Great Itineraries

1 Day

You have three choices. For boating or exploring underwater flora and fauna, Biscayne is your best bet. For interpretive trails and exhibits, go with the Everglades. For wilderness, canoeing, and nature, don't miss Big Cypress.

For a day in Everglades National Park, begin in Florida City. Head to the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center and continue to the Royal Palm Visitor Center. Then go to Flamingo and rent a boat or take a tour of backwaters. Call ahead to ensure boat rentals are available. If Biscayne is your preference, begin at Convoy Point for a snorkel or dive trip or an outing on a glass-bottom boat, kayak, or canoe. To spend a day in Big Cypress National Preserve, begin at the Oasis Visitor Center. Then head to Everglades City and rent a canoe for a tour of the Turner River.

3 Days

With three days, explore all three accesses to the Everglades as well as Biscayne National Park. Start at Homestead as your base for exploring Biscayne. Tour the visitor center at Convoy Pointw hen you return, and finish your day checking out sights in Homestead and Florida City. There's also an afternoon snorkel trip, which would give you time to see Florida City and Homestead, have lunch, and learn about the park's ecosystem at the visitor center first. Head to the Everglades on Day 2, following the one-day itinerary above. Camp overnight in Flamingo or head to a Homestead/Florida City hotel. On Day 3, start by driving west along the Tamiami Trail, stopping at Everglades Safari Park for an airboat ride; at Shark Valley for a tram tour, walk, or bicycle trip; at the Miccosukee Indian Village for lunch and a tour; at the Big Cypress Gallery; and then popping in at the postage-stamp-size Ochopee Post Office, before ending in Everglades City. From here, visit historic Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island and watch the sunset.

5 Days

Follow Days 1 and 2 above. On Day 3, hike a trail or two along the road from Flamingo and stop at Robert Is Here for a snack. Take in Fruit & Spice Park and lunch in Homestead, then head across Tamiami Trail, stopping for a tram tour at Shark Valley and spending the night in Everglades City. On Day 4, see the sights of Everglades City and Chokoloskee Island and do a canoe, kayak, or boat tour of the Ten Thousand Islands. The next morning, bike around Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park,and, in the afternoon, visit Collier-Seminole State Park; then reserve a canoe for the next day's trip to Big Cypress National Preserve's Turner River. On Day 5, drive to the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center to put in for the canoe tour. Visit Big Cypress Gallery and tiny Ochopee Post Office before heading back to Everglades City or Homestead for the night.