Details for Florida

All over the globe, Florida is known as the home of the theme park where kids and adults step out of their everyday lives into worlds of wonder, complete with heart-pounding roller coaster rides. Yes, that’s true but there are many other Florida attractions to fill out a vacation schedule. Attractions in Florida (that aren’t theme parks) can satisfy a variety of getaway dreams, be they laid-back or adventure-centric.

The state’s 1,300-mile coastline plus the multitude of inland tributaries and lakes make Florida a No. 1 choice for watersports. Boating, fishing, all manner of paddling and swimming are prime activities throughout the state. Sunrise can be seen on the state’s east coast while sunset is a main attraction on the west coast. Since the peninsula is less than 200-miles wide, a traveler can witness both in one day.

Everglades National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park are just two of the state’s most prized natural preserves. The 19th century Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas, reachable only by watercraft, is one of those places that make you rub your eyes and wonder if you’ve left the United States. It is that exotic. Likewise the Everglades, which is teeming with wildlife found nowhere else in the U.S. The “river of grass” is one of the state’s most important ecosystems and an airboat tour across it introduces travelers to its uniqueness.

Visitors heading to Key West on the Overseas Highway, a bucket-list drive, often stop to feed the tarpon at Robbie’s in Islamorada. The large silver fish are prized sports catches but seeing them this close is an experience to tell the folks back home.

South Florida is the home to Fairchild Tropical Garden, a vast botanical attraction that has an annual orchid odyssey and an international mango festival, too. The world’s foremost experts on this tropical fruit do scientific research here and it’s a mecca for tropical fruit lovers. Likewise the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at Cape Canaveral is a must-stop for would-be space travelers. The history of the area and the U.S. space program is fascinating and entertaining, too. Farther up the coast is America’s oldest city, St. Augustine and the 16th century Castillo de San Marcos fort.

Travelers’ definitions of attractions differ, but there’s no doubt Florida will satisfy each one. To one, designer consignment shops in Palm Beach might be heaven (or the Aventura Mall and its 2.7-million-square-feet of shops), and to another, seeing a college football game at the University of Florida’s “Swamp” or Florida State University’s Doak S. Campbell Stadium might be on the top of the must-do list. And many might not know that 30 lighthouses, some of which are open to the public, guard the coastline.