The Garden Tourist’s Florida 2023

Winter getaway tour of Florida’s East Coast featuring Vizcaya, Morikami, Bonnet House, Fairchild Garden and more!

Sunday, March 26–Thursday, March 30, 2023

Itinerary

DAY 1: This morning, we meet at the Embassy Suites, West Palm Beach to depart for the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. The former home of two artists, Bonnet House is a wonderful immersion in art, architecture, international folk art, and gardens.

We then head to Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach. Experience the essence of Japan in Florida, featuring a 16-acre park of renowned Japanese gardens, a world-class bonsai display, and galleries of historical and contemporary Asian art. Lunch will be on your own at the Morikami lakeside cafe. We then continue to Miami for our two-night stay at the AC Dadeland Hotel. We end the day with a Welcome Dinner (included.)

DAY 2: Enjoy the Gilded Age with a tour of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a breath-taking 70-room estate on Biscayne Bay surrounded by ten acres of formal gardens. Named after one of the most captivating shorelines on the Spanish coast, Vizcaya captures jaw-dropping European extravagance in an enchanting American context. Built by industrialist James Deering, this Renaissance-inspired estate is located in the heart of Miami’s tropical hardwood hammock. The gardens are notable for combining classical European design aesthetics with tropical and exotic plants. Enjoy lunch at Vizcaya’s cafe on your own.

Then we will embark on a walking tour of the historic Art Deco District of Miami with a local guide followed by dinner (included.) We stay overnight in Miami.

DAY 3: We check out and depart for a visit to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, an 83-acre botanic garden with world-renowned collections of rare tropical plants, conservatories, and a butterfly aviary. We will tour the garden by tram, and then have plenty of time to explore on our own. A box lunch picnic at Fairchild is included.

In the afternoon we visit the Miami Beach Botanic Garden, a charming green oasis in the midst of the glitz and neon of South Beach. We then depart for West Palm to check in at the Embassy Suites for two nights. We end the day with Dinner (included.)

DAY 4: This morning we head out to the Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach, a 14-acre living plant museum with 25 unique garden areas including the O’Keefe Rain Garden, the Edible Garden, and Windows on the Floating World.

We continue to the Flagler Museum a magnificent estate, for a tour and Gilded-Age style tea service in the Beaux-Arts Cafe! We finish our dayat the Society of Four Arts with its two distinct gardens featuring the works of renowned sculptors. Dinner is included tonight.

DAY 5: We begin the day with a tour of McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach. McKee is one of Florida’s oldest natural attractions, home to many ponds of water lilies, 10,000 native and tropical plants, and a delightful Children’s Garden. Lunch is on our own at the garden cafe.

From there we continue to the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens which feature 17 themed garden areas including butterfly, orchid, bromeliad, rose and cactus and succulent gardens. Early dinner is included tonight prior to returning to the hotel for the end of this fabulous tour.

Includes: 
• Small group tour with author Jana Milbocker and Friendship Tours
• 5 days, 4 nights, luxury air-conditioned coach
• 2 nights at The AC Hotel Dadeland, Miami
• 2 nights at The Embassy Suites, West Palm Beach
• 9 magnificent gardens, Flagler Museum, Art Deco Walking Tour
• American Horticultural Society Membership
• 4 breakfasts, 1 boxed lunch, 1 tea, 5 dinners
• Hotel and restaurant gratuities
• Sightseeing and admissions per itinerary

$2,975 Double Occupancy $3,645 Single Occupancy
Airfare not included.

Departure and Return: West Palm Beach, Florida
TOUR DEPARTS: Sunday, March 26, 2023, 8:30 am from the Embassy Suites, 1601 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach
TOUR ENDS: Thursday, March 30, 2023, 8:00pm at the Embassy Suites, 1601 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach

Jana Milbocker is a garden designer, speaker, and author of the Garden Tourist travel guides. She combines horticulture, design, and travel tips to educate, inspire and delight both new and seasoned gardeners.

Friendship Tours has been operating group tours for more than 40 years, including custom trips for the Connecticut Horticultural Society, Federated Garden Clubs of Conn., and Tower Hill Botanic Garden. FriendshipTours.net