What Is The Best Place To Vacation In Florida
Most people spend their entire lives dreaming of going on vacation. People want to experience everything life has in store for them. Vacations are a reflection of our personality. However, some people make the mistake of getting ripped off during their vacations. In this article, you will discover what the best place is to vacation in Florida. You will also identify which places are worth it and which places are a waste of time and money.
Where should you spend your vacation in Florida? Well don’t just go with the first place you find. You need to wade through all of the information and find the best place to vacation in Florida. There are so many attractions here, it can be overwhelming with all of the choices that are out there. If you have some time though and want to choose wisely, keep reading to learn about the best places to visit in Florida.
When you think of vacationing in Florida beaches, amusement parks, palm trees and white sands come to mind. It’s a place known for its theme parks, fairytale architecture and sunny skies. The Sunshine State is the homeland of Mickey Mouse, the home of Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. It’s also a romantic destination with great sunset views. Whether it’s on the coasts or inland you’ll find areas that are perfect for taking a family vacation. Find out more by reading!
Florida is a paradise for vacationers. Florida offers top echelon amusement parks, as well as, heavenly beaches. This state has been attracting many tourists on vacation and business trips year after year because of its diverse offerings.
The joke is that you can do anything in Florida and it’s true. The Sunshine State has over 6,000 miles of coastline, making it the third largest contiguous coast in the country. Some of the most popular beaches are Fort Lauderdale Beach in Broward County, Miami Beach in Miami-Dade County, and Clearwater Beach in Pinellas County. Each beach town offers various attractions to lure tourists, including nightclubs, spas and fine dining establishments.
Year-round sunshine, miles of beaches, and almost as many palm trees as people — what’s not to love? Florida is where the world goes on vacation.
While the state eats, sleeps, and breathes tourism, deciding exactly where to visit in Florida can be the hardest part. Any kind of traveler can enjoy a trip to Florida because the state has it all: theme parks for families, outdoor adventures for nature lovers, and historical significance for the curious.
As for the question of the best places to visit in Florida, there’s really no wrong answer, but as a fourth-generation Floridian, here’s my take.
The Palm Beaches
What Is The Best Place To Vacation In Florida
Think of the Palm Beaches as a fast pass to the best of Florida. An umbrella term for the cities of Palm Beach County, the region includes spots like West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Wellington, Delray Beach, Jupiter, and Boca Raton.
The sheer diversity of activities available in the Palm Beaches is its strength. You can shop, surf, scuba dive, enjoy brunch with your pup, watch an international polo match, relax on 47 miles of shoreline, meet rehabilitating sea turtles, take a quick two-night cruise to the Bahamas, see a Broadway musical at the Kravis Center, and catch a foul ball at a spring training baseball game. Out west, you can book airboat tours of the Everglades or get up close and personal with rhinos, giraffes, and zebras at Lion Country Safari, a cageless, drive-thru zoo spread over 600 acres.
If you’re after a ritzy resort stay, Palm Beach and Boca Raton have you covered. Nothing beats The Breakers — you’ll be treated like royalty — but The Colony Hotel, Eau Palm Beach, and The Boca Raton are harbingers of a modern era in Palm Beach.
Across the bridge, West Palm Beach has a big-city feel without the headaches of traffic and congestion. Take the free trolley between Clematis Street, The Square, and the waterfront, or head out to Grandview Public Market in the up-and-coming Warehouse District.
Hilton West Palm Beach houses Galley, a restaurant with tasty cocktails, fresh seafood, and gourmet pizzas, and The Ben West Palm and Canopy by Hilton West Palm Beach Downtown both have rooftops with stellar views.
St. Augustine
As the oldest city in America, St. Augustine has had a lot of time to get it right. Settlers arrived in the mid-1500s and some still-standing spots, like the Fountain of Youth and Castillo de San Marcos, date back almost that far. It’s a walkable town imbued with intrigue; whispers of the past swirl through every cobblestone alley.
In St. Augustine, learning about the area’s history (preferably via ghost tour once darkness envelops the city) is a given. But there are also newer arrivals built to please the modern explorer, like Ice Plant for cocktails and the Alligator Farm for a perfectly Floridian animal encounter. Visit during St. Augustine’s annual Nights of Lights event around Christmas to see the city sparkle in the glow of three million lights.
For the perfect marriage of history and a cozy breed of luxury, book a stay at the adults-only Collector Luxury Inn & Gardens, where you can tour the grounds with the property historian and gather for expertly crafted cocktails at The Well Bar. For a taste of old-world elegance, St. Francis Inn — built in 1791 — is a bed-and-breakfast that captures the spirit of the city and all there is to love about homey accommodations. It’s located right on St. George Street, St. Augustine’s main drag.
Once you’ve walked up an appetite, head to dinner at Michael’s Tasting Room, The Floridian, or O.C. White’s, a historic restaurant in the heart of the action. Or, for something a bit more casual, stop into A1A Ale Works for perhaps the best root beer of your life, served alongside a beautiful view of the Bridge of Lions.
Florida Keys
Stretching 113 miles from Key Largo to the southernmost point of the continental United States in funky Key West, the Florida Keys is a veritable paradise; pick any Key along the way and you’re guaranteed a tropical getaway with no need for a passport. Fill your itinerary with activities like boating, diving, fishing, snorkeling coral reefs, feeding 10-foot tarpon at Robbie’s, and generally enjoying one of the best destinations in the world for the let-your-hair-down brand of vacationing.
Key Largo boasts the adults-only Bungalows Key Largo, the first all-inclusive in the Keys, while Playa Largo is a solid choice for families or anyone who loves an action-packed trip; there are pools, water sports like sailing, parasailing, and kayaking, and even a hammock garden for reading.
For the best seafood (and Key lime pie) in the Keys, book a table at The Fish House, a family-owned Key Largo institution that’s set apart by the fact that they’re one of the only restaurants sourcing exclusively from local fishermen, so your fish is as fresh as it gets.
Orlando and Central Florida
Orlando is the destination of choice for many people planning a vacation to Florida, and for good reason: There’s Walt Disney World and Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Universal Studios, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Animal Kingdom, Discovery Cove, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Gatorland, and more. While those spots will always be popular among visitors and locals alike, there’s more to this Florida region.
For example, head due east from Orlando and you’ll land at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where you can explore a complex dedicated to all things space travel, and even watch rocket launches. To the north, quieter Winter Park is considered the Palm Beach of central Florida. There, you can enjoy lakeside sunsets and stroll under canopies of old oak trees. Eat breakfast at Briarpatch and dinner at Hillstone Restaurant.
There are also plenty of ways to get outdoorsy and adventurous in Florida once you’ve escaped the tourist traps of Orlando. Some distance from the Orlando area, but still in central Florida, you’ve got the Blue Grotto, a 100-foot clearwater cavern that’s popular with divers, and also Rainbow Springs State Park, where you can lazily float down Rainbow River in an inner tube.