As you plan your Florida travels, here are nine towns that I’ve found make great bases for exploring. Each puts you in the center of outstanding places to hike, bike, kayak and explore history. Each is surrounded by natural beauty.
Recent Articles
Florida Seafood Festivals Calendar 2026-2027
Updated and revised for the 2026-27 season, our Seafood Festival Calendar covers every corner of the state.
Bicycling around Old Florida: Six Trail Towns in 13 days
You can discover less-visited small towns with Old Florida flavor by exploring Trail Towns. For a summer vacation, this avid cyclist found a few hidden gems.
Hollywood Beach Broadwalk: 10 reasons to take a trip to Old Florida at scenic beach
The Hollywood Beach Broadwalk bike trail is a delightful bike ride. A trip to Old Florida, it has vintage buildings, casual beachfront eateries and great views.
Scenic waterfront bike trail past Palm Beach mansions is one of South Florida’s best
This is the South Florida bike path where I take visitors: It’s paved and traffic-free on exclusive Palm Beach island, with superb views of billionaire lifestyles.
Best lil’ beach towns
The best Florida beach towns are cozy and quaint, reflecting an Old Florida ambience. Here are seven of our favorites, all small enclaves worth discovering.
St. Augustine Pirate Museum: Fun for history lovers and kids
St. Augustine Pirate Museum offers rare, authentic artifacts; it’s a real museum. But it injects of dose of Disney and interactive exhibits to make it fun for kids.
Hidden pocket of Old Florida, Deland anchors a scenic byway in Central Florida
This off-the-beaten-track region offers springs, history and Florida scenic drives along the St. Johns, the ‘river of lakes.’ It’s centered around the Old Florida city of DeLand, an hour north of Orlando.
12 scenic drives on Florida’s back roads are cool summer trips
No mountains. Few curves. But Florida has plenty of scenery and a handful of roads that take you through unspoiled natural beauty and picturesque historic sites.
Cool Escapes: Florida’s best springs to swim, tube, snorkel & dive
Floridians survive the heat and humidity of our brutal summers by turning to the state’s wealth of cool, clear, refreshing springs. These are our picks for the best springs in Florida.