Your honest guide to Florida
Where to find the best beaches, springs, and parks without spending your trip in theme-park lines or peninsula traffic. Which coast to pick, when to go before the heat and crowds arrive, and how to plan the drives across a state that runs 800 miles corner to corner.
Eight ways to do Florida
The Panhandle
The Emerald Coast in the northwest: the sugar-white sand and green water of Destin, the beach towns of 30A and South Walton, Panama City Beach, and historic Pensacola out at the Alabama line.
North Florida
The First Coast and the Nature Coast: historic St. Augustine, Amelia Island, Jacksonville's beaches, and the clear freshwater springs and manatees of Crystal River and the Ocala country inland.
Central Florida
Orlando and the theme-park capital of the world: Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Kissimmee, plus the Ocala forest and the freshwater springs an hour from the parks.
Tampa Bay
The central Gulf coast: Tampa and Busch Gardens, the museums and pier of St. Petersburg, and the wide barrier-island beaches of Clearwater and St. Pete Beach.
Southwest Florida
The lower Gulf coast: the quartz sand of Siesta Key and Sarasota, the shells of Sanibel and Captiva, Fort Myers, and the upscale beaches and golf of Naples and Marco Island.
The Space Coast
The central Atlantic shore: Kennedy Space Center and rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, the surf at Cocoa Beach, and the beaches and speedway of Daytona to the north.
South Florida
The southeast metro and the wild interior: Miami and Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and the sawgrass, airboats, and wildlife of the Everglades and Biscayne Bay.
The Florida Keys
The 113-mile island chain and the Overseas Highway: the coral reef diving of Key Largo, the sportfishing of Islamorada, and the end-of-the-road bars, sunsets, and history of Key West.
First time in Florida?
Start with the basics: when to visit, which airport to fly into, how hurricane season and the summer heat shape the calendar, and where to base yourself across the Gulf, the Atlantic, the theme parks, and the Keys.
Plan your trip