Home tours are a great way to explore an area, get some design and decor inspiration, and spy on…read moreyour neighbors. V.M. Ybor is a historic area not far from the cigar manufacturing Ybor area. You know and love. People have fixed up many of the homes and it's less mansiony and more community pride type feel than fancier locales. At its heart is the lovely Cuscaden pool and park complex. Many of the homes have very high ceilings to keep them cooler. A gangster's home complete with wood paneling, extensive bar area, and bullet holes was one of the stops. And some British peeps have fixed up a gorgeous house that was just in its early stages of renovation last year. Another highlight this year were the homeowners who bought a boarded up place and fixed it up to have members of the original family that owned it come by amd tell.them how happy they were to see it restored. Theu even shared family pictures and it turns out both families were military and immigrants. Super beautiful!!! Everyone was very nice and friendly and the organizers did a great job. Parking and guidebook with history writeups and map. The stories told you who owned the homes originally. Lots of fun. See you next year.

We went to 1 house. Going to the second house there were people in the streets yelling at us. We…read moreattempted to look at another house but it wasn't in a safe neighborhood either. We spent $20.00 and wasted half our day driving to Tampa. Other people were leaving for the same reason. It was a waste of time and money.

A group of residents from our community took the hour and one half tour of Sarasota architecture…read moreand design; I learned more in that time than the 7 years we have lived here about the history and establishment of Sarasota. Tammi (owner/guide) is a wealth of information and makes the tour worthwhile. The trolly is air conditioned and comfortable- highly recommended

This was such a fun outing. Pat (from Ireland) was our guide and he was such a hoot and full of fun…read morefacts and info about everything Sarasota. Thank you Dan for toting us around safely in the air conditioned trolley. We will be taking more tours with you guys. Such fun and so interesting.

In 1938, Florida Southern College was not much of a campus on a great site overlooking Lake…read moreHollingsworth in Lakeland. The President of this little college had the audacity to send a telegraph to one of the world's greatest architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, and asked him to design buildings. Wright accepted the challenge. He envisioned buildings rising "out of the ground and into the light, a child of the sun." Wright designed 18 structures between 1938 and 1958 (he died in 1959), 12 were built despite sometimes limited funds (not many millionaire alumni like ivy league schools), WWII, etc. THESE ARE WORTH SEEING ! The AAA book stated that one hour basic tours depart at 10, noon, and 2. We planned for noon, but phoned ahead and were informed that the one hour tours ($20) would be offered that day at 10 and 2 (they also offer an in depth tour that lasts more than two hours and costs $35). It is best to make reservations. In 2013, FSC opened this education center and gift shop and built a Wright Usonian House next to it. Wright had imagined many of these Usonian houses along the lake for faculty. Our guide was a beautiful, brilliant African-American Senior English major (Kasha?). We were two and four others joined our tour group. We walked around the campus and entered a few of the Wright structures. Our guide was very knowledgeable concerning Wright in general and these buildings in particular. She answered our many questions. After walking around for an hour (this tour may not be for people with ambulation issues) we ended up at the Usonian house (next to the gift shop) where she elucidated the details of this little masterpiece and then set up a video about Wright and FSC to complete the story. If you happen to be in central Florida and have even a mild appreciation of advanced 20th century architecture, go see the Wright buildings at FSC.

Jack was a fantastic tour guide. By all means go for the in-depth tour. Amazing collection of…read moreFLW structures. Tour history includes the pre- and post-FLW tenure as architect of the school, as well a restoration efforts. The in-depth tour takes you inside several of the FLW structures. Even non-FLW buffs will live it.

Max led us on a 1.5 hour walking tour of Ybor City explaining its rich history and showing us its…read moreunique architecture. Max is both a showman and having grown up in Ybor, he knows everything about it and is a wonderful guide Definitely worth the money - strongly recommend both this tour and Max. 813 406-2180

This walking tour is the best in town. They take you to some…read morereally cool places and manage to get in to some hot spots in town. The information is great mixed with local history and stories. The tour takes you thru the State Museum and Cigar workers home, and so much is explained. These guys certainly know their stuff.. I would recomend this tour to all visitors to Ybor City..

We were lucky enough to find Captain Joe for an 3 hour boat trip on our honeymoon. What an…read moreincredible experience! He is SO knowledgeable, friendly, and hospitable. After his safety run-down, he gave us his "captains orders", which was to leave all stress and worry at the dock and to enjoy every minute being on the water. He made that so easy for us! We were lucky enough to see manatees, dolphins, tons of tropical birds, and turtle nests, all while drinking cold one! Eleven out of ten stars. We WILL be back!

We wanted to do a dolphin/sightseeing tour but not on one of those huge boats that hold 40 people…read more Through some "research" we found salt and mist and I'm SO glad we did. We saw manatees right away and dolphins on our way around the islands. Captain Jason told us all kinds of fun facts about the islands and he did well putting up with our silliness. If we are back in the area again we will definitely use them!

I used to follow The Venus Project for its vision of a better world, but it has turned into a…read moreclosed and unclear organization. Since Jacque Fresco's passing, updates are rare, plans are announced behind closed doors or on long podcasts few watch, and there is no clear communication with supporters. Questions go unanswered, plans for building cities and projects quietly disappear, and the community has faded. No one really knows what the organization is doing anymore, and many people feel disappointed and left out. The original mission feels lost, and the movement has been destroyed by its current leadership.

Beautiful and relaxing place.Wanted to stay there for a long time.Very relaxing and calming.I went…read moreon my own,no ppl around and I lived it!!!Ppl suck,they kill the nature.

I enjoy walking a few blocks over to the Riverwalk. It starts right at the Greenwise/Publix right…read moreoff of Water Street and Benchmark International Arena. I usually get on it there, and then walk it all the way over to Armature Works and back. There are always a ton of people either running, walking, roller skating, or hanging out along the riverwalk. I like walking it on both sides and taking in the nature, and getting great pictures. It's probably best to come right at sunset so it isn't so blazing hot. There isn't a ton of shade. My favorite photo spot is walking up one of the bridges and then looking back at the circular Rivergate Tower and the river.

What a pleasant experience!! We are here visiting from out of state and decided to explore the…read moreriverwalk. It just so happened to be the night of the boat parade. There were hundreds of people along the riverwalk watching the spectacular experience. There were boats decked out with Christmas decor, and music playing to ensure the crowd is entertained! Cool experience!