Florida

Florida’s Highlight Visitor Attractions

Theme Parks

The City Beautiful has since risen to prominence as the world’s foremost destination for amusement parks. Everything from mermaids and wizards to pirates and princesses can be found in Orlando’s theme parks. Each year, millions of people go to the United States to visit one of the four major theme parks: Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, or Legoland. If huge, hectic amusement parks aren’t your thing, consider Gatorland or Fun Spot America. As an alternative, you might visit the Christian-themed Holy Land Experience.

Visitors who are willing to travel a bit farther can enjoy the African-themed Busch Gardens, located about 80 miles west of Orlando in the suburbs of Tampa. In contrast, others head east to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, approximately 50 miles away, to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis and a Saturn V rocket. The launch facility offers exclusive visits for anyone interested in seeing how things work. Many visitors to Florida’s central belt spend their whole vacation going from one amusement park to the next, but doing so would be missing out on the state’s many and varied other attractions.

Walt Disney World

Although Walt Disney picked Orlando as the site of his planned theme park in 1959, sadly, he did not survive to see Walt Disney World welcome its first guests on October 1, 1971. 

Walt Disney World in Florida is a cultural powerhouse. Four theme parks on the 39-square-mile site are among the world’s ten most visited. Children’s faces light up as they walk through the Magic Kingdom’s entrance tunnels onto Main Street and Cinderella’s Castle.

You can take photos with Snow White or Moana. Adults may prefer Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Twilight Zone, Tower of Terror or Star Wars simulator. Others that should never be missed are the two of the world’s three best water parks, two shopping and entertainment districts, three 18-hole golf courses, and a sports stadium complex. Cruella de Vil is also something that would surely make everyone smile.

Miami

Miami, the state’s largest and most famous city, is a unique blend of New York and Rio de Janeiro, two of the world’s most well-known metropolises, and Latin American culture. The heart of Little Havana is likely where you’ll find the greatest concentration of Cuban culture. Take a gastronomic tour through the best cafés on Calle Ocho while watching the locals play cards and dominoes on fold-out tables in Gomez Park.

In spite of the fact that Downtown Miami and the trendy neighborhoods to the north, such as Midtown and the Upper East side, are well worth seeing, the majority of tourists in Miami head to Miami Beach, a peninsular city on a reef across Biscayne Bay. In addition to catching some rays, visitors may see the Art Deco buildings that line Ocean Drive.

The South Beach neighborhood is just as lively at night as it is during the day, with hundreds of nightclubs, restaurants, boutiques, and hotels, as well as a number of unique, brightly colored lifeguard stands. South Beach is certainly a popular tourist destination. There are many more beaches in the United States that are less crowded and just as beautiful.

Surfing

Florida is located between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico and has a total of 1,250 miles of coastline. If you’re looking for a place to go surfing in Florida, you could do a lot worse than Laguna Beach on the Panhandle. 

Daytona Beach, located on Florida’s Atlantic coast, is famous for its firm sand, utilized initially as a racing surface. After a globally recognized racetrack was constructed in the city, racing ended, but the beach is still available to motorists but at a reduced speed limit. West Palm Beach, further south, is just as well-known as Grand Bahama for its snorkeling and marine life.

The Keys

The Florida Keys are a group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico that is located just off the state’s southern edge. The United States Route 1 connects several of these points, beginning at Key West, Florida, near the southernmost part of the Keys and ending at the Maine-Canadian border. Many visitors to Miami will simply travel the scenic 160-mile stretch from the city to Key West. When you reach the first overwater area in Key Largo, drop the top of your rented car and feel the salty air blow over your hair. Be careful not to mash the gas pedal. While living in the Keys moves at a moderate pace, the speed restriction is tightly enforced. There is no reason to hurry. You should fill up the tank and treat the driver to some Key lime pie, a regional specialty, but remember the petrol.

Road Trips

If you’re looking for a good road trip from Miami, driving through Florida on Highway 41 is a great option. After leaving the Miami metropolitan area, you’ll spend the next hour traveling through Everglades National Park. The slow-moving river water that flows into Florida Bay makes this huge tropical wilderness of wetland and forest. Take your chance to ride one of the famous airboats across the grass swamp if you stop by the Shark Valley or Gulf Coast Visitor Center. The Florida panther, along with crocodiles, manatees, many snakes, and many other animals, all call this unique environment home. Look out for ospreys and the American bald eagle, the country’s official bird of prey.

Florida is located in the Deep South, yet it has just a brief land border with Georgia and Alabama. It suggests that the Deep South’s culture becomes stronger the farther north you go in the state. Southern culture, politics, and cuisine are all represented here.

Although Tallahassee, the state capital, and Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida, are both located in the north, St. Augustine is the ideal base to explore the rest of the state. This little town is the oldest city in the United States, established in 1565 by the Spanish adventurer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. It has several old structures with a Spanish influence and centers on a beautiful bay with a lighthouse. Due to Florida’s wide coastline, there are many lighthouses, and visiting them has become a popular pastime, like seeing trains. More than St. Augustine, Key West, and Ponce de Leon are two other popular destinations.

Visit Orlando if you must see Mickey Mouse and Harry Potter, but don’t let that be your only destination. Although Florida is a popular vacation spot, travelers who venture outside amusement parks will find a startling array of treasures in the Sunshine State.

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