Offbeat Oddities
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Offbeat Oddities

Offbeat Oddities

Regular price $65.00 USD
Sale Sold out

One trip is required per group.

* "PDF Instant Download" means the trip will be sent by email as a PDF document, and not by mail (the email is sent immediately after completing your purchase)

WHAT TO EXPECT

The quirkiest road trip in central Florida! Historic homes with peculiar stories, off-the- beaten-path eateries, and funky trails & ruins will keep you on your toes throughout the day.

Trip Highlights

  • One of the most haunted destinations in Florida
  • A waterside restaurant with an interesting view
  • Feel like Indiana Jones on a unique trail
  • Roadside ruins from the 1800s
  • Enjoy a glass of local wine

AVAILABLE TO DEPART

This trip is best done Wednesday - Sunday throughout the year. We do not recommend traveling on a Monday or Tuesday.

SUGGESTED FOR

  • Paranormal enthusiasts
  • Families with older kids
  • Outdoor adventurers

Itinerary

STOP 1

Start your day by visiting one of the most historic towns in Florida. Whether you opt to walk the grounds or brave going inside ($) the stories here are hauntingly interesting. Drive time to the second stop is 10-20 minutes.

STOP 2

Enjoy a glass of wine with a picturesque view, head to another historic house (weekends only) or explore a unique cave trail. Drive time to the third stop is 20 minutes.

STOP 3

Make friends with a manatee before heading to one of our lunch recommendations. They're equally as quirky! Drive time to the fourth stop is 10 minutes.

STOP 4

Head out on a hike, learn the importance of a historic Indigenous site, grab an ice cream or shop 'till you drop on your way home!

Region

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Can depart from

Tampa Area, Orlando Area, Lakeland Area, Gainesville Area

Before you go

What You'll Need to Bring

  • Camera
  • Reusable Shopping Bags
  • Walking Shoes
  • Water
  • Sunscreen (lots of easy outdoor activities)
  • Bug Spray

Additional Details

  • Kid-Friendly

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We're here to help!

From Tampa:

2 hours and 55 minutes / 166 miles

From Orlando:

3 hours and 50 minutes / 190 miles

From Lakeland:

3 hours and 55 minutes / 172 miles

From Gainesville:

3 hours and 35 minutes / 194 miles

This trip is best done between Wednesday - Sunday throughout the year.

Our featured option on the first stop is open Tuesday - Saturday, but the grounds can still be explored on Sunday.

Our first stop has a super cool historic (and haunted) house tour that is totally worth doing! Tours start at 11 am, and the drive is ~ 1 hour from Tampa, ~1 hour and 15 minutes from Lakeland, and ~1.5 hours from Orlando.

Please plan your departure time accordingly to get there early and grab a coffee first.

This trip is somewhat dog-friendly. There will be something on each stop for you to do, however it may stop you from exploring to the fullest if your pet comes with you.

We recommended bringing up to 5 people on your surprise road trip.

If you're bringing a larger group, we highly recommend having one person in charge of booking reservations at restaurants and attractions in advance. Please see the previous page for a copy of the digital itinerary.

First Stop: Our featured stop tour has a fee ($) or you can explore the grounds for free. We’ve provided other free alternatives.

Second Stop: Our featured stop is free. One optional Saturday & Sunday suggestion has an entrance fee.

Third Stop: Our featured stop requires an admission fee ($). We’ve provided free alternatives.

Fourth Stop: Our featured stop requires a small admission fee ($). We’ve provided free alternatives.

*Please note: parking, gas, tolls, and food may be additional costs.

After booking your trip, we'll send you a confirmation email with a few recommended accommodation options.

Customer Reviews

Based on 7 reviews
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A
Anonymous
Overall, how would you rate this trip?:
I would not recommend this trip
Excellent! I would definitely recommend this trip
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Yes, very unique!

I was so excited to gift this tour to my fiancé! It seemed to have exactly what we were looking for we are into the spooky stuff and both of us work with animals. So it seems like the perfect trip!

However I wish that the stops were in a different order to help prioritize or make the day run smoother. The first stop is the spooky stop. During the day the place opens at 11 am and it is recommend to do the tour, they do state that it would give you less time to do the other activities. Since we are into spooky stuff we decided to do the tour. The downside the tours during the day are only about the local history of the area and some details about the families that lived in the area. It is also a two hour long tour. It does not go into any haunted or scary stories; we even asked if our tour guide could go into the haunted stories of the house and our guide told us we would need to come back for one of the haunted tours. They only offer the haunted tours Friday and Saturday nights. Thus if the stops were switched around and this was the last stop of the trip and the couple did it on a Friday or Saturday it would be the perfect time to do the haunted tours. We did do the self guided tour and stopped at the Coney Island Drive Inn for a milkshake and stopped at the courthouse as well that was recommended both were neat.
For the second stop we choose the the for the adventures option; we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to venture and saw the unique sites that had to offer and we’re able to get some fantastic photos.
Stops 3 and 4 were where we ran into some problems. And where I wish there was some sort of ability to determine if a couple has been to before or not. Which I know would be hard since it is supposed to be a surprise trip. Stop 3 is a wildlife park that we had just went to January while in the area for a festival. They do also recommend 2 places to eat while over there which we had eating at one of them already while we were there for the festival. My fiancé and I did not want to drive that way for the other food spot so we decided to just open the last stop card. Now the last stop is where the festival that we visited in January took place. So we had already visited the two places they recommended checking out and had been in some but not all of the shops they recommended. With it already being later in the day due to the late start with the long tour we took at stop one, we just decided to drive home. So we only did 2 out of 4 of the stops due to the fact we have already done two.

Also if I were to have someone else do it I would recommend doing it in the opposite order; that way your furthest stop would be first, those places open earlier than the spooky spot anyway. You could do a haunted tour for your last stop and be closer to your house at the end of your adventure then the opposite way.
Overall, I would highly recommend this to someone if they had not done any of the stops on this. I would be interested in getting another one to see how we like that trip as well. I love the idea for this and I think it is a very affordable way to do one of these blind trips. I could change anything. I just wish that there was some way to see if someone has done something on any of stops before.

V
Venice Gonzalez
Overall, how would you rate this trip?:
I would not recommend this trip
Excellent! I would definitely recommend this trip
Rate how active the trip was:
Not very active
Very active
Rate how accessible the trip was:
Not very accessible
Very accessible
Rate how 'unique' the stops were:
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Yes, very unique!
Amazing

Love love love . Just do it !

A
Angela

Immediately bought three other trips in other states. So excited to give these for Christmas

C
Charles Nelson
Overall, how would you rate this trip?:
I would not recommend this trip
Excellent! I would definitely recommend this trip
Rate how active the trip was:
Not very active
Very active
Rate how accessible the trip was:
Not very accessible
Very accessible
Rate how 'unique' the stops were:
Not really
Yes, very unique!
Linda - this was a GREAT choice

This was our first trip with Guess Where Trips. We had such a great day. We started with breakfast at The Lazy Maid Creperie. The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. There were so many sites to choose from and all the ones we selected exceeded our expectations. We visited the Monkey Bar but we misunderstood that they only serve pizza so we found another place to eat - plus we never saw any monkeys - The Seagrass Waterfront - the food was amazing and everyone was so friendly. GREAT CHOICE. We are looking forward to our next adventure.

M
Meg
Overall, how would you rate this trip?:
I would not recommend this trip
Excellent! I would definitely recommend this trip
Rate how active the trip was:
Not very active
Very active
Rate how accessible the trip was:
Not very accessible
Very accessible
Rate how 'unique' the stops were:
Not really
Yes, very unique!
We all had fun

I would recommend this one when it’s not hot out. But it was definitely cool. This one kept us out for quite awhile! We had four ladies and two teens and it was enjoyable for everyone. We were all exhausted when we got back, that heat was somethin!