The best beaches near Disney World are not exactly at the edge of town, but you do have some fabulous options.
Florida harvest festivals and farm tours demonstrate that you can soak up a little autumn spirit, even in Florida. All across Florida, farms create family fun with traditional harvest activities like pumpkin patches and corn mazes.
Robbie’s Marina is a don’t-miss stop as you drive through the Florida Keys. Dozens of tarpon, some more than 6 feet long, gather at the dock and lunge for fish from visitors. The restaurant there, the Hungry Tarpon, is highly recommended , too.
The cemetery in Key West is a lot like the city itself: quirky, crowded, colorful and full of history. The site has a forlorn almost spooky air. Take a walking tour and discover fascinating stories of Key West and its people.
Four of my favorite stops in the Keys are a little hard to find, and that’s part of their charm. They’re off the Overseas Highway in neighborhoods — and they’re worth discovering.
Myakka is one of the oldest and biggest state parks, a great place for seeing wildlife, from huge gators to flocks of birds in winter. Go here for its log cabins, appealing camp sites, excellent kayaking, extensive hiking and good bike trails. It’s also a good spot for nature neophytes, who enjoy the airboat ride and canopy walk.
The mistake most people make when planning a Florida camping experience in popular public campgrounds is starting too late.
One of the best places to enjoy nature is in a cabin in a Florida state park. But the cabins book up fast, so you have to plan ahead. Our guide explains which parks have cabins, what they offer and what they cost.
The regular season for harvesting Florida spiny lobster begins August 6 and continues through March 31. Here’s what you need to know, how to catch Florida’s spiny lobster and how to cook it.
Grayton Beach is consistently ranked among the Top 10 beaches in America, making it a prime candidate for your bucket list. This park and the whole region is worth make great fall and spring trips, but you have to plan early.
Craggy limestone rocks form a dramatic beach-scape, far different from the usual sandy beach. At the right time, waves crash into the rocks, spurting water 50 feet into the air.
Soft and steady breezes in the Florida Keys can take the edge off the hot sun, making these islands a great destination no matter the time of year.
Here’s a great destination for hot summer weekends. Three new art museums in St. Petersburg – each built to house extraordinary private collections – make this a Florida city with lots to do indoors. Opening Aug. 3, the Dali Museum also will debut a dome with a 360 degree immersive art experience.
In the fertile rural Redland area in Homestead, you can tour Fruit and Spice Park, where you taste exotic tropical fruit and learn about unusual plants that grow here. You’ll see fruit trees that flourish here that do not grow anywhere else in the contiguous US.
On dark summer nights in the Mosquito Lagoon near Titusville, the water glows from bioluminescent plankton. Kayak tours help visitors see the spectacular light show.
It’s hot, but that doesn’t mean you have to seal yourself in air conditioning for the summer. You can enjoy the natural and authentic Florida — and stay cool in the process.
If you want to savor the flavor of the Florida Keys, spend a little time at a tiki bar. Our favorites profiled here are unpretentious waterfront spots where you’ll get good fresh fish, fried everything and a big serving of Keys atmosphere.
Miss the change of seasons? Here’s fall in South Florida: Fields of wild sunflowers bloom in Florida every autumn, and a preserve near Immokalee is the best place to view them. The preserve opens for this occasion on Oct. 11, 13, 14, 15, 2023. You must reserve ahead.
All those “lazy river” water attractions at hotels and parks? They’re just trying to recreate the exhilarating experience of tubing the clear, wild Ichetucknee River in north central Florida. Try the real thing. Summer tubing season has started.
Few places offer both so much history and such beauty as Florida’s 30 lighthouses. Six of Florida’s lighthouses are built on reefs in the Keys and four of those are up for sale.
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.
Mangoes may be the reason I can never leave Florida. Here are favorite Florida mango recipes discovered or developed during my 30-plus years of worshipping these beautiful fruit.
The clear waters flowing out of Alexander Springs are the start of a great paddling trail inside Ocala National Forest. It’s an easy stream to paddle with lots of wildlife, especially birds and fish.
Coral Castle is a 100-year-old site made of 30-ton blocks of limestone somehow arranged by a lovesick eccentric into a Stonehenge-like work of art.
Like a lot of original Florida tourist attractions, it can be corny, playing up a mystical angle. But it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and is strange and wonderful in its own way.
Blue-green algae updates from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection