Itinerary for one day visit
 

What would be a good sample itinerary for a one day visit to The Villages?

Not enough time but what are you looking to accomplish?

Go to at least 2 Town Squares and be sure one of them is in the evening for the entertainment. Drive Morse and Buena Vista, go to a couple of the large Rec centers such as Everglades and Ezell and go to 3 or 4 open houses to get a feel for what is out there and what it costs. I would not play pickleball or golf - I assume that people have done that outside The Villages.

I know it's not nearly enough time. This is more of a check it out, see what is there and then plan a longer visit. I know TV is huge. I'm just trying to narrow down the must sees. We won't be getting guest passes to the rec centers and whatnot. We're not even staying overnight. It'll be a daytrip.

Take a trolley tour. It's a sales pitch but gives you an idea of what TV looks like. They leave at specified intervals from Brownwood.

If you are serious about moving to the villages, contact the sales office for an agent, explain to the agent what you want to do and let them to the driving and explaining. We did this about 3 or 4 years before we actually bought. The sales agent from the initial contact was the one we used for the purchase. As noted above you cannot do TV in a day, it is around 70 square MILES. The website can give you some information and from there you may be able to narrow down your search to a more specific area. We are in the Brownwood area, which is now near the center of the villages, it was the southern end when we built, but we really like the area. There are currently 3 houses for sale in this area.

Drive around and see if you like the landscaping, easy of getting to stores, etc. You are trying to decide if you want to make a return trip or not. I can see a stop at the sales office for a couple of hours as a must. You are not so much interested in the different homes but what the life style will be and the sales person should be able to give you an over view.

I’d spend the day trying to book a week. You need at least that for a good review of The Villages.

Thank you all for the information and ideas. This trip is more to get the lay of the land and familiarize ourselves with TV as best we can in a day. I like the idea of fitting in at least two of the town squares. My thought is we will hit either Spanish Springs or Sumter Landing on the way in and stop for breakfast and do some browsing. From there we'll travel towards Brownwood and see about a trolley tour. Is there anything much to see in the sales office, itself? Once we take the trolley tour we'll check out Brownwood Square and maybe drive through some of the surrounding neighborhoods and shopping areas.

I don't think we'll have time to go through any houses. We aren't going there intending to buy now, this is more to get a feel for where we'll be looking.

What restaurant would you recommend for a late lunch/early dinner? Thank you all again!

We have dogs so I know we'll want a fenced in yard. That will limit the models for us.

I think you can visit the rec centers without a guest pass. You can’t swim or play pickleball without a pass but if you walked in and just wanted to look around, it shouldn’t be a problem. If there is a problem, tell them you are thinking about moving to TV.

That would be perfect! We'll definitely check to see if we can get a look inside a rec center or two.

Make sure you visit the regional recreation centers.

Recreation Center Locations

These are the country run rec centers as opposed to the private rec centers in TV?

Which regional rec center would be close to Brownwood Square?

No, that list is of The Villages rec centers...

The closest Regional (larger) rec center to Brownwood is Eisenhower. There might be some smaller ones nearby as well...

O.k. thank you! We'll probably check out Eisenhower and possibly one of the other big rec centers.

Are the country clubs open for visitors to see?

Rohan is another Regional rec center. It's on the NE corner of 44 and Morse...

And yes, the Country Clubs (and before certain people chime in to tell you, yes, they are really just restaurants attached to the Championship Golf Courses) are open to all...

They will also have a Pro Shop attached, as well...

Let me tell you, you are in for a disappointment if you are only there for a day.

The allure of The Villages isn’t the flowers, the squares, the country clubs - its the lifestyle, the experience, the fun, the laughter.

You need to spend a few days (MINIMUM) to even start to understand.

If I only drive through and spent a day, I would probably not have gone back to rent ad buy. Just my opinion.

Awesome. I think we have a game plan now.

Thank you for your perspective and I think you are right - the lifestyle and getting a taste of living in TV would be ideal. Unfortunately, we have limited time to do this at this point so we're going to have to try to see what we can see in just one day.

We've been to some other over 55 communities and, while they were quite nice, they seemed too... constrained (not sure if that's the right word)... and actually kind of boring. I don't think TV will be boring. I think we will see that there is a ton to do there.

If you only have a day, you only have a day. Sounds like you will be seeing a fair amount of it.

My first visit to Europe I only had one day to see Paris. People told me that one day wasn’t long enough - which is true. But I was sure glad I spent that day in Paris rather than not seeing it. It made me want to come back to Paris - which I did and you will almost certainly come back to The Villages and see it properly.

We were doing back to back college tours with our kids not that long ago so I guess we're used to covering a lot of ground fast.

One day won't be enough but I do think that'll give us lots of reasons to come back. Thanks again for all the information. It's much appreciated!

If you connect with a Villages sales agent, be sure to ask them to show you Katie Belles and the Hacienda country club.

ditto
breakfast spanish springs,
lunch brownwood,
dinner & party lake sumpter landing

Really, OP has one day, and you want them to spend it finding something that no longer exists. How sad, and hope OP doesn’t waste their time with your thoughts, when they could be getting important questions answered.

OP sent you a PM ( private message to your inbox)

Our oldest dragging his wife for her first visit in 2021 for Just one Day.

He had visited us for 10 days every year since 2010. She is not fully on board, but she agreed to a lifestyle visit in 2022 for a week. He has been sold since day one, wife after lifestyle, her views are changing, but not on board yet.

Both are Doctors, early 50’s, enjoy the lifestyle, but she is not a fan of heat like me. So as he said “baby steps,” is always a good thing if one is not sure. His statement is “houses are built everyday,” and there will be something available if and when she Changes her mind, because he is very optimistic.

Guest passes are not needed to visit a Rec center and check it out. Enjoy.

How is THIS?

Breakfast at flying bisquit - LSL
Drive to lake miona rec center - walk around
Drive north to Lopez Champ Golf - check it out
Drive to Spanish Springs - walk around
Drive to Virginia Trace, park at pool, and walk neighboorhood
Lunch at either Edna’s food trucks or Citrus Grove - walk around after lunch
Fit in (go see) one or two things you’re interested - softball, archery, etc.
Go to the other place (above)
Park and walk around a neighboorhood somewhere along Marsh Bend Tr or Warm Springs
Drive to Eisnehaurer Rec Center (especially if you’re a Veteran) or Rohan - walk in the rec center
Walk around Brownwood - dinner at Brownwood, listen to band

Adjust as needed -
You like golf, visit another champ course
You Like pickle/tennis, spend time at those courts at the rec centers or visit another rec center

I would recommend eating at Sumter Landing. Gators on the patio for lunch, or Lighthouse on the patio for a great view of the water and sundown.

Visit
 

I would suggest staying around the Lake Sumter area. Then you can get to Brownwood or Spanish springs easily

just drive around....in a car......and stop when you see something interesting to you. One day is not enough time to see many things.

Worldseries27.... PLEASE....there is no P in Lake Sumter!

I believe you pass Lake Sumpter when driving on Morris Boulevard while heading to Finney :)

And be sure from the get go it's SUMTER, not Sumpter. Enjoy the day, relax and take in as much of what the villages has to offer. Pick Eisenhower rec center as it's fascinating, Seabreeze is a totally different look, a country club and all 3 squares, even Sawgrass too. As for restaurants I can't say as I'm not in real favor of any. Maybe outside at the Chop house for lunch.

Dinner
 

After your trolly tour visit Brownwood and eat a great meal at TooJays right there at Brownwood.

Get a cart, Start the early morning watching sunrise over the lake while walking the boardwalk, Then have an outside breakfast at Flying Biscuit. Drive through Spanish Springs and then down to Brownwood stopping at Rec centers on the way. Lunch at Brownwood. A walk at Fenny. Relax at a pool. Nap. Go dancing at a square.

Go to "Lake Sumter Town Square". Plan a visit when "Rocky and The Rollers" are playing in the square.
Talk to people as far as how they like "The Villages" now especially as "The Morse Clan" refuses to stop selling more homes which definitely is making "The Villages" way overcrowded North of CR-44 making it more difficult to go to a restaurant for dinner.

Excellent advice. 😎

Breakfast at Panera in Spanish Springs. Walk around the square. Lunch at the Lighthouse in Sumter Landing. Again, walk around the square. You can check out a trolley tour from there. End with dinner at Harvest in Brownwood and stay for the entertainment on the square. You can pop into Eisenhower Rec. Enter while driving from Sumter Landing to Brownwood. It will be an action-packed day. Enjoy!

What Rainger99 said.