Three ‘Other’ Places to Go in Florida

When most people think of Florida, it’s likely to be images of theme parks, Mickey Mouse and families that crop up the most. While the ‘big three’ of Disney, Universal and Busch are fixtures in the cultural make up of the Sunshine State, which probably doesn’t excite too many 18-30 backpackers, there’s far more than that to be found. You’d be hard pushed to visit Florida without at least a peek at Orlando or Miami, but there’s plenty away from these huge commercial centres. Florida is much bigger than England, and has some of the most amazing wildlife and beaches to be found in America, while it’s perfect for a road trip. Indeed, because of its southeastern location, it’s actually a great place to start a tour of the USA. Check out DialAFlight for Orlando flights (starting at £375 from Gatwick). Here are three top places to go aside from Mickey and Donald’s domain:

Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral

Forty-five minutes drive to the east of Orlando is the peaceful swampy headland of Cape Canaveral… until a rocket blasts of its launch pad up towards the heavens! Kennedy Space Centre is the home of NASA and has been the launch site for every US manned space flight since 1968. The visitor complex hosts an array of interesting exhibits and displays. You can check out space history in the Rocket Garden and Apollo Saturn V Centre, watch documentaries at the IMAX theatre and even blast of into space on the Shuttle Launch Experience (well, almost, it’s a simulator). There are also numerous bus tours throughout the site, which can take you to view the shuttle launch pads. Of course, if you time your visit right, you’ll have the privilege of seeing a launch! It costs $38 for the day plus tax.

The Everglades National Park

As the USA’s most southeastern state, Florida is a home of the American alligator, and there’s plenty to be found in The Everglades National Park. Located at the southwest tip of Florida, just to the west of Miami, The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in North America, and it’s a national park of endless marshes, dense mangroves, towering palms, alligator holes, and tropical fauna. Exciting wildlife to be spotted includes the endangered Florida panther, the Burmese python (although there is an ongoing attempt to remove this species) and of course the American alligator. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you should definitely try a canoe tour through Whitewater Bay.

Daytona Beach

Acclaiming itself as ‘the world’s most famous beach’ (although the residents of Bondi, Sydney will probably beg to differ) Daytona is located about ninety minutes drive to the northeast of Orlando. It attracts over 8 million tourists a year, so as you can imagine, it gets seriously busy on summer weekends. Aside from the main attraction, petrol heads will want to check out the Daytona International Speedway, particularly in early February when over 200,000 NASCAR fans attend the season opening Daytona 500. Other great times to go are during sea turtle season (mid May through to late October) or, to get a real American party season under your belt, Spring Break, which is normally in the first two weeks of March.