“Please show me the best route for a country ride,” said Joe. He and Lisa had just arrived from Green Bay, Wisconsin. “We absolutely love this weather and want your recommendation for a nice loop tour of the area. We have all afternoon and we’d like to see your coast and avoid commercial areas as much as possible.”

After Joe and Lisa left with their personalized map and suggestions for places to eat, drink and see, Randy and Denise dropped into the I-75 Visitor Information Center. In search of nearby places for birdwatching, Denise said they just returned from a missionary trip to Haiti and were ready for a peaceful nature walk. Experienced hikers from upstate New York, they love our natural areas. They knew there were a lot of choices but happily saved themselves time by getting quick directions to the Prairie to Pines Trail at Chinsegut Conservation Center: perfect.

“Where can I rent a couple of kayaks?” asked Don from Pennsylvania. “We just arrived and want to spend a lot of time on the water.” Don and his wife, Ann left with a copy of the Adventure Coast Water Planner, complete with vessel rental listings and marinas, mapped boat ramps and launches, charters and services, as well as information on scallop diving. Don said, “We plan to try one of these You Hook; We Cook spots. We’ve already booked our lodging here for next year.”

At the same time, in the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park Visitor Information Center, Dawn and her sister Jean from Michigan wanted to know where to have dinner while watching the sun set over the Gulf.  A couple from Ontario, Canada was reading the brochure for Chinsegut Hill Retreat and another couple, also from Canada, told them they had just come from there and really enjoyed their guided tour.

“What is there to do around here?”

“We have guests coming. Do you have suggestions for places to go with kids?”

“I’ve driven past here on my way to other places and finally decided to stop in. I’m so glad I did!”

“I love outdoor music festivals. I had no idea there were so many around here.”

“Where can I go to see manatees around here?”

This is just a sample of the people who drop in and the questions they ask on any given day at Florida’s Adventure Coast Visitor Information Centers. As different as one person is from another, so too are their questions. Each holds a unique perspective but all discover something unexpected.

Staffed by Visitors Bureau Specialists deeply familiar with Hernando County, each day presents opportunities to enlighten and delight folks.

Whether residents, snowbirds or people just passing through, everyone is curious.

Like a pair of gateways – one on the east side and one on the west – the Visitor Information Centers invite all who want to know more about Hernando County amenities to walk in and look around.

As a portal to the destination, Adventure Coast Visitor Information Centers are places to give and receive current area information. Hotels, high-traffic businesses and residential communities collect the matched set of brochures and maps to give away to their guests and customers.

Tourism-related businesses like restaurants, fishing charters, museums and unique shops in turn stock the center with their brochures, rack cards and flyers. These are then proudly displayed and available for visitors to take with them when they are looking for things to do.

From the Visitor Information Center at I-75, hundreds of mailers are sent out every day to fulfill online information requests. In the back office, the virtual welcome center, FloridasAdventureCoast.com, is continually polished with the freshest event calendar and social media updates. Articles about the destination are crafted weekly in the award-winning Florida’s Adventure Coast Blog.

Open seven days per week from 9:00am to 5:30pm, curious visitors can drop in to either the east side or west side Center. Directly east of Interstate 75, at Exit 301 in the Carriage Hills Plaza the Center hosts many travelers taking a rest from a long north-south Interstate drive. Some come in from Cortez Boulevard, a key route to and from Orlando and points east.

The busy Weeki Wachee Springs Visitor Information Center is available for all park attendees, or for free, to anyone at the gate who states that they just want to go to the tourism office or Visitor Center.  As Certified Visitor Information Centers with Visit Florida, both locations can assist with other regional and state inquiries as well.

For all who are curious about attractions, events, fishing, natural amenities and what’s new throughout Hernando County – Florida’s Adventure Coast – be sure to drop into a Visitor Information Center today to learn what makes this Florida destination so special.