Why
Travel to Florida?
The climate is one of the best in the country for year round tourist
activities, though the summer is hot and humid.
Many of the best white sand beaches in the USA are to be found along
its extensive coastline, tho' not south of Miami - with the exception
of Key West.
Watersports are well catered for on the warm surrounding seas while
limited and fast disappearing wildlife is found in its Everglades
wetlands and along its shores.
Where nature has not provided for the tourist, man has done so, with
superb theme parks and hi-tech entertainment.
Downside:
- Developers are doing their best to build over everything green.
- Florida did have a problem with crime aimed at tourists, though
this has improved recently. You still
need to take care to conceal your 'just visiting' status in the
cities.
When
to Travel to Florida:
Best: Dec-March, warm, dry, very busy.
Worst : June-Oct, hot and humid.
n.b. the north, especially inland and even the waters in the south
can get a bit chilly during winter.
Major
Festivals and Events:
Jan,
2nd weekend, Art Deco Festival, Miami Beach Art Deco District, 1920's-30's
style music and parades.
February,
Daytona 500, Daytona Speedway, Daytona Beach, racing cars, trucks
and bikes the American way, round in ovals.
March, Bike Week, Daytona Beach, a festival of motorbike passion.
Sept, Surf Festival, Cocoa beach, near Orlando.
Activities:
Diving and Snorkelling:
the Keys, especially Key Largo; Orlando parks for artificial environments;
Fort Lauderdale for wreck diving; Crystal River, Citrus County.
Aquatic Mammal Watching: dolphins at
the Dolphin Research Centre, Marathon and at Ismoralda, Florida
Keys; manatees at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park and Blue
Springs State Park.
Canoeing:
Everglades National Park; the Keys especially John Pennekamp Coral
Reef State Park, Key Largo.
Surfing:
good swells from the Atlantic at: Sebastian Inlet and Monster Hole,
Sebastian Inlet State Park; Patrick Airforce Base; Atlantic Beach,
Jacksonville; Cocoa Beach and nearby First Peak break; St Augustine;
Panama City.
Mountainbiking: Withlacoochee State
Trail, Citrus County.
Where
to Go:
Southern
Wetlands**
The
southern part of the peninsula is dominated by Miami and the wetlands
of the Everglades. It all terminates with the Florida Keys chain
of islands.
Everglades
National Park**
a
massive subtropical area offering a well-organised wetland experience
though hardly massive amounts of wildlife apart from 'gators.
Travel is usually by air boat but canoeing is possible as is wading
[go with a guide].
Miami***
a cultural melting pot combine with art deco buildings, a vibrant
atmosphere, a little vice, a lot of nightlife, great cuisine and
white beaches to make this a truly great city, open all hours, more
info.
Florida
Keys**
[for sailing and diving**] running
over 100 miles off the southern tip of the Florida peninsula these
bridge connected islands are great for relaxing or viewing the marine
life living off their reefs.
The islands running from Florida City:
Key Largo [a dive mecca especially
John Pennekamp Coral Reef Park].
Islamorada [for diving].
Marathon [swimming with dolphins].
Big Pine Key and the lower keys [land
based wildlife, especially National Key Deer Refuge].
It all ends at Key West [Hemingway
territory, so it's an artsy environment, particularly Mallory Square
in the evenings].
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USA
Tours
More
tour operators offering tours to the USA can be found in our listings
here: USA
Tours
Inland
Region***
Orlando***
some
attractions can be found in the city, such as the Orlando Museum
of Art, the Science Centre, Planetarium and American Folk Museum,
but the really big attractions are nearby:
EPCOT
Center
has disappointing hi-tech 'future' displays but fun and educational
world culture villages, including attractive ethnic restaurants,
music and parade.
SeaWorld is great for marine shows
for all ages.
Discovery Cove offers an artificial
marine environment in which you may participate, including dolphins
and a reef. For all ages.
Universal Studios stars with movie
related rides, for teens+.
Island of Adventure simulates Jurassic
Park, Comics heros, for teens+.
MGM Studios provides movie and TV based
entertainments. Teens+.
Magic Kingdom [Disney] for classic
cartoon characters, mainly kid oriented.
Animal Kingdom does wild safaris for
kids large and small.
East
Coast**
great beaches and worthwhile attractions:
Kennedy
Space Center and Cape Canaveral [NASA]*** superb
exhibitions, space vehicles, media presentations and all things
for all space cadets.
Daytona Beach* hard
partying and fast racing in the city of speed; explore the huge
beach and see the top action at the Daytona International Speedway
during the 500 or wait for the Harleys to turn up during Bike Week.
St Augustine real
history is to be found in the oldest house, the oldest wooden fort
and the oldest wooden School House in this the oldest city in the
USA.
Jacksonville classy
Euro-style Southbank Riverwalk has some museums such as the Jacksonville
Historical Centre and a Maritime Museum, two good parks; Kathryn
Abbey Hanna Park and Little Talbot Island State Park, plus decent
beaches.
West
Coast**
St
Petersburg
[for surrealism***]
a cultured town; Dali fans must visit the Salvador Dali Museum.
Fort
Myers* a
center of inventive greatness with the Edison Estate Museum and
Henry Ford Home plus other museums; also Fort Myers Beach on Estero
Island.
Tampa
hosts a good aquarium and the excellent Busch Gardens for zoo, theme
park and rollercoasters.
Sanibel
and Captiva Islands** resorts and nature reserves that are
very child and bike or canoe friendly; this area is extremely anti-developement.
e.g there's no fast food or traffic lights.
Citrus County* [for manatees**] based
around the Crystal and Homosassa rivers are protected areas rich
in wildlife such as the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.
Beaches:
Fort
Lauderdale, SE Florida, especially
Pompano beach. A very American resort with great white beaches and
lots of action - watersports, golf, shopping, swamplife safaris
and land culture. Suitable for families; gays too.
Cocoa Beach [aka
Space Coast], NE, 2hrs drive from Orlando. Often heavy surf,
this is a good spot for watching shuttle and rocket launches, or
visit the Kennedy Space Center.
Palm Beach, SE.
Not a beach, more of a rock, and a diamond rock at that. Very expensive
and perfectly suited to the golf and Gucci set.
Grayton Beach, West Coast. Reckoned
to be the best beach in the USA by some and one of the most scenic
areas along the Gulf coast, Grayton offers sugar white dunes and
aquamarine seas. Surrounded by protected areas of pine forest and
marsh, it also has plenty of marine life [dolphins and sea birds].
Sarasota Islands,
West Coast, especially Anna Maria, Longboat and Siesta Keys.
With lots of activities, it's safe and child friendly.
St Petersburg,
NW, esp. Clearwater Beach for all possible facilities or
a ferry to Caladesi Island for perfect isolation. The Dali museum
is exceptional, and nearby Tampa's Busch Gardens is a well-made
'African adventure' theme park.
Pensacola,
NW - a
long white sandy beach and historic downtown region. Try Pensacola
Village for architecture and museum interest, such as the excellent
Museum of Naval Aviation.
Panama City Beach, NW - an
excellent beach, including the wild St Andrew Recreation Area.
Pictures:
Fort Lauderdale, Florida by Tomasz Szymanski
Everglades gator by Julian Loader
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