For more information on where to stay, things to do and information about visiting the Paradise Coast, visit the convention and visitors bureau’s official visitor information Web site, www.ParadiseCoast.com, or call 1-800-688-3600 for a free visitors guide. From outside the United States, call 1-239-225-1013.

How to Save Many travelers are looking for the best deals available – so to make things easier, the convention and visitors bureau has gathered together the Paradise Coast’s most attractive hotel offers, ranging from hundreds of dollars in resort credits to low nightly hotel rates. You can find the full list of these Paradise Priced Perfectly offers at www.ParadiseCoast.com

The Paradise Coast Values in Paradise VIP card is available May 1 through December 15, 2010. It offers visitors thousands of dollars in savings at participating restaurants, attractions and shops. Some of the savings for 2010 include attraction discounts, buy-one-get-one-free or half-off offers and other great discounts and deals. The VIP card is free to all visitors, can be used immediately upon arrival and is easily found at four convenient visitor center locations: the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, the Downtown Naples Association Visitor Center, Marco Island Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center and the Everglades Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.

Visitors that would like to take in the atmosphere on a budget have some excellent choices. Many hotels offer value-priced rates throughout the year that leave plenty of room in your travel budget to splurge on dining, spa treatments, shopping, fishing, eco tours and more. Also, prices on hotel rooms and golf course greens fees drop by as much as one third to one half the rates during the peak winter season during the slower months of May through December.

New and Updated Attractions: Naples Botanical Garden re-opened to the public as a world-class tropical garden paradise called “Gardens With Latitude,” in November 2009, featuring the plants and cultures found along 26-degrees latitude North and South. The attraction includes cultivated gardens of Brazil, the Caribbean, and a hands-on interactive Children’s Garden along with 90-acres of beautifully restored natural Florida habitats. In 2010 the new Asian and Florida gardens will be complete. Naples Botanical Garden is now available as a venue for meetings, conferences, receptions and dinners. The lush backdrop of the beautiful garden with vibrantly colored flowers makes a picturesque tropical paradise backdrop, all just ten minutes from downtown Naples.

Adventure Training Concepts is an adventure-based team training facility utilizing authentic U.S. Army strategies to facilitate curriculum-based training, team spirit, fitness and bonding experiences for corporate, youth and other groups. ATC now has a public ropes course and training facility located near Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary between Naples and Immokalee, and also stages various event scenarios throughout the surrounding area. Indiana Jones and Survivor themed-events are growing in popularity.

Seminole Casino Immokalee has undergone a 35,000 sq. ft. expansion that includes additional gaming,dining and nightlife to the attraction. New gaming options in place now include blackjack, several varieties of poker and Las Vegas-style slot machines.

Sea Excursions offers custom team building and learning experiences about the scientific research vessel Dolphin Explorer. Work alongside naturalists gathering data for the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project to spot, observe, photograph the area’s resident bottlenose dolphin, and then evaluate and log their behavior patterns.

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, a classic area attraction that has recently become a non-profit zoo, is the only zoo in the Southeastern United States to exhibit the fosa, a rare predator from Madagascar. Naples Zoo also has a large population of Madagascar lemurs, the main prey for the fosa. Of course, the Naples Zoo lemurs will be safe from the fosa, which will be visible through a glass pane while they stalk their rocky habitat. Other new state-of-the-art exhibits include Black Bear Hammock, the largest black bear exhibit at an Association of Zoos & Aquariums accredited zoo east of the Mississippi, with Florida black bears. Leopard Rock features a floor to ceiling glass window that allows visitors to get eye to eye with the carnivorous cats. The zoo has recently announced plans to bring in giraffes in 2011. Newly paved pathways provide ease of passage for walkers and strollers through the zoo’s old growth botanical garden environment. Visitors continue to enjoy the unique primate expedition cruise, a boatride to view the cage-free island homes of the zoo’s many primate species.

Vine Resource Productions of Naples now has two popular weekly Sip N’ Sail wine tasting sunset cruises. Cruises depart one hour before sunset from Tin City on board the double-decker Double Sunshine on Thursdays and from Cocohatchee Nature Center on Fridays through July 4, and then resuming in October 2010. Tickets include the opportunity to taste five different wines along with expertly paired cuisine selections. Each month the wines are themed. Sip n’ Sail’s certified sommelier pours the wine and provides interesting education information. Vine Resource Productions also stages wine dinners and special wine-themed events for groups. Special charters and group events may still be booked throughout the summer.

Saltwater Sports recently opened new kayak launch and rental locations at Little Bar Restaurant in the village of Goodland on Marco Island and in Naples at the Village on Venetian Bay. They also offer guided kayak tours from the beach behind the Capri Fish House on Isles of Capri, from the Glades Haven Marina in Everglades City, and from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Naples Nature Center.

Everglades Area Tours is now headquartered at JT’s Island Cafe & Gallery on Chokoloskee Island and has added multi-day kayak fishing/camping tours in the Everglades, along with sunset and full moon paddling tours, as well as half day and full day motorboat assisted kayak eco tours and fishing excursions. In addition, they now offer motorboat-assisted kayak eco and fishing tours from Calusa Marina in the village of Goodland on Marco Island. The new location provides easier access to the western 10,000 islands and Rookery Bay National Marine Estuarine Research Reserve.

Everglades Rentals & Eco Adventures, the guide service operating out of the Ivey House B&B in Everglades City, now offers guided canoe and kayak adventures year round.

You And A Kayak is a kayak guide service providing customized tours departing from City Seafood restaurant in Everglades City between November and April. Half day, full day and multi day trips are offered at all skill levels with extensive interpretation of the natural environment. Two of the more unique trips are the Cowgirl Kayaks half and full day trips for women, along with the women-only Cowgirl Kayakers Camping expedition, with all equipment and instruction supplied for a 2-day, 1-night camping and kayaking adventure.

Opening in Fall 2010, C’mon, the Children’s Museum of Naples will be an inspiring environment where children and their families play, learn and dream together. Under construction at North Collier Regional Park in Naples, the 30,000 sq. ft. Children’s Museum of Naples will feature ten spectacularly designed, child-scaled exhibits to invite sensory and intellectual exploration. Children’s museum specialist Mary Sinker and acclaimed exhibit designer Jack Rouse Associates conceived each exhibit as a model of three interrelated principles: an appreciation of children’s play behavior, knowledge of how an environment can influence play and learning, and an understanding of children’s developmental milestones. These three core beliefs enabled them to transform the learning landscape so that serious learning looks like play… for those who know how to look.

New Event The first annual Naples International Film Festival took place Nov. 5-8, 2009 at the new Silverspot Luxury Cinema at Mercato in north Naples to rave reviews. For four days, NIFF showcased the extraordinary on Silverspot’s screens, showing the finest films, shorts, and documentaries from around the world, with a special focus on Southwest Florida’s filmmakers. The festival’s opening night feature, The Cove, was awarded the Oscar for Documentary Feature at the 2010 Academy Awards. Plans are already underway for the 2nd annual event November 4-7, 2010.

New Spas The Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa has a new luxury destination spa offering full service spa treatments including massage therapy, skin care, body treatments, hair and nails and a retail boutique. The 10,000 square foot spa has 10 treatment rooms and also includes a state of the art fitness center.