Florida for Dummies

by Jim Tunstall and Cynthia Tunstall

Book Overview

This valuable guide is written in an irreverent style by a husband-and-wife team who are candid about what's a "can't-miss" and what's a waste of time. Florida for Dummies includes complete coverage of the Orlando-area parks, from Walt Disney World to Universal's Islands of Adventure. Tips on the must-see attractions of Florida - Miami and the Keys, the Everglades, etc.-are balanced by insider tips for finding and exploring off-beat attractions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764563610
• ISBN13: 9780764563614
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 529 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excerpt from the Sarasota Herald Tribune

David Grimes ? Jun 12, 2003'Florida for Dummies' cites obviousConsidering that it is the home of six species of poisonous snakes, two species of poisonous spiders, sharks, stingrays, fire ants, hurricanes, sinkholes, tourists from Ontario and the kind of merciless summer sun that turns dashboards into puddles of goo, the book title "Florida for Dummies" would seem to be stating the obvious.Still, I thought it would be interesting to leaf through the latest installment in a series that has given us such classics as "Parenting for Dummies," "Sex for Dummies" (presumably you would want to read this before the other), "Feng Shui for Dummies" and the unforgettable "Pilates for Dummies."Written by Florida natives Cynthia and Jim Tunstall, "Florida for Dummies" is mostly a travel guide for tourists, offering advice on where to eat, where to stay and what to see. I was particularly interested in chapter 17 which deals with our little slice of paradise. Sarasota is described as an "upscale retirement community" while its neighbor to the north, Bradenton, is described, rather curiously, as a "casual fishing village" and, somewhat more accurately, a "blue-collar town." Port Charlotte, and for that matter all of Charlotte County, does not exist, at least not in the pages of this book."Florida for Dummies" recommends only five restaurants in our area and most of them are hoity-toity places like Michael's On East and Euphemia Haye. My two favorite places to eat, the Hob Nob Drive In and Council's pool hall, were inexplicably omitted from the list. Likewise, under the category of hotels, the book favors places like the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort and makes no mention of any of Bradenton's fine accommodations like the Blue Boy Motel.But my main problem with "Florida for Dummies" is that it portrays our state as a great place to visit, which will only serve to attract more tourists, making life even more miserable for those of us who live here. Instead of bragging about our many theme parks, museums and golf courses, I wish the authors had spent more time warning people about our horrible traffic, dangerous weather and various other aspects of nature that are bent on doing us in.People need to understand that the stomach-churning thrills found on the roller coasters at Busch Gardens are nothing compared to the heart-in-the-mouth fear that comes from navigating U.S. 41 at rush hour. There is a section in the book called "Minding the Road Rules" which focuses on predictable stuff like buckling your seat belt and obeying the speed limit. The authors fail to mention that it is customary in Florida for tourists to turn on their left-turn signal when they cross the Florida/Georgia line and leave it on until they return home the following spring. They also omit the fact that Floridians interpret traffic lights differently than people do in other parts of the country. In Florida, green means "go," yellow means "go faster" and red means "go faster still while at the sa