Explore the Everglades by Canoe

If you've always hankered to explore America's most famous swamp, this is the time to visit the Everglades. Unlike summer when the Everglades are sweltering, sweaty and a-buzz with mosquitoes the size of whale harpoons, in winter the swamp is not too hot, not too cold, not too humid and there's nary a mosquito in slapping distance. The conditions are perfect for a canoe or kayak trek through the primeval Ten Thousand Islands region of the Gulf Coast.

While most people visit the Everglades from the east side entrance near Miami, explorers will want to enter from Everglades City near Naples on the gulf side of the park. The small rural community of Everglades City is an active commercial and sport-fishing port and the jumping off point for most canoe and kayak excursions into the swamp. You'll find a number of full-service outfitters and a variety of guided tours available in Everglades City, including mangrove tunnels, sunset tours and moonlit paddles. A new GPS-marked paddle trail system through the Ten Thousand Islands area can lead you on a long, overnight trek from Everglades City to Goodland, but shorter day-trip routes are also available. Paddlers will also find fun and adventure cruising Collier County's new GPS-marked Paradise Coast Blueway. While you're paddling in the Everglades, watch for alligators sunning themselves, blue herons and egrets stalking fish in the shallows, and the amazing anhingas, a bird that dives and swims underwater to catch its darting, silvery prey.

After a day spent paddling through sawgrass, wandering the mangrove tunnels, exploring the cypress forest and enjoying the exotic wildlife in the swamp, head back to your luxurious timeshare in Naples on Florida's gorgeous Gulf Coast. The Charter Club Resort of Naples Bay (above, left) offers superb accommodations (right) coupled with excellent onsite amenities and a wide variety of area activities. For those who want to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Everglades more comfortably, the fabulous Naples-Caribbean Garden's Zoological Park, Rookery Bay, is located just fives miles south of Naples. And when you're not on the beach, you'll find plenty of charming boutiques and exciting eateries to explore in Naples. Click the post title to preview a complete listing of fabulous timeshares in the Naples, Florida area.