The United States offers a thousand and one possibilities for a road trip. Undoubtedly, the most famous of all is the West Coast, but Florida is increasingly standing out as a very complete destination for a most entertaining road trip. If you wonder what to see in Florida beyond the famous theme parks, keep reading because here is a route proposal to discover some of the attractions of this peninsula blessed by an eternal sun that attracts thousands of tourists.
What to see in Florida in two weeks
Here is my 15-day route through Florida with children aged 5, 3, and 1 that I did in March 2022. If you travel without little ones, you will surely be able to see more things or spend fewer days on the same itinerary. This was a two-week trip through Florida in which I combined a motorhome, rental car, hotel, and home exchanges.
Miami and its thousand plans for non-stop action
There is no trip through Florida that does not start or end in Miami, the entry point for most travelers. The city of Miami is not only the perfect place as a base for excursions to the different places to see in Florida, but it alone can be the star of your trip for a few days.
From sunbathing on the legendary Miami Beach while the lifeguards watch over you in their multi-colored stands and you’re amazed by the great atmosphere and the bodies on Ocean Road, to admiring the Art Deco buildings in its streets, to taking an express trip to Cuba in the Little Havana neighborhood, enjoying its contrasts, and taking the boat tour of celebrity homes and the Everglades. But also being captivated by the explosion of color in the street art of Wynwood, among many other experiences.
How much time to spend in Miami depends on the days you have available and your tastes. A single day might be enough, or you could easily stay for four days without getting bored or repeating locations.
Did you know there is even a Little Haiti in Miami? Or maybe you’d like to explore Coral Gables to peek (through the fences) at the most lavish mansions, cool off in the impressive Venetian Pool or feel like you’re in a movie walking through the ‘tunnel’ of trees on the Old Cutler Trail.
It’s also a great plan to get lost among the skyscrapers of Downtown, Miami’s financial district, to end up looking at the oldest of them all, the historic Freedom Tower built in 1925. Next to it is Bayfront Park, perfect for watching the sunset with views of Biscayne Bay. Shall we continue?
- I spent my first night in Miami at this budget hotel near the airport, with a pool, free airport shuttle, and breakfast included: Red Roof Inn PLUS+ Miami Airport
Si viajas a Miami con niños Uno de las cosas que hacer con niños en Miami más recomendadas es visitar el Museo de los Niños de Miami que tiene un montón de exposiciones interactivas para jugar y aprender a la vez en espacios que recrean el mundo de los adultos. Es un buen plan infantil para un día de lluvia por ejemplo, pero, como casi todo en Florida, es bastante caro 22 $ seas niño o adulto.
- If you don’t rent a car, a good idea is to book a transfer from the airport to downtown Miami.
Kennedy Space Center to travel to space
From Miami, drive a bit more than three hours north along the coast to reach Cape Canaveral where a journey through space awaits you. To feel like an astronaut, you just have to go to the Kennedy Space Center, the visitor complex of the NASA facilities in Florida. This is, without a doubt, one of the best things to do in Florida.
Get your wallet ready because it isn’t cheap ($75 per adult and $65 for children between 3 and 12 years old plus taxes, plus parking), but in return, you’ll walk through a rocket garden—yes, a rocket garden—you’ll be amazed by the presentation of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and you’ll have the giant Saturn V, the largest rocket in the world ever put into orbit and the only one capable of taking astronauts to the Moon, hanging over your head.
Don’t forget to check the dates of upcoming launches because if you’re lucky, you can time your visit with the moment several astronauts are put into orbit in outer space.
Additionally, if you’re willing to pay extra, there are several optional activities such as chatting in person with a real astronaut or participating for a few hours in the training program of these special professionals to experience the sensation of being on Mars.
Si viajas con niños... Guarda tiempo para visitar Planet Play, un brutal parque de juegos para niños de 2 a 12 años con una decoración inspirada en los planetas que incluye hasta un agujero negro por el que pueden trepar. Además, puedes tomar algo en el bar, mientras ves a tus hijos gatear de Plutón a Marte. Hay una zona más tranquila para los más pequeños. No tienes que pagar coste extra porque está incluido en la entrada.
- Choose your ideal hotel in Cape Canaveral
Orlando, not everything is theme parks
From Cape Canaveral, it’s only an hour’s distance to this city, so it’s also common to take a day trip to the Kennedy Space Center from Orlando.
There’s no argument, Orlando is the theme park mecca of the United States. But besides hosting the universe of Walt Disney World, there are also several other parks that will delight the whole family, as long as you can forget that your bank account is going to suffer quite a bit.
Anyway, here is something totally different to see in Orlando that is also free.
Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve
Near the city center, and on the shores of Lake Tibet, the small Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve awaits you—a place to immerse yourself in nature and walk, with all the caution in the world, through the territory of alligators (not crocodiles) and snakes.
Start your visit at the visitor center to pick up a map with the six park trails that run through saw palmettos, cypresses, pines, and brush to learn about the wildlife that, with luck or not, you might see there.
Be careful because some areas may be flooded and you will have to turn back, especially those closest to the swamp which you can cross thanks to the wooden boardwalks of the Fallen Log Crossing trail.
At the entrance, there are picnic tables and an area with several rescued turtles that are not in a condition to live autonomously in the wild again and have now made the Tibet-Butler preserve their home. In March 2022, educational programs and guided tours were still suspended due to the pandemic.
Magic Kingdom, Disney’s jewel in Orlando
Without a doubt, the quintessential Disney park is Magic Kingdom where the photogenic Cinderella Castle is located and where magic greets you at every corner.
If you dream of being a child again, meeting the Princesses, high-fiving Mickey Mouse and company, and, of course, having fun on the most beautiful attractions, you simply must visit this famous park.
Magic Kingdom is undoubtedly one of the essential places to see in Florida and one of the biggest draws for many of the tourists who land on the largest peninsula in the southern United States.
Tickets cost from 120 dollars, the cheapest ones, per person for a single day entry, but it depends on the season. The more days you go, the more the price per day is reduced. But watch out, that’s just the ticket, you then have to add parking ($25 per car, $30 for motorhomes) and accommodation. However, children under 3 enter for free. To save some money, you can bring your own food and refill your water bottle at the fountains.
¿Cuántos parques de Disney hay en Orlando?
¡En total seis! Magic Kingdom es la joya de la corona de Walt Disney World, pero el complejo incluye otros tres parques temáticos más: Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios y Disney's Animal Kingdom y dos parques acuáticos: Disney's Typhoon Lagoon y Disney's Blizzard Beach.
EPCOT
EPCOT could be considered the ‘poor’ sibling of them all, the one that receives the fewest visits of the four. However, the Disney magic also reaches this theme park where you can travel the world just by walking and even live an adventure traveling into space.
Here the little ones will be amazed seeing Elsa, Anna, and Olaf from ‘Frozen’ and will have a blast on attractions like ‘Ratatouille’ and ‘Finding Nemo’.
Additionally, until July 4, 2022, EPCOT hosts the International Flower & Garden Festival, so it is decorated with beautiful sculptures of Disney factory characters made with flowers and plants. It’s a real delight to see the Lion King, Peter Pan, or Snow White while passing through reproductions of places in China, Germany, Morocco, or Canada.
Disney Springs
Under the wing of the giant Walt Disney World stands Disney Springs, a massive outdoor shopping center with restaurants, stores, and some attractions to spend a few hours full of fun and, why not say it, also consumerism. It’s not one of the essential places to see in Florida, but if you have time it’s a good option to take a stroll.
Here you can do everything from buying your favorite Disney princess, to getting that Mickey item you won’t find anywhere else, sailing in an amphibious car, soaring into the sky in a balloon, eating among dinosaurs at the T-Rex restaurant (go very early because reservations aren’t possible and the waiting time can reach more than two hours!) watching a Cirque du Soleil show, returning to Spain through gastronomy at the restaurant ‘Jaleo’ by famous chef José Andrés and even satisfying your sweetest cravings at the colorful M&M’S store.
The Lego store at Disney Springs is very famous, but to enter you will also have to queue… However, just seeing it from the outside is worth it thanks to the giant lake monster and a bunch of life-size characters like Mickey or those from Star Wars made with Lego pieces.
Universal Studios
To show that Orlando doesn’t live on Walt Disney World alone, there’s the other most visited ‘saga’ of theme parks: Universal Orlando Resort. Movie buffs and TV lovers will find their small paradise here: Transformers, Men in Black, Fast & Furious, The Simpsons, Shrek, The Minions, SpongeBob, Jurassic Park… and then there’s him… Harry Potter!
There are three parks in this complex: Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay. If you are coming to follow the trail of the famous Harry Potter, be warned that you will have to buy tickets for the first two; only then will you be able to ride the Hogwarts Express train and live the full experience of visiting both Harry Potter lands. I explain in detail how much a Universal Studios ticket costs here so you can calculate your budget.
- If you want to visit all three parks book your ticket to Universal Orlando Resort
Crystal River, following the trail of the manatees
If you ask for things to see in Florida, most people will answer the Disney parks, Miami, and possibly the Keys. But this peninsula also boasts corners with fascinating nature, and a great place to discover it is Crystal River.
This city, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, is located just an hour and a half from Orlando and is known as the manatee capital of the world.
These curious marine mammals, also known as sea cows, come every year, between November and late March, to the warm springs of Crystal River, fleeing the low temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico. Manatees have no fat to insulate them from the cold, so the risk of hypothermia is high, which is why they flock to these waters that maintain a constant temperature of 23 degrees Celsius (73°F).
One of the places where you can see manatees in Florida swimming freely up close is Three Sisters Springs, an area belonging to the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. A short walk along the wooden boardwalks that connect the three natural springs is enough to, with luck, see them perfectly, as the water here is extremely crystal clear.
Both Crystal River and neighboring Homosassa are the only two places in Florida where it is legal to swim with these animals. For this reason, taking a boat trip to snorkel with manatees is the star activity.
However, despite the legality and the fact that there are volunteers ensuring no one touches them and that their resting areas are respected, I personally preferred to watch them from the boardwalks without interfering in their environment.
¿Sabías que los manatíes de Florida están en peligro? Las olas de frío y la falta de alimento están matando a los manatíes antillanos en Florida, una especie protegida al estar en peligro de extinción. En 2021, se estima que murieron 1.100 ejemplares solo en esta península estadounidense y, lamentablemente, se espera que este 2022 la cifra sea mucho más alta. Estos animales, parientes lejanos de los elefantes, son herbívoros y necesitan comer aproximadamente el 10% de su peso. La desaparición de grandes franjas de hierbas marinas y plantas acuáticas como consecuencia de la contaminación del agua se está convirtiendo en su sentencia de muerte.
- I stayed with the motorhome at the Crystal Isles RV Resort campsite, but here you can search for your ideal hotel or apartment in Crystal River.
Homosassa and its unexpected animals
This road trip to discover the most interesting places to see in Florida has its next stop just twenty minutes from Crystal River in Homosassa. Manatees also swim into its natural springs, but it is also possible to see many other animals up close.
To do so, you must visit the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Here you can see manatees underwater without disturbing them thanks to a small underwater observatory. Some inhabit the area year-round because they suffer injuries that require care from experts.
But additionally, they also house a multitude of animals that, for various reasons such as accidents, illnesses, or attacks, among others, cannot survive in the wild. From an ‘exotic’ hippopotamus that was used for a movie shoot, to two black bears, alligators, cranes, otters, golden eagles, red foxes, flamingos, snakes, and even an example of a Florida panther.
Si viajas con niños... Acércate a Monkey Island, un diminuto islote con un faro y una cabaña en el río Homossasa donde viven unos cuantos ejemplares de monos araña. Su origen se remonta a la década de los 60 cuando un naturalista capturó algunos de estos animales para hacer pruebas de la vacuna de la polio. Tras una serie de desdichas, los monos han terminado ahí varados cual Robinsones mientras pequeños y grandes los contemplan.
Fort De Soto Park, the pristine Florida beach of your dreams
If there is something to see in Florida, besides theme parks, it is beaches—and good ones at that. On this peninsula, movie-like sandy shores abound, and some of them often carry the label of ‘the best beach in the United States,’ such as Siesta Key or Palm Beach.
Here I present a less known but stunningly beautiful beach: the North Beach of Fort De Soto Park. Surrounded by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico on one side and those of Tampa Bay on the other, this immense private park, which you can access after paying $5 per vehicle, covers five connected keys located south of St. Petersburg.
Besides working on your tan on an idyllic pristine beach with crystal-clear waters and fine white sand, you can visit the military fort from 1900 built for the Spanish-American War that gives the park its name (a name originating from the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto), rent a bike, go kayaking by the beaches or through the mangroves, fish, camp, spot the beautiful birds that fly through its skies, or take the ferry to the uninhabited Egmont Key.
- Search for your perfect hotel in Tampa at the best price
Everglades, the must-see in Florida
If you are a pure city dweller, it’s clear that Miami will stay in your memory. But if you like nature even a little bit, the Everglades National Park will win you over. Not for nothing has this place been named a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
And it is important to emphasize that the Everglades is the only subtropical habitat that exists in the United States; a true rarity in the particular physiognomy of this gigantic country. For that reason alone, it should definitely be on your list of places to see in Florida.
Here, in its wetlands, rivers, swamps, marshes, mangroves, and forests, crocodiles, alligators, and caimans coexist in peace with a multitude of birds, fish, manatees, snakes, raccoons, deer, and even the elusive Florida panther, among many other species.
Entrance to the Everglades park costs 30 dollars per vehicle and will be valid for seven consecutive days. Once inside, you can rent a kayak or a canoe to explore the mangroves, or take a guided boat tour either through the interior or the bay. These depart from the small port of Flamingo at the southern tip of the Everglades, where I was lucky enough to see a manatee and its calf feeding.
It is highly recommended to do some of the trails marked in the park that give you the opportunity to venture into the Everglades and see animals very close up.
One of the most famous is the Anhinga Trail, a simple path with wooden boardwalks to navigate the swampy areas, which for me is one of the essentials to do in Florida. It starts at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, is accessible for wheelchairs or strollers and, with luck, you will be able to see many animals very close up.
¿Te atreves con la actividad más famosa de Everglades? Una de las actividades más famosas es, sin duda, montar en un aerodeslizador o hidrodeslizador en Everglades, esas lanchas con una gran ventilador detrás que surcan los canales a toda velocidad. Puedes hacerlo reservando una excursión a Everglades desde Miami con los traslados incluidos y la visita a una granja de cocodrilos o coger directamente solo el paseo en aerodeslizador si tienes tu propio coche de alquiler.
- You might be interested in: Practical info for visiting the Everglades
The Keys, the destination to see in Florida before returning
No one returns from this trip without first making at least a brief excursion into the Florida Keys. This curious archipelago made up of 1,700 islands scattered around a single road, the Overseas Highway, which, from bridge to bridge, makes its way like a thin spear for about 180 kilometers between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico until almost shaking hands with Cuba.
Key West, the final reward
The reward at the end of this famous road trip from Miami, which without making any intermediate stops will take you at least 4 hours, is the island city of Key West. The southernmost town in the entire United States is a picturesque place with colorful houses and attractive beaches that Hemingway himself fell in love with and that attracts thousands of tourists. That’s why it’s not surprising that one of the most popular tours to do in Florida is the excursion from Miami to Key West
If your plan is to drive on your own to Key West, I recommend staying overnight there because otherwise you will end up spending hours and hours in the car without time to enjoy all the interesting stops to make along the way. However, book your hotel in Key West well in advance because prices skyrocket until they are almost prohibitive.
For that reason, and because I was traveling with three very young children, my decision was not to go that far and instead visit other points in the Florida Keys that are also very interesting.
Si viajas con niños... Apunta el hospital de Tortugas de Marathon porque les va a gustar y mucho. Este centro de rescate y rehabilitación de tortugas marinas es el lugar perfecto para que niños y mayores se conciencien sobre la importancia de cuidar el medio ambiente. La visita guiada dura hora y media, incluye una interesante charla educativa y el recorrido por las instalaciones de este curioso hospital donde verás de cerca a sus pacientes, las tortugas. Los adultos pagan 30 dólares, los niños de 4 a 12 años 15 dólares y los menores de 4 años entran gratis. Te recomiendo reservar en su web con antelación para elegir el horario que mejor te convenga.
There are many stops along the Florida Keys. In my case, the main ones were in Islamorada; Rain Barrel Village, a small complex with craft shops featuring a giant lobster; and the small port next to the famous World Wide Sportman Bayside fishing store where you can see the twin sister of Pilar, Ernest Hemingway’s famous boat, have fun watching the pelicans, and eat luxury food at the Isla Morada Fish Company restaurant.
Ending the day at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was a great success that I recommend. Its small virgin beach is beautiful and if you have time you have to snorkel in its coral reef, although you can also rent a kayak or do a walking trail. Be careful though, as there are crocodiles here that like saltwater.
Why it is so important to travel with insurance
Before planning your own route through Florida, first, please, take out travel insurance to enjoy this adventure with peace of mind. During this road trip with children through Florida, my 11-month-old baby got sick with a very, very high fever, so I had to take him to the emergency room of a hospital.
Thanks to the fact that whenever I go abroad I do so with Mondo travel insurance, my insurance assistant took care of facilitating the procedures immediately with all the empathy and care. After a free assistance call, they sent the ID card to my email which gave my son the right to be treated without having to pay anything, as well as a list of the hospitals and medical centers closest to the Miami neighborhood where I was.
Another advantage of Mondo travel insurance, in addition to COVID-19 coverage, is the 24-hour medical chat available in the app. A resource that gives a lot of peace of mind when there is a health problem far from home in an unknown place.
Take advantage now of the 5% discount on travel insurance from Mondo for being a reader of this blog!
Más artículos útiles sobre Florida: -Qué ver en Miami -Everglades, qué hacer en este parque nacional -Kennedy Space Center, cómo visitar las NASA en Cabo Cañaveral -Cuánto vale ir a Universal Studios Orlando -Dónde ver manatíes en Florida
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