by since the kids will want to feed the birds an every opportunity!!!! Adults are about 26.00/ per person and children are about 21.00.

Snorkeling in Fort Lauderdale

We had a two week vacation planned which was going to center on snorkeling activities for the whole family. I had purchased snorkels, masks, fins and cases for all of the family members and gave them to them for Christmas 2005. This allowed everyone ample time to get used to the equipment (at our local YMCA pool) and become comfortable with it.

Since the most outstanding snorkeling is in the Keys, I scheduled a trip in Fort Lauderdale to ‘test’ the group. If you have never been snorkeling in the ocean it can be overwhelming and if we were going to have problems with the kids (or any of the adults) I wanted to find that out prior to the great locations in the keys.

There is a small coral reef off of Fort Lauderdale and there are many companies which provide boat trips out to the reef. We went with a company called ProDrive which is located at 515 Seabreeze Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. I had made the reservations early through Expedia.com which are pre-paid and you take printed out vouchers for every participant. The ProDive boat leaves daily at 10 am (weather permitting) and has a glass boat viewing panel. Some people go for the glass bottom viewing only but most are along for the snorkeling. The boat goes to an area where all of the other tour boats go and there are a lot of people out in the water resulting in some pretty close quarters to view a relatively small reef area. The shore line is still readily in view, which assists in a first trip experience . . .the trips in the Keys usually are so far out the 360 degree horizon contains no land views. It was a nice trip . . .it was a terrific way to get everyone out in the water with one successful snorkel under out belts. We discovered two of our group lean towards motion sickness do Dramamine became in intervention prior to each future boat trip . . .if you have never used Dramamine - -it works GREAT!!! . . .can cause drowsiness, but prevents the motion sickness.

The full trip takes two hours - -a half hour boat ride out, just about an hour snorkeling, and a half hour boat ride back. They have drinking water at no expense and sell other drinks and snacks. They provide all snorkeling equipment (Mask, snorkel, fins and inflatable yellow life vests) or you can bring your own. Their yellow life vests are mandatory. You can choose to add to them or not, they had a ‘panic’ CO2 cartridge which allows you to pull a cord and inflate immediately if you need it. The cost was 29.00 per adult and 20.00 per child, a lot of the local hotels and businesses have coupons for reductions on the trip if you want to wait to scope out the opportunities after you arrive in the area.

A long standing tradition in Fort Lauderdale is the Jungle Queen cruise. Heading up the intercostal waterway it provides a relaxing view of nice water front homes and downtown Fort Lauderdale. Draw bridges are opened for your passing and the ride is entertaining for all. The trip up the waterway is narrated and points of interest are identified. The trip culminates to what I call ‘Tourist trap island’ . . .it is a place with some animals on display in cages and a short alligator show along with a fully stocked snack stand with hot dogs, nachos and the like - -and drinks of course.

The Jungle Queen also offers a dinner cruise of the same trip in the evening which includes dinner on tourist trap island- - which I had done previously and decided to pass on for the whole group.

The ride back is the same as the ride up - - -rather than narrating they place a light music selection. So don’t worry about where you sit what isn’t on your side on the way out will be on your side on the way back. The ride lasts about two and half hours and costs about 20.00 per person. Reservations can be made in advance.