Mojitos Ultra Lounge - Dancing to the Latino Beat in Orlando

Dance the night away at Mojitos Ultra Lounge

Miami isn't the only town in Florida where you can dance the night away. Mojitos Ultra Lounge is one of Orlando's best nightclubs where you can groove to a Latino beat. American Car Rental's Stephanie says it is one of her favorite clubs in the area!

Featuring both indoor and outdoor bars, different music is played in different spots at this popular nightclub in the Hunter's Creek area. Salsa, bachata, merengue - even electronic, top 40, hip hop and reggae ton pulse through the sound systems at various times. With at least three DJs (sometimes four), if you don't like what's playing in one area of the club, move to another and you'll surely find something you dance to.

Drinks are a little on the pricey side but not outrageous and there is a $10.00 cover charge to enter. The mojitos drinks are made with fresh fruit and are quite tasty, packing a little more punch than you may initially think!

Located at 13526 Village Park Drive (on the corner of John Young Parkway), Mojitos Ultra Lounge is open until 2:00 AM every day except for Sunday and Tuesday when it it closed. If you go on the weekend, expect the place to get pretty crowded after 11:00 PM.

If Stephanie's recommendation isn't enough for you. Check out the video, below. These people sure seem to be having a great time!

Florida Travel Sleuth Quote of the Day: "The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing." - James Brown

Shopping, Restaurants, Art - Winter Park's Park Avenue Has It All!

Park Avenue in Winter Park (photo courtesy experienceparkavenue.com)

As hard as it may be to believe, many folks come to Orlando and spend half their time shopping instead of going to theme parks. Understandably, things are much less expensive for international visitors in Orlando than they are in most parts of the world. And, of course, the many factory outlet malls in Orlando offer bargains, regardless of where you are from.

Still, you aren't going to find much in the way of truly unique items or, as American Car Rental's Karen calls them, "rare finds." She says that if you really want to find that special something that nobody else has or the perfect gift for that hard to shop for person in your life, you HAVE TO head to Park Avenue in Winter Park.

Just a few miles North of Orlando, Park Avenue has some of the most unique stores and boutiques in all of Central Florida. Jewelry, art, antiques, knickknacks, porcelain vases, bowls & figurines, specialty kitchenware, gourmet food & spices - pretty much anything that is not everywhere else can be found here. Host to one of the most exclusive and highest rated art festivals in the country, Winter Park naturally has become the permanent home for many artists whose goods can be seen in many of the shops that line several blocks of Park Avenue. You might be surprised by some of the incredible bargains you can find if you have a keen eye.

Not just for shopping, Park Avenue has some excellent places to eat, too. More than 40 restaurants line the street where you can pop in for a casual yogurt, ice cream or bagel at a mom and pop shop or sit down to lavish meal at one of several award winning fine dining restaurants. Italian, Mexican, French, Tai, American, Turkish and everything in between await your palate.

Adjacent to a beautiful park that is host to various festivals throughout the year, the restaurants and shop-lined cobblestone streets of Park Avenue are just the beginning. Take a scenic boat tour and learn about the history of the area, explore nature and cruise by some of the most affluent homes in the Orlando area. Visit the Morse Museum and see one of the most extensive Tiffany collections in the world as well as classic American pottery and late 19th - early 20th century American paintings, graphics and other decorative art objects.

Nearby, you can visit the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden, which features more than 200 American representational sculptures, the Cornell Fine Arts museum, home to a collection of more than 5,000 fine art pieces and the Winter Park History Museum, which is not only chock full of history, but is home to the weekly Saturday farmers market as well as many social balls and parties. Also nearby, you can treat yourself to the beautiful Mead Botanical Garden or the Kraft Azalea Garden as well as the Orlando Science Center, which features four floors of interactive exhibits.

For more active folks, tee it up at Central Florida's second oldest golf course, the Winter Park Country Club (one of the few golf courses you can still walk instead of riding in a golf cart), or visit Dinky Dock on beautiful Lake Virginia and go on a Venetian Paddleboard Canal Tour. Extreme action junkies will definitely want to check out Flyboard Rentals - also on Lake Virginia - and strap on an Iron Man-like jet pack and fly above the water or jump through waves headfirst like a dolphin.

It's no wonder that people say that it would take you more than a month to see and do everything in Orlando. Just the Park Avenue area has more than a week's worth of fun activities!

Pedal Your Party - Pub Crawling in Sanford Florida with Limo Cycle Tours

Pub Crawling with Limo Cycle - photo courtesy of LimoCycle.com

Are you looking to do a pub crawl with a group of friends but want to do it responsibly? Head on up to Sanford, just 20 minutes North of Orlando, and do your bar hopping with Limo Cycle Tours!

Great for bachelor/bachelorette parties, birthday parties and corporate team building, groups pedal their way around the historic Sanford area in unique 15 passenger vehicles powered entirely by their feet. Limo Cycle Tours will supply the driver who will take care of the steering; you supply the pedaling.

Folks looking to do a pub crawl will make their way to five or six different Sanford bars during a day or night of fun. You can even bring your own drinks and snacks and party hardy as you make your way from place to place. There are two large coolers on board stocked with plenty of ice.

Not just for pub crawling, Limo Cycle offers ghost tours and scenic/historical pedaling tours of the Sanford area as well as scavenger hunts, too. You can even customize your tour and do all of the above and include a meal at a restaurant if you like. Your Limo Cycle guide comes prepared with a variety of group games to keep everyone laughing and having a great time.

All of the Limo vehicles are equipped with padded seats and misting fans so that you don't get too hot. You can select from various music mixes or bring your own and crank it up on the six speaker sound system.

Got some lazy people in your group? That's okay; only ten of the seats have pedals, so they can kick back and relax or you can switch off pedaling duties. Although it only takes three people to power the vehicle, you'll need a group of at least six people to book a tour.

On "Sunday Fun Day" you can book as little as one seat and make new friends as the Limo Cycle makes its way through historic downtown Sanford and the scenic RiverWalk, making three stops at restaurants and pubs along the way.

Orlando Travel Sleuth Quote of the Day: "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold." - Joseph Parry

Scavenger Quest in Loch Haven Park - Have Fun Solving Clues While Learning About Orlando

Loch Haven Park near downtown Orlando

Do you live in the Orlando area and think you've done it all? Are you a frequent vacationer here and tired of the same old theme park scene? If so, the Loch Haven Park Scavenger Quest may be the perfect way to spend a few hours.

Perfect for couples or families, the Scavenger Quest in Loch Haven Park is a 1½ to 2 hour game where you solve puzzles, moving from clue to clue throughout the Loch Haven area (between downtown and Winter Park). Solve each clue at your leisure or split up into multiple teams and compete with each other in your own mini Amazing Race.

Not just a fun game, you'll learn a lot about the area as you uncover information that each clue leads you to. Located between three lakes on 45 acres of lush, green grass, Loch Haven Park is a great place to get away from it all even if you aren't on a scavenger hunt. When you reach the end of your adventure, you can enjoy a picnic in the beautiful park or you can opt for a "mystery restaurant" as the final clue of your game.

Folks who choose the mystery restaurant option when reserving their Scavenger Quest will be given one final clue at the end of the game, which will lead them to their celebratory meal (cost of the meal at the restaurant is extra). Don't worry, if you select the restaurant option, you will be allowed to choose from restaurant types when making your Scavenger Quest reservation.

Bring your walking shoes and a map of Orlando; you'll be walking 1½-2 miles as you hop from location to location, solving puzzles about the area. The cost of Scavenger Quest in Loch Haven is under $20 which is a flat fee for any number of people in your group (you can get your tickets here). The clue solving adventure game is best done during the daytime, so make sure to choose a start time that allows you up to two hours to complete your adventure during daylight hours.

Orlando Travel Sleuth Quote of the Day: "Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party." - Jimmy Buffett