My husband and I will be in Miami from Feb 7th - 17th. It's a business trip for him, but he will probably have one or two free days. If so, any suggestions for something to do for a full day? We love quaint towns, good restaurants and the water. Not into golf or deep sea fishing but might be interested in some type of charter boat tour (sailboat or other, or one day cruise, although we're not big gamblers. Have already seen Viscaya, Coral Cables and the Keys. Would prefer to keep the driving time 1-2 hours. I did a search that pulled up some posts from the Naples area about Corkscrew Swamp, and taking a backbay fishing trip that sounded interesting. How far is Corkscrew Swamp and backbay fishing from Miami? Is it between Miami and Naples or further than Naples? I appreciate all your suggestions for a fun day to get hubby's mind off work.

I suggest that you take a couple of days and go to Naples, about 100 miles from Miami. Spend a night. You can fit in a trip to Corkscrew, which is close to Naples. Downtown Naples would be like heaven after the chaos of S. Beach. Stay in the dowtown area and stroll the streets. Walk to the beach. Patrick...ideas?

The other thing to do would be to go to W. Palm Beach. Go shopping. If you have the cash, stay at the Breakers.

Last idea, go to Key West and take the seaplane to Dry Tortugas. It's a 4-hour trip. Beautiful there and back, and the old fort is a great place to walk and feel the history. You'd need wet suits to snorkel but that would be a real escape...

Naples is fine for a day trip if you want to shop and dine and drive around and look at palatial new beachfront estates. But kind of far to go and then head north and east again (about 45 minutes more each way) to Corkscrew. If you're into the nature thing, I'd head down to the Everglades near Flamingo or Homestead. A recent post here explained some of the various spots and what to see and do if you want to search "Everglades". A lot closer. Do you really want to spend 5 or 6 hours in a day driving?

Tandoori Girl's suggestions are good IF you want to spend a night somewhere, but I didn't think that was an option. Or is it?

Thanks Tandoori Girl and Patrick. I love the suggestions, especially the seaplane, Corkscrew Swamp, and Naples. Unfortunately,we won't be able to spend the night. We have dinners, receptions, etc. that we will have to come back for at night. Any other ideas along the same lines?

Also Patrick, you're right, we would prefer not to spend five or six hours driving, unless maybe it was on a tour where someone else was driving.