Most people associate Florida with sunshine, amusement parks, orange juice, and alligators. But this former Spanish colony, which became the Union’s 27th state, is much more than that. It boasts miles of white sand, the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.
This is the US State where you’ll find Miami, and at the heart of it, Miami Beach, both of which are notable for their Art Deco architecture, Cuban culture, and, of course, beaches.
More sun, sea, and sand may be found towards the south, where the Florida Keys stretch for approximately 120 miles along the Florida Straits. Come here for additional beaches, scuba diving, snorkeling, and the chance for one of the most scenic road trips ever, courtesy of the Overseas Highway engineering accomplishment.
There’s also Cape Canaveral, which is home to NASA, but then there’s Orlando, which is known for its abundance of entertainment parks, including Disney World. The following are some of the top spots to visit in Florida:
1. Naples
Naples may have had humble origins, but it is now one of the wealthiest cities in the US, with homes selling for more than $40 million. The development along the shoreline has been kept residential, as has been the case for Sanibel and Captiva Islands.
It received its name because the bay on which it is located is thought to be more gorgeous than the Bay of Naples in Italy. Aside from its lovely city beach, it is a famous tourist attraction due to the neighboring wildlife refuge.
Florida Panther National Wildlife Reserve, Everglades National Park, and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which has a 2.5-mile boardwalk winding through it, are among them. Naples features thriving cultural and commercial districts as well.
2. Clearwater Beach
Clearwater Beach, with its miles of white sand, is separated from the city of Clearwater by the Intracoastal Waterway. Aside from lying in the white sand and swimming in the clear ocean, there are several sports available, including sailing, kayaking, fishing, and dolphin tours. A lot of weddings take place on the beaches here as well.
Pier 60, a lengthy fishing pier with a snack bar, playground, and its day-long entertainment, is a favorite destination for travelers. Stroll down Beach Walk, where there are drinking fountains and showers to wash off the sand. Clearwater Beach offers something for everyone if you come alive as the sun goes down.
3. Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is in the Gulf of Mexico, right next to Fort Myers. The causeway connects it to the mainland. It is famous for being a peaceful, natural vacation spot ideal for all families. Wildlife refuges cover more than half of this long, narrow island, whose beaches are especially known for hunting down shells.
If we were to believe the folklore, this island of less than 7,000 permanent people may have hosted pirates in the past. Aside from beachcombing and animal viewing, other attractions include a highly regarded history museum, a beautiful botanical garden, a lighthouse, and an arts centre.
4. Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale isn’t the Spring Break capital anymore. Instead, it is a sophisticated cultural hub with an increasingly affluent social scene. Known as “Venice of the United States” due to its vast canal system, it is located in the Atlantic Ocean about 23 miles north of Miami Beach.
The city’s tourism infrastructure is remarkable, with several hotels, golf courses, marinas, and museums. Port Everglades is one of the world’s liveliest cruise-ship terminals, with megaships sailing daily for the Caribbean, Mexico, and beyond.
The most popular area of the city beach is known as “The Strip,” and it is lined with restaurants and bars on the land side of the beach road.
5. Tampa Bay Area
Located on the Gulf of Mexico, the Tampa Bay region comprises Tampa Bay, a major natural port, and numerous popular cities, including St. Petersburg and Tampa. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League play their games in Tampa.
Also, Busch Gardens, a theme park considered to boast Florida’s top roller coaster rides, and a zoo filled with animals from Africa’s Serengeti Plain are among the family-friendly attractions.
St. Pete Beach is unrivaled for beachcombing. Because of its white-sand beaches and clean water, TripAdvisor readers ranked it the finest beach in the US and the fifth-best beach in the world in 2012.
6. Everglades
The Everglades is one of the country’s finest natural resources, with a unique blend of habitats including swamps, subtropical rainforests, saw-grass plains, and the biggest mangrove complex in the Western Hemisphere.
Much of the Everglades, which are located in the Southern part of Florida, are protected under the Everglades National Park and offer a home for a diverse variety of fish, birds, mammals, and interesting reptiles, including endangered species such as the West Indian manatee, the American crocodile, and the Florida panther.
The Everglades National Park, one of the biggest national parks in the United States, has four separate visitor centers that give information about the Everglades as well as a range of excursions and great experiences.
7. Orlando
Orlando is the theme-park capital of the world, with more theme parks than any other city. There’s Walt Disney World, Epcot Centre, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and Gator Park, to name a just a few attractions that bring 51 million tourists to this 2-million-person metropolis in central Florida each year.
The good thing about the Sunbelt city is that it’s less prone to storms than other regions of the state, making it a popular tourist destination in Florida. Orlando, one of the most visited locations in the United States, is also home to the University of Central Florida, which has the second-highest college enrolment in the country.
8. Miami
Miami, one of the most active cities in the United States, is well known for its Latin culture and vibrant nightlife. It’s located in southern Florida on the Atlantic Ocean’s coast and is also a significant port city with the world’s biggest number of passenger cruise ships.
This city attracts travelers from all over the world. It’s a melting pot of various cultures with a diverse range of interesting sights and activities.
Miami’s sunny beaches, which range from family-friendly to party scenes, are one of the city’s primary charms. Miami Beach, on a barrier island across the water from Miami, is famed for its Art Deco architecture and fashionable South Beach.
9. Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a 120-mile-long band of tropical islands that curve around the bottom of the Florida peninsula and are linked to the mainland by a number of bridges. The Seven Mile Bridge in the Lower Keys, the most stunning bridge, has frequently been utilized as a setting for films such as True Lies and Fast & Furious.
US Highway 1, sometimes known as the “Overseas Highway,” connects Key Largo, Islamadora, Marathon, the Lower Keys, and eventually Key West, the most remote and well-known of the Florida Keys. A marine sanctuary protects the seas around the archipelago, which is home to several aquatic species and coral reefs.
The islands are divided into three groups: Upper, Middle, and Lower Keys. Beginning with Key Largo, the Upper Keys provide a greater range of housing, shopping, eating, and nightlife options for visitors. The Middle and Lower Keys have a more distant and calm ambiance.
Key Largo is the first Key accessed through the Overseas Highway, and it is home to the underwater Christ of the Abyss monument, which divers and snorkelers may see. Big Pine, another of the bigger Keys, is where visitors may witness knee-high whitetail deer.
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