Vacation Basics

Getting Around
There are more ways to travel around our townthan you might think.

Sarasota Pedicab Company offers bike cab tours of downtown Sarasota. (941) 724-2244.

Florida Ever-Glides offers guided Segway Personal Transporters tours of downtown Sarasota. (A 
Segway is a scooter-like vehicle that is fun and easy to operate.) (941) 363-9556.

Sarasota Trolley features 34-seat, open-air vehicles with traditional oak wood interiors. (941) 346-3115.

Tootie's SRQ Trolley offers a variety of tours and special occasion uses, including city, bar hopping and holiday tours.
(941) 538-1414.

Siesta Island Trolley offers a 24-passenger, open-air trolley and a 32-passenger, air-conditioned trolley. Extras include catered trips, tours of holiday lights and pub crawling. (941) 915-3232.  

For more standard modes of transportation:

Sarasota County Area Transit: (941) 861-1234.

Yellow Cab of Sarasota: Servicing areas in Sarasota County only. (941) 955-3341.

Roxy's Airport Transportation: Servicing airports in Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Miami, and also offering other long-distance transportation options. (941) 906-1010.

Regal Transportation of Sarasota: Specializing in door-to-door limo, luxury sedans and SUVs to airports in Sarasota, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg and Miami. Also featuring luxury stretch limos for other occasions. (941) 351-2547.

Cruise Transportation of Sarasota: Offering sedans and vans for transportation to regional airports and other locations. (941) 792-3400.

Boss Limousine: Specializing in group and corporate transportation (in 25- and 32-passenger shuttle buses) for special occasions and for airports in Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa. (941) 924-5206.

Biking Around Sarasota: For a detailed map and information about Sarasota’s bike paths and lanes, call The Alliance for Responsible Transportation at (941) 726-8800 or visit www.bikewalklive.org.

Cyclists delight in the recently opened Legacy Trail. This 12.4-mile-long, 100-foot-wide corridor stretches from just over a mile south of S.R. 72 (Clark Road) by Sawyer Loop Road in Sarasota to the southern terminus near Center Road in Venice.

Longboat Key is another pedal power paradise. Gulf of Mexico Drive runs north and south across the entire island, creating a 24-mile round-trip. There’s a bike lane for serious cyclists; less ambitious ones stick to the extra-wide sidewalk, as long as they stay below 10 mph and alert walkers when they approach from behind.

For an up-close view of the diverse and wondrous Florida landscape, try Myakka River State Park. It offers cyclers seven miles of flat, paved roads winding through shaded hammocks, along grassy marshes and around lakes. Bike path maps are available at:  www.myakkariver.org/biking.html. (941) 361-6511.

Bike Shops

Reale Bicycles: 478-B U.S. 41 Bypass North, Venice; (941) 485-3113. Ryder Bikes: 1530 Dolphin St., Sarasota; (941) 951-5480  Sarasota Schwinn Cyclery: 3800 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota; (941) 366-4144.  Sarasota  Bicycle Center: 4084 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota; (941) 377-4505.  Village Bikes: 6279 Lake Osprey Drive, Lakewood Ranch; (941) 388-0550; and 3898 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota; (941) 925-2241.