DAILY ACTIVITIES: Sunday - Sunday - Each day is yours. 

• The hotel, the pools, the white-sand beach, the warmer weather and the shops and restaurants St. Armands Circle are yours to enjoy at your leisure. 

• Several optional tours will be available to visit various sites in the Greater Sarasota area. The planned optional tours are listed below.

Optional tour | First United Methodist Church

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 5 hours.

      • There is very little walking. All surfaces are paved.

      • Cost $39 per person includes motorcoach transportation only.

      • Brunch after church is on your own.

1. Attend the 11:00am traditional worship service at the First United Methodist Church in Sarasota. 

1. 1. • Established in 1891 eleven years BEFORE Sarasota was incorporated as a town (1902). 

2. After church, enjoy Brunch (on your own) at Marina Jack’s, on the water. 

Optional tour | Myakka River State Park

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 5 hours.

      • Cost $65 per person includes air-boat tour & motorcoach transportation.

      • There is very little walking. All surfaces are paved.

Description | One-hour narrated air-boat cruise on the Upper Myakka Lake which interprets the ecology of the lake and offers views of the many animals including hundreds of alligators in their natural habitat.

Optional tour | Tampa Tour

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 5 hours.

      • Cost $129 per person includes all admissions, lunch, tour guide and motorcoach transportation.

      • There is CONSIDERABLE walking and standing. All surfaces are paved.

Description | 

1. 1. Our first stop is at the Tampa Electric Company Manatee Viewing Center, a designated manatee sanctuary. The warm water discharged from the generating station is the perfect wintertime location to see manatees in their natural habitat. 

   2. Our next stop is the Henry Plant Museum in the former Tampa Bay Hotel. 

      • The 511- room hotel was opened in 1891 near the terminus of Henry Plant’s railroad, the Seaboard Coast Line.

      • Edison carbon filament light bulbs are the only lights used in the museum so visitors may experience the hotel much like its original guests. 

      • Exhibits are in former guest rooms and re-create the first-class accommodations and activities of 1891. 

      • The one-hour self-guided audio tour features oral histories, commentary, music and sound effects. 

   3. From the museum we travel to Ybor City, the Cigar Capital of the World between 1886 and 1960. 

   4. Lunch is included at the Columbia Restaurant which opened in 1905 and is the oldest restaurant in Florida. 

   5. After lunch we meet our local guide for a tour of Ybor City and metropolitan Tampa.

Optional tour | Ringling Estate

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 5 hours.

      • Our bus will operate three trips back to the resort to enable everyone to spend as much time as desired while visiting the Ringling Estate.

      • Cost $63 per person includes all admissions, lunch, tour guide and motorcoach transportation.

      • There is CONSIDERABLE walking and standing, with places to sit and rest. All surfaces are paved.

Description | Visit the palatial estate of John and Mable Ringling. 

The four areas at the estate include: 

• The Museum of Art with Italian statuary, 17th century masterpieces and much more. 

• Ca’ d’Zan, the Ringling’s Winter residence built in 1925 at a cost of $1,500,00. 

• Circus Museum that features parade wagons, calliopes, costumes, posters, etc. 

• Tibbals Learning Center featuring a miniature circus covers over 4,000 square feet. 

As a reminder: 

• Our bus will operate three trips back to the resort to enable everyone to spend as much time as desired while visiting the Ringling Estate.

Optional tour | Miniature Golf

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 3 hours.

      • Cost $49 per person includes miniature golf fee, alligator feeding and motorcoach transportation.

      • There is very little walking and standing at dinner. All surfaces are paved.

Description | Using a “shotgun” start, enjoy playing 18 holes of miniature golf. 

• In addition, everyone will have the opportunity to feed baby alligators at the golf course. 

Optional tour | Hoosier Village Snowboard Dinner

1. 1. • Gone from the resort approximately 5 hours.

      • Cost $59 per person includes dinner and motorcoach transportation.

      • There is very little walking and standing at dinner. All surfaces are paved.

Description | Celebrate the week in the Florida sun before returning home plus visit with Hoosier Village snowbirds at the Der Dutchman Amish Restaurant.

Optional tour | St. Armands Art Festival

1. 1. • 10:00am to 5:00pm. 

      • Admission is free. 

      • The resort operates a complimentary hourly shuttle to and from St. Armand's Circle from 8:00am to 10:00pm. 

      • There is considerable walking and standing. Most surfaces are paved; however there are a few grassy areas.

Description | The Art Festival, with over 150 exhibitors, features several art mediums including sculpture, painting, ceramics and jewelry and is one of the top art festivals in the country.

• Board the motorcoach at 12:45pm for the trip to the Sarasota Airport. 

• Southwest Airlines non-stop flight departs at 3:15pm and arrives in Indianapolis at 5:45pm. (As a reminder, this is the 2023 schedule. We hope this flight will be a part of the 2024 schedule when it is available this Summer.) 

There is very little walking today. All surfaces are paved.