Vero Beach Florida is an idyllic barrier island community located an hour or so north of Palm Beach. Fabulous yes, but some wish it were a smidge easier to travel to and from parts elsewhere.

Last month we shared the great news of Breeze Airlines – a boutique airline that offers near-private flight experience from our small Vero Beach regional airport and popular northern destinations in smaller market airports like Providence, Rhode Island and Westchester County in New York.

Today we’re going to explore travel within Florida.  

Cue Brightline, a newly minted high-speed railway that connects key cities within Florida – at record speeds to offer an ideal way to ditch your car yet get where you want to go fast and in style.

With tracks laid down the east coast of Florida to Orlando, Brightline offers high-speed travel between West Palm and Miami and Orlando – the International terminal at the Orlando airport, to be exact.

With high-speed travel, Brightline travelers arrive at their destinations faster than if traveling by auto, with less stress and wear and tear on you and your vehicle – and no risk of traffic jams laying ruin to your best-laid plans.

At first, there was some grousing about Brightline’s plans. “Boo!” said a lot of individuals and municipalities who endured lengthy construction at crossings to accommodate the high-speed trains. But now that the bright yellow trains have launched – guess what?

There are a lot of raving fans, and rightly so…

• Brightline offers speed, ease of travel, and a smartly designed ridership experience that smartly makes the journey as enjoyable as the final destination.

• Waiting rooms are beautifully decorated with a modern vibe, snacks and colorful murals clearly designed for Instagram pics.  And the trains themselves: equally as lovely, with snacks and bar services too! Stations offer secure parking – and in Miami, at least, if you reserve in advance a Brightline-owned Tesla will pick you up and deliver you to your ultimate destination!

• The Orlando airport station is a boon for travelers landing or departing from Miami who need or want to get up to Orlando for a flight or visit.

How popular is Brightline? 

The search has begun for a Treasure Coast stop for the train. With proposals out, bets are for a station in Ft. Pierce. But we will have to wait to see. There is also chatter about developing a station on the West Coast of Florida in the Tampa area that would create a triangle of coverage for easy state-wide travel.

So the next time you’re considering a trip to Miami, think about taking the Brightline instead of hopping into your car! 

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