As a native Floridian, I may be a bit biased about the state, but I think there are hundreds of reasons to answer the question “Why to travel to Florida?” There are so many amazing and beautiful experiences I’ve been privy to just by nature of my home state that I dare you to read this list of 49 reasons to visit Florida!
- Theme Park capital of the world.
- Even better, most parks are located in Orlando or an easy drive from Orlando
- The Everglades National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Spot, and airboat rides on the swap are unique to Florida
- It’s the Sunshine State
- The number one petting zoo in the country is at Lowry Park Zoo in the Tampa Bay area
- Key Lime pie, right from the source where it originated in the Florida Keys. Get Contact information for all the airlines gethuman
- The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg has the most Dali masterpieces outside of Europe
- Learn about the national Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota
- 8,500 miles of shoreline, 7,800 lakes, 320 springs, and 35 rivers means there are endless ways to enjoy the water!
- From South Beach in Miami to the beaches on Siesta Key near Sarasota, we have that covered
- Ybor City in Tampa is the largest party district in the United States
- The Florida Keys has some of the best dive spots in the world
- You can swim with dolphins here at Sea World’s Discovery Cove, or the Dolphin Research Centre on Marathon Key
- Our spring is not too rainy and sunny nearly every day
- When it rains, it’s probably only going to last for 15 minutes, so it doesn’t ruin your plans
- Spring break capital of the U.S.; Panama City and Daytona Beach are hubs of inter-state spring break revelry
- A slice of the US Southern culture is palpable in the Florida Panhandle
- Sweet tea is standard! You won’t have to sugar your unsweetened tea and watch the crystals sink to the bottom; it’s mostly our state drink.
- Top-class fishing from all over the state
- Manatees swim in the cold freshwater rivers
- Real mermaids delight the little girls in your family if you head to Week Wachee State Park
- Delicious Cuban food!
- 20 per cent of the state speaks Spanish natively, so why not practice your Spanish?
- Citrus. Yeah, we have plenty of that!
- Fantastic museums in all of the major cities (Orlando, Tampa, and Miami in particular)
- The Kennedy Space Centre Visitors Centre is a whole day activity
- Why not skydive in Titusville
- Music at the Hard Rock and the House of Blues, along with the Ford Amphitheatre are great venues for international bands and concerts.
- Looking for campy dinner shows? Orlando offers Dixie Stampede, Sleuths Mystery Show, and Medieval Times
- Year-round outdoor celebrations since our weathers so moderate
- The grouper here is some of the best you’ll ever eat, and the scallops follow as a close second
- Florida oranges so tasty we ship them all over the world
- Alligators! In the wild or a contained environment, your choice (though sometimes not your favourite)
- Palms trees lend a slice of classic paradise
- Tropical birds you’ll find nowhere else in the United States
- Head to Tarpon springs for a Greek salad the locals here uniquely make with potato salad
- Spectacular sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico, enough said
- Snorkel to see the massive Christ of the Deep statue underwater off the Keys
- Quirky and iconic glass bottoms boats give glimpses of the gorgeous coral and fish living in Florida’s waters
- Key West’s Duval Street is well-with people watching and window-shopping for a day of lazy enjoyment
- Boat out to the Dry Tortugas for a bit of local lore and unique wildlife
- Drive across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the largest cable-stayed bridge in the U.S. and the #3 bridge in the world according to the Travel Channel
- Ernest Hemingway was a fan of the state, and you can visit his home and museum in Key West
- Experience a bit of Native American culture at any of the handful of Reservations in the state
- Head to Key Largo, unofficially the Dive Capital of the World
- The Annual Mug Race is the longest sailboat race in the world from Palatka to Jacksonville along the St. Johns River
- Collect prehistoric sharks’ teeth in Venice, Florida, and you won’t be the only one of the beaches digging through the sand
- Head out on one of the many Caribbean cruises that launch from Fort Lauderdale.
- The options are endless, so everyone in your family will leave Florida happy and with beautiful memories!
Four Quirky Travel Experiences in Florida
The average tourist in Florida takes in a few of the major theme parks and enjoys a tour of the Everglades, but Florida’s tourist attractions are much more diverse than most people realize. Know Everything about Delta Airlines Reservations
You won’t lack for fascinating vacation stories once you have tried a few of the oddities that make Florida one of the nation’s most outstanding destinations for original, and even strange travel adventures. Here’s just a sampling:
Under the Sea Please!
Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo isn’t quite an octopus’s garden, but it comes as close as any hotel room you’ll find in the world. A stay in this underwater hotel means donning scuba gear and diving beneath the calm waters of the Emerald Lagoon for a short swim to your room. Once inside, you find the kind of comforts and amenities any excellent hotel would offer in your “room with a view.” You will get best deals on time with Delta Airlines Reservations.
Oh, but what a view! The windows overlook oyster-dotted coral reefs that provide a home to exotic tropical species such as barracuda and angelfish. Best of all, perhaps, is the fact that even those who have never dived before can stay at Jules’ – they merely need to take a three-hour class that will certify them to descend in the company of instructors to their underwater hotel room.
Florida’s Most Unusual Theme Park
Jules’ hotel is an experience perhaps best reserved for adults. Still, the Holy Land Experience in Orlando is a family-friendly attraction with plenty of quirkiness to keep even young children entertained. This oddity of a theme park centres on the idea that Bible stories and related events can be woven into a narrative that will both educate and entertain. And better yet is the fact that it’s just a couple miles from all of the major Orlando theme parks you may already plan to hit.
Experiences at the Holy Land Experience include a walk-through of Moses parting the Red Sea, as detailed in the book of Exodus, as well as having a replica of the Wailing Wall, the only part of the Jerusalem Temple to survive the Roman attack in 70 A.D. Children can also see Jonah in the park–where else would he be except inside a whale? Stories by the New Testament are also represented; the park features a whipping post such as the one where Jesus suffered, as well as a replica of the Garden of Gethsemane, where he talked with his disciples and was ultimately arrested as a result of Judas’s betrayal.
Ready for a Bite to Eat?
I’d typically never recommend McDonald’s when travelling since nearly every town in America has a franchise. This McDonald’s, however, has to be seen to be believed. Considered the world’s largest “entertainment McDonald’s,” it is located near the major theme parks in Orlando.
It features not only an entire second story devoted to carnival-style midway games but also the single most significant Play Place in the world. Visiting this McDonald’s will allow parents to enjoy a meal or snack while their children enjoy a quirky family-friendly attraction practically tailor-made for them.
‘Wonderful Fun Just When You Felt Stable Again
It takes an eccentric genius to construct something like Wonderworks, a large building in the middle of Orlando that is actually upside down! The fun continues inside, where visitors experience a re-enactment of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake or learn what it is like to stand against winds over 71-miles per hour thanks to “Hurricane Hole.”
From the always quirky Florida, Keys that divide the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean to the tourist-cantered heart of the state in Orlando, Florida vacation packages have plenty of quirky experiences to offer the daring and curious traveller. Years ago, the oddest adventure you could have here was probably watching an alligator feeding at places like Garland. Today, the state is jam-packed with quirky attractions, and the alligators still live there too.
