Dive into Paradise: 12 Unforgettable Experiences in Florida

This list of the best places to see in Florida will help you enjoy all the tourist attractions and leisure activities of this peninsula located in the southern United States.

Although the main attraction of Florida are the parks of Orlando , the largest and most impressive in the world, there are many other points of interest such as the incredible natural landscapes of the Everglades, cities with a Latin character such as Miami, beaches with crystal clear waters to see sunsets. sun, panoramic roads like the one in the Keys and spectacular museums like the Kennedy Space Center.
To discover all these wonders, we recommend landing at Miami International Airport (there are direct flights from the main cities in Spain and Latin America) and renting a car to take a circular route of about 15 days, since this way you will have the freedom to stop where and when you want.

The best time to travel to Florida , although it can boast of having sun practically all year round, is from November to May when temperatures do not exceed 30 degrees and allow you to enjoy all the experiences without being too hot.

Based on the experience of the time we spent on this peninsula during our trip to Florida , we have made this list with the 12 essential places to visit in Florida . Let’s start!

1. Miami

If your flight arrives in Miami, one of the best things to do in Florida is to spend about two days getting to know this cosmopolitan city bathed by the waters of the Atlantic and where a large Latin community lives, especially Cuban, who will make you feel at home. home.
In addition to enjoying the Latin atmosphere, its endless leisure offering and its numerous international restaurants, we advise you to complete this list of places to see in Miami , among which the Art Deco buildings of Ocean Drive, the beach of South Beach, the graffiti of Wynwood stand out. Walls, the Cuban atmosphere of Little Havanna and a boat tour of famous houses.

2. Cocoa Beach, one of the places to see in Florida

From Miami you can start a route heading north along state highway A1A that runs along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean until you reach Cocoa Beach, another of the most beautiful places to see in Florida .
In addition to the incredible ocean views, during the trip you can see the river canals reminiscent of Venice in Fort Lauderdale, the millionaires’ mansions in Palm Beach and endless Florida beaches , such as Juno Beach and Vero Beach, where you can swim and practice. surf like.
Once in Cocoa Beach, a coastal city where Kelly Slater , eleven-time world surfing champion, was born, we recommend taking a walk along its beautiful pier and watching the sunrise from the beach.

If you are lucky and there is a rocket launch from the NASA platform at the Kennedy Space Center, located right opposite, you can watch it from the beach itself. Be sure to check the official releases page.

3. John F. Kennedy Space Center

Half an hour from Cocoa Beach is the John F. Kennedy Space Center , one of NASA’s main launch platforms for manned space flights and rockets, along with Houston, and another of the most important places to visit in Florida. .
In this enormous complex full of large industrial buildings you will find some of the most legendary space rockets that marked a milestone in the history of Humanity, such as Apollo 8 and its launch room, the space shuttle Atlantis or the Hubble space telescope, as well as of astronaut suits, lunar vehicles or launch simulators.
If you are lucky and there is a launch scheduled that day, you can buy an extra ticket to see the rocket take off from stands located a few kilometers away, or opt for the free viewpoints at Cocoa Beach, Playalinda or Space View Park (which we went to) , another of the obligatory stops on a route through Florida by car .
The complete visit usually takes between 6 and 8 hours, depending on the time you spend, and the complex has different dining areas.

Visiting hours: every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

4. Saint Augustine

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, St. Augustine is the oldest European city in the United States and the next stop on a tour of essential places to see in Florida .
Located in the beautiful bay of Matanzas and with a history closely linked to Spain, San Agustín surprises by keeping its colonial architecture intact in its historic center located around the cobblestone George Street and the imposing San Marcos fort.
After completing the list of places to see in St. Augustine in less than a morning, you can enjoy local food based on fish and seafood at Harry’s Seafood.

5. Walt Disney World Orlando

Spending a few days at Walt Disney World , located just 3 hours by car from Miami and considered the largest and most famous theme park complex in the world, is another of the best things to do in Florida .
In addition to being the main tourist attraction in the entire state of Florida, this enormous complex is made up of 4 main theme parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT , Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios , and two water parks: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.
If you only have one day, we would dedicate it to visiting Magic Kingdom , the oldest and most beautiful, although the most impressive attractions such as Avatar (Animal Kingdom), Star Wars (Hollywood Studios) and Ratatouille, Soarin and Guardians of the Galaxy (Epcot) , make it worth dedicating a day to each one or buying the pass to change parks and at least riding the ones we have mentioned.

To avoid queues and not waste a lot of time, it is essential to organize the route before entering and buy the fast pass (Genie+).

6. Universal Orlando

If your thing is to release pure adrenaline and the most brutal roller coasters, we recommend visiting Universal Studios in Orlando , two parks aimed at a not-so-childish audience and located just 10 kilometers from Walt Disney World.
The two main parks located next to each other: Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, plus the watery Volcano Bay, offer endless attractions inspired by Universal movies and MARVEL characters, making it another of the most popular for tourists and locals to see in Florida .
Among the most spectacular attractions are those inspired by the world of Harry Potter such as Scape from Gringotts, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, as well as Skull Island: Reign of Kong, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and the show The Bourne Stuntacular. For the bravest ones you have the dizzying roller coasters of the VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

7. Have fun at Legoland, another thing to do in Florida

If you come with children or are a fan of the famous LEGO construction toys, another thing to do in Florida is to spend a day at the Legoland theme park .
Located an hour’s drive from the Orlando parks, on the way to the city of Tampa, Legoland is a large leisure complex for children and adults with three themed hotels and more than 50 attractions inspired by the world of LEGO.
In addition to seeing incredible figures and constructions made with LEGO pieces, we recommend you go on one of its most famous attractions such as Lost Kingdom Adventure, Beetle Bounce, The Dragon, Coastersaurus, Merlin’s Challenge or Kid Power Towers.

8. City of Tampa

On the way to the west coast of Florida you can make a stop of about two or three hours to see the historic center (Ybor City) of the city of Tampa and take a boat ride through its bay, a large natural harbor and gulf estuary. from Mexico.
If you take a route through the old town, we advise you to walk along 7th Ave, which concentrates the most beautiful southern-style buildings, as well as numerous cigar shops and cocktail bars, until you reach the Columbia Restaurant to try the delicious Cuban sandwich and Spanish dishes such as shrimp. to garlic
On your way back you can walk along 8th Ave passing in front of Centennial Park where you will see a colony of roosters that roam freely in this area and that have become one of the icons of the city.

9. Saint Petersburg

Although it cannot be compared with the beauty of the Russian city of the same name, the city of Saint Petersburg , with its Dalí museum and a lively pier, has become another obligatory stop on an itinerary of places to see in Florida. pretty _
After leaving your car in the Dalí Museum parking lot, you can enter a modern building located next to the sea that houses the largest collection of Salvador Dalí paintings outside the European continent.
The more than 200 works that you can see inside, including “Naked Gala looking at the sea that from 18 meters looks like President Lincoln”, were purchased by the couple Albert Reynolds Morse and Eleanor Morse who established a relationship of patronage and friendship with Dalí for 40 years.

When you leave the museum you can take a short walk along the sea to the end of the pier where you can see several sculptures and a viewpoint where you get fantastic views of the Ocean and the city.

10. Siesta Key, another place to visit in Florida

Considered one of the most beautiful beaches to visit in Florida and the United States , Siesta Key is perfect for spending a relaxed morning lying in a hammock and enjoying refreshing swims in its crystal-clear waters.
Located on the coast of the Gulf of Florida, this wide and long beach is characterized by the white color of its sand that is composed of quartz crystal and its turquoise waters that are reminiscent of those of the Caribbean, in addition to being a perfect place to see a spectacular sunset.

11. Everglades National Park

Touring the Everglades National Park on board a hovercraft , declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and located on the list of natural wonders to visit in the United States , is another of the things to do in Florida .
Considered the largest subtropical natural park in the United States, this wetland of more than 6,000 km2 offers unique landscapes on the planet where animals such as manatees, waterfowl of all kinds, crocodiles and alligators live.

If you come from the west coast you can cross the entire park by car on Highway 41 and stop at information centers that have several trails that lead to different viewpoints where you can see crocodiles and alligators with a little luck. To see manatees you will have to cross the entire Main Road Park to Flamingo Point.

12. Key West

To finish this list of places to see in Florida, we suggest a route by car along the spectacular panoramic US1 Overseas Highway, built largely above the ocean, jumping from island to island until you reach Key West, the last key. of the peninsula, located just 150 kilometers from Cuba.
During the journey of more than 200 kilometers through the Keys you can make a stop at the beautiful beaches of Bahía Honda, with views of the Seven Mile Bridge ,  in Big Pine Key where you can see the white-tailed deer and in typical restaurants such as Fish Tales Market and Eatery where you can try stone crab.

Once in Key West you can dedicate a day to completing this list of things to see and do in Key West such as walking along Duval Street, reaching the Southernmost Point, watching the sunset on the pier, visiting the Ernest Hemingway House or bathing in its Beaches.