This list of 10 Florida Spots You Absolutely Can’t Miss! will help you enjoy all the tourist attractions and leisure activities of this peninsula located in the south of the United States.
Although Florida’s main attraction is Orlando’s parks, 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 watch sunsets, panoramic roads such as the one in the Keys and spectacular museums such as the Kennedy Space Center.
To see all these wonders, we recommend landing at Miami International Airport and renting a car to make 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 boasts sunshine 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 getting too hot.
1. Miami
If your flight arrives in Miami, one of the best things to do in Florida is to spend two days getting to know this cosmopolitan city bathed by the waters of the Atlantic and home to a large Latin community, especially Cuban, who will make you feel at home.
In addition to enjoying the Latin atmosphere, its endless leisure offer and its numerous international restaurants, we recommend completing this list of places to see in Miami, including the Art Deco buildings on Ocean Drive, South Beach, the graffiti on Wynwood Walls, the Cuban atmosphere of Little Havana and a boat ride past the houses of celebrities.
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 Atlantic Ocean coast until you reach Cocoa Beach, another of the most beautiful places to see in Florida .
In addition to the incredible views of the sea, during the journey 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 surf.
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’re lucky and there’s a rocket launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launch pad across the street, you can watch it from the beach.
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 pads for manned space flights and rockets, along with the one in Houston, and another of the most important places to visit in Florida .
In this huge complex full of large industrial warehouses 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 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 viewing points 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.
4. St. Augustine
Founded in 1565 by 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 on the beautiful Matanzas Bay and with a history closely linked to Spain, St. Augustine surprises by maintaining intact its colonial architecture in its historic center located around the cobblestone George Street and the imposing Fort San Marcos.
After completing the list of places to see in St. Augustine in less than a morning you can enjoy the 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 huge 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 spending a day at each one or buying the pass to change parks and at least ride the ones we have mentioned.
To avoid queues and not waste too much time, it is essential to organize the route before entering and buy the fast pass (Genie +).
10 Florida Spots You Absolutely Can’t Miss!
6. Universal Orlando
If pure adrenaline and the most brutal roller coasters are your thing, we recommend visiting Universal Studios in Orlando , two parks geared toward a not-so-young 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 Volcano Bay aquatic park, offer an endless number of attractions inspired by Universal movies and MARVEL characters, making it another of the most popular places 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 Bourne Stuntacular show. For the bravest, there are the dizzying roller coasters of VelociCoaster, The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
7. Have fun at Legoland, another thing to do in Florida
If you’re coming with kids or you’re a fan of the famous LEGO building 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 that you take a ride on some 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 stop for two or three hours to visit the historic centre (Ybor City) of the city of Tampa and take a boat ride through its bay, a large natural harbour and estuary of the Gulf of Mexico.
If you take a route through the old town, we recommend you walk along 7th Ave, which is home to 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 garlic shrimp.
On the 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 have become one of the icons of the city.
9. St. Petersburg
Although it cannot compare with the beauty of the Russian city of the same name, the city of St. Petersburg with its Dali museum and lively pier has become another of the obligatory stops on an itinerary of the most beautiful places to see in Florida .
After leaving the car in the parking lot of the Dali Museum, you can enter a modern building located by the sea that houses the largest collection of Salvador Dali paintings outside of Europe.
The more than 200 works that you can see inside, including “Gala naked 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 Dali for 40 years.
On leaving 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 viewing point 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 relaxing morning lying in a hammock and enjoying refreshing swims in its crystal-clear waters.
Located on the Gulf Coast 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, as well as being a perfect place to watch a spectacular sunset.