Eastern Caribbean with Turks and Caicos & Celebration Key

Fans of the Apollo Space Program will remember watching rockets being launched from nearby Kennedy Space Center. From Jetty Park on the beach, occasional liftoffs can be observed. Port Canaveral is an environmentally sensitive area of major scale, with a rich wildlife habitat. Right Whales make an annual visit to the coastal waters off Port Canaveral to bear their young during the winter. Also, manatees have a long history of using the corridor between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River where the Port Authority is located. Manatees also use the Port area for playing, resting, reproduction, feeding, freshwater drinking, and as a warm-water refuge.

For a taste of Europe with Caribbean flavor, look no farther than Nassau. The main city on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Nassau offers everything from British-influenced cricket games and bewigged judges to Riviera-style casinos. And its banking system, with its strict secrecy laws, rivals that of Switzerland. Situated less than 75 miles from the coast of Florida, the islands of the Bahamas lure visitors with their tropical landscapes and clear waters. More than 700 islands, covering some 100,000 square miles, make up this popular archipelago, although only 20 or so are inhabited. Most of the island nation's 330,000 inhabitants live on New Providence Island, centered around bustling Nassau with its colorful waterfront area and open-air markets.

Grand Turk, the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands, is a small island bursting with turn-of-the-century Caribbean charm, retaining the look and feel of the Caribbean 40 years ago. Grand Turk was founded by Bermudan salt rakers some three centuries ago and its Bermudan-British-colonial architecture surrounded by colorful local dwellings make the island a treasure to visit. It is recognized as being one of the first places in the New World where Christopher Columbus landed and also gained worldwide attention when John Glenn splashed down near Grand Turk on his historic first mission to space. Grand Turk is six miles long and just over a mile wide with a population of only 6,000. It is blessed with miles of uncrowded, beautiful beaches and is close to several uninhabited cays such as Gibb's Cay, home of the stingray encounter. While there are many landside attractions to explore such as the Old Prison, Lighthouse Park, and the re-created salt salina, the real beauty of the island li…

Fans of the Apollo Space Program will remember watching rockets being launched from nearby Kennedy Space Center. From Jetty Park on the beach, occasional liftoffs can be observed. Port Canaveral is an environmentally sensitive area of major scale, with a rich wildlife habitat. Right Whales make an annual visit to the coastal waters off Port Canaveral to bear their young during the winter. Also, manatees have a long history of using the corridor between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River where the Port Authority is located. Manatees also use the Port area for playing, resting, reproduction, feeding, freshwater drinking, and as a warm-water refuge.