The United States is home to more than a dozen cities and towns named
Florida, but none can compare with the real Florida's natural
fun-in-the-sun appeal. If you're dreaming of your next Florida vacation,
no trip to the Sunshine State is complete without a visit to the 10
best places to go in Florida.
Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida
It's no exaggeration to suggest that Walt Disney should have named
his Orlando theme park Disney Universe—or even Disney Galaxy! The Walt Disney World Resort
is so large, in fact, that it's difficult to narrow down which of the
four main theme parks and two water parks to make time for, let alone
whether to stay at a hotel within the resort confines or conserve costs
with a nearby off-resort stay. Even selecting your preferred theme-park
entry ticket can be daunting.
Here is some helpful Walt Disney World Resort information to get you started:
Disney World ticketing options
start at $89 for single-day, single-park adult passes ($83 for kids
ages three to nine). You can extend your Disney World stay with multiday
passes, which reduce the per-day rate significantly. For example,
three-day passes cost $80.67 per adult, per day (about $242 total);
seven-day passes cost $41.14 per adult, per day (about $288 total); and
10-day passes cost $31.80 per adult, per day ($318 total). Kids'
multiday passes are $75.33 per child, per day (three-day), $38.57 per
child, per day (seven-day), and $30 per child, per day (10-day). All
tickets must be used within 14 days of your initial visit.
You don't have to limit yourself to just one Disney theme park. Tack
on the Park Hopper option (with access to all four parks) to increase
your ticket's flexibility: Admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios
(formerly Disney-MGM Studios) is included. The Park Hopper pass adds an
extra $35 to your base single-day, single-park ticket cost and an extra
$57 if you purchased multiday, single-park passes.
For some Florida visitors, it's not a vacation without wild water
play or tee time. Disney knows how to round out the visit with two water
parks (Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and Disney's Blizzard Beach), a nine-hole golf course, two mini-golf courses, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park.
Access to these extras is included in the Water Park Fun & More
pass, which adds an extra $57 per ticket to your base ticket cost.
Combine both the Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More options for an extra $79 per ticket.
Budget-minded travelers will easily find an array of accommodations
options, with thousands of hotel rooms from "budget" to "luxury" within
driving distance of Disney World. Consider a stay at a Disney Resort
such as the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin if you want to take advantage of early-morning and late-night access to select theme parks. Guests of Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista also have an added hour of play before the general public is allowed in and three hours after the parks close for the evening.
With so many parades and shows, peruse the Disney calendar to find scheduled events, plan your itinerary, and work around park closings.
South Beach, Miami, Florida
Lovingly dubbed SoBe, South Beach's reputation as a gregarious scene
for the fun-loving is well deserved among young and old visitors alike.
From laid-back lounges to racy dance clubs, South Beach is
world-renowned for its hot nightlife (many clubs operate until dawn).
And while the robust club and dining scene is too caliente to sleep through every night, SoBe also knows how to play "grown-up" during the day.
South Beach is home to many enriching cultural offerings, including Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, Holocaust Memorial of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, and Miami Beach Botanical Garden. And you'd be remiss to pass up a stroll along South Beach's world-famous Art Deco District.
This historical part of South Beach is easy to meander along—not only
because of its vintage beauty, which is alive with more than 800
candy-colored art deco-style structures, but also because of its
concentrated size: a single square mile. Learn about South Beach's
celebrated history by going on a guided art deco walking tour ($20 plus fees) led by the Miami Design Preservation League.
On South Beach, both locals and tourists know how to share the sun,
sand, and the occasional pickup volleyball game. Expedite a speedy
hangover recovery with yoga lessons from 3rd Street Beach Yoga. Generous instructors facilitate donation-based "yoga from the heart" near the beach's lifeguard hut.
Always a popular tourist destination, South Beach experiences its
biggest influx of visitors in March (spring break), April (Pride
festivities), and over Memorial Day Weekend (Urban Beach Week).
Everglades National Park, Florida
Everglades National Park
in Florida is an adventure traveler's dream. The Everglades offers
canoe and hiking trails, airboat and tram tours, bird-watching
expeditions, and camping.
Also a mecca for those seeking out wildlife sightings, the Florida
Everglades' ecosystem is like no other in the world. Alligators,
crocodiles, falcons, turtles, and even panthers are but a few of the
many animals you can spot in the Everglades.
Not to be missed, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge
lies on the western edge of the Everglades. This 35,000-acre national
refuge comprised of mangroves and islands provides refuge to endangered
wildlife, among them West Indian manatees, bald eagles, and Kemp's
ridley sea turtles. There's some debate about how many islands are
actually in the Ten Thousand Islands area. Conservative
estimates have it in the hundreds, while more robust assessments
estimate at least 17,000 islands during low tide. The Everglades
National Park as a whole spans about 1.5 million acres.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Ft. Lauderdale
is known by many nicknames, among them the "Venice of America" (for its
vast system of canals) and the "Yachting Capital of the World" (because
locals collectively own 50,000 private yachts). Regardless of what you
call it, there's no disputing that Ft. Lauderdale is a dream destination
for boaters. For more than 50 years, Ft. Lauderdale has hosted the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show—the largest such event in the world.
But boaters aren't the only ones docking in this local scene.
Countless spring breakers flock to the city for hedonistic fun each
March, beach bums bask on Ft. Lauderdale's 23 miles of beaches, and
snorkelers and divers seek out underwater adventures among the 75-plus
artificial reefs.
Key West, Florida Keys, Florida
The final stop on the Eastern Seaboard's 2,369-mile Route 1, Key West
really is the be-all and end-all. Geographically, Key West sits at the
southernmost point within the continental U.S. and is closer to Havana
than it is to Miami. In spite of its tropical climate (Key West boasts
an annual average temperature of 77 degrees) and its low-lying land, Key
West is hit by hurricanes less than other coastal regions.
While Key West is enthralling in and of itself, be sure to make it
out to sea when in the area. Just a few miles off the coast is the
third-largest coral-reef system in the world, the Great Florida Reef.
Snorkeling, diving, and deep-sea fishing are popular area adventures.
Man-made reefs offer wreck diving just a few miles offshore, too.
Key West was once home to Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams,
among other celebrities of yesteryear. These days, its most famous
residents come in a more natural variety: iguanas, feral chickens and
roosters, and a clutter of cats—the latter of the excessive-toe variety,
nestled in Hemingway's former home.
Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Just like Walt Disney World Resort on the other side of town, Orlando's Universal Studios can hang with the big boys. And planning a visit in advance yields major savings.
Multiday tickets purchased online offer as much as $20 off gate
rates. For single-park, single-day passes, you can choose between
Universal's Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida for $88
per adult ($82 for kids ages three to nine). Single-park, multiday
tickets are priced as follows: $120 for two days ($110 for kids), $136
for three days ($124 for kids), and $146 for four days ($133 for kids).
Multipark, single-day passes start at $123 ($117 for kids ages three to
nine). Multipark, multiday options are as follows: $140 for two days
($130 for kids), $153 for three days ($141 for kids), and $160 for four
days ($147 for kids).
You can skip the lines while at the Universal Studios parks with the
Universal Express Pass. This ticketing option starts at an additional
$20 for Universal Studios Florida, $30 for Universal's Islands of
Adventure, and $36 for both parks. The same price applies to both
single-day and multiday passes.
A multipark, single-day Universal Express Pass option is also
available from $180 ($170 for kids ages three to nine). Multiday options
go up from that rate. Annual passes start at $190 (for non-Florida
residents), though with select blackout dates. Season passes go as high
as $400 for "red-carpet treatment."
Sanibel Island, Florida
The beaches of Sanibel Island
are revered the world over by conchologists (shell collectors). The
practice of shell collecting is so popular on Sanibel Island's shores
that locals have nicknamed the act of bending down for a shell "the
Sanibel Stoop."
Sanibel Islanders celebrate the seashell with an annual three-day exhibit and festival that typically runs in March. Shell enthusiasts can also learn about shells and mollusks by visiting The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. The biggest prize on the beach is the junonia shell, which can land you in the local newspaper.
While shelling is serious business on the island, so is conservation.
More than half of Sanibel Island is part of a designated wildlife
refuge.
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine
isn't nicknamed "Ancient City" for nothing. Juan Ponce de Leon first
explored the area in 1513 and claimed it for Spain. It was later turned
over to Britain, then back to Spain, and finally ceded (with the rest of
the Florida Territory) to the United States in 1819.
You can see much of that rich history infused into St. Augustine's architecture in places like Ft. Matanzas National Monument, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the country, the Hotel Ponce de Leon (once a regal hotel, now part of Flagler College and also a designated National Historic Landmark), and, of course, the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. (Folklore says that Ponce de Leon was searching for the elixir of life when he stumbled upon St. Augustine.)
St. Augustine is also home to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
The park opened its doors in 1893 and now houses more than 20 species
of crocodile as well as other reptiles, a bird collection, and many
mammals.
Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida
For those seeking an up-close look at safari wildlife without the high price of an airfare ticket to Africa, Busch Gardens
is the perfect setting. Among the 2,700 animals that call the 335-acre
zoological-themed park home are elephants, cheetahs, hyenas, hippos,
kangaroos, meerkats, and lemurs.
Regularly priced single-park, single-day tickets
cost $85 for adults and $77 for children ages three to nine. The ticket
gets you admission and either a complimentary second visit to be used
within seven days of your initial park visit or an all-day dining pass.
Busch Gardens Tampa also features an adjoining water park, Adventure Island.
Seek out some water-filled fun on the twisting Aruba Tuba, the
55-foot-drop Riptide, and the 700-foot-long Key West Rapids. Adventure
Island single-day tickets cost $46 for adults and $42 for children ages
three to nine. Adventure Island closes from November through February
and reopens in March; see the current calendar for more information.
Annual Busch Gardens single-park passes start at $149 for those ages
three to 64. All theme-park tickets provide complimentary round-trip
shuttle transportation from several Orlando pickup/drop-off points.
Amelia Island, Florida
Among the southernmost of the Sea Islands, Amelia Island is an easy drive from Jacksonville and only about five hours from Atlanta. Two bridges connect the island to the mainland.
Amelia Island's seashore provides plenty of adventures for all.
Scallop digging, snorkeling, and horseback riding are all quintessential
Amelia Island activities. Watch for the shoreline's playful dolphins
and (if you're lucky) perhaps even a right-whale sighting.
Amelia Island offers upscale resorts, spas, championship golf
courses, a variety of festivals, and of course beaches. Amelia is
routinely recognized among the top 10 U.S. islands in Conde Nast Readers' Choice Awards.
Read the Entire Story: 10 Best Places to Go in Florida
Follow Patricia Magaña on Google+ or email her at editor@smartertravel.com.
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