Florida's classic first trip joins three places: Miami, with its beaches, Art Deco hotels and Cuban food; the Florida Keys, a chain of islands strung along one road down to Key West; and Orlando, the theme park capital, inland in the middle of the state. Miami and Orlando have their own pages, and the USA page covers the mangrove paddling trails near Flamingo in the Everglades, the sunset at Mallory Square in Key West and a day at the Kennedy Space Center.
This page helps you choose between them and combine them, and adds three trips beyond the two cities: the Dry Tortugas, an island fort 70 miles out to sea from Key West; the coral reefs off Key Largo at John Pennekamp; and the Spanish fort of St. Augustine, two hours north of Orlando.
Take the ferry to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas National Park, by ferry from Key West
A full day from Key WestTimed entry
Sail 70 miles west of Key West to a huge, unfinished brick fort covering almost a whole island, then snorkel off its beach.
What it is
Dry Tortugas National Park lies about 70 miles west of Key West and has no road. On Garden Key, Fort Jefferson, a huge brick fort built from 1846 to 1875 and never finished, covers almost the whole island. A 45-minute guided tour starts at 11, and afterwards you snorkel off the beach in 5 to 15 feet of water with the gear provided.
How to do it
You go by the Yankee Freedom ferry, by seaplane or by private boat. Check in for the ferry at 7 am at the terminal at 100 Grinnell Street; it sails at 8 and reaches Garden Key around 10:15. The boat leaves at 3 pm and is back about 5:15. In 2026 day trips started at $260, with breakfast, lunch, snorkel gear and the $15 park fee.
Good to know
Trips sell out weeks ahead. Unlike the Everglades, the park charges no nonresident surcharge.
Snorkel the coral reefs of John Pennekamp in Key Largo
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo
Half a day, plus the drive from MiamiBook ahead
Snorkel the reefs of the first undersea park in the United States, an hour in the water off Key Largo.
What it is
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, at mile marker 102.5 in Key Largo, about an hour and a half from Miami, opened in 1963 as the first undersea park in the United States. The reefs lie offshore. The bronze Christ of the Abyss, placed in 1965 on Key Largo Dry Rocks in about 25 feet of water, lies just outside the park, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
How to do it
Book a boat with the park's concession: snorkelling trips leave several times a day, with about 45 minutes each way and an hour in the water, and glass-bottom boats suit anyone who would rather stay dry. Book online, then confirm in person at least an hour before departure; schedules change with the season.
Good to know
On a windy day, the visitor centre's 30,000-gallon aquarium shows the reef fish instead.
See the cannon fired at the Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine
2 hoursNo booking needed
Watch soldiers in Spanish colonial dress fire a replica cannon from the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.
What it is
The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, built by Spain from 1672 to 1695 of coquina, a local stone of packed shells, and never taken in the sieges of 1702 and 1740. It stands on Matanzas Bay. On two Sundays a month, staff and volunteers dressed as Spanish colonial soldiers fire a replica cannon on the gun deck at 10:30 and 11:30 am and 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 pm.
How to do it
It is about two hours north of Orlando or 45 minutes south of Jacksonville. It opens daily except Thanksgiving and 25 December, with entry from 9 am to 5 pm. In 2026 entry costs $15 for adults 16 and over, by card only; children 15 and under go free.
Good to know
Plan around the weapons demonstrations and check the dates on the park website.
Time needed
2 hours
Best time
A demonstration Sunday, mid-September to mid-November
Paddle the mangrove trails near Flamingo in the Everglades
Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Florida
Half a day, plus the driveBook ahead
Paddle through tight mangrove tunnels on the marked canoe trails toward Flamingo, at the southern end of the Everglades.
What it is
The tight mangrove tunnels people picture are on the marked canoe trails along the main park road toward Flamingo, at the southern end of Everglades National Park, rather than in the open water of the Ten Thousand Islands on the Gulf coast. Noble Hammock is a loop of roughly 2 miles through narrow mangrove creeks, marked with orange and white posts, and stays calm on windy days. Hell's Bay is longer and twistier, and Nine Mile Pond is a marked loop of about 5 miles across shallow marsh dotted with mangrove islands.
How to do it
The concessionaire at Flamingo rents canoes and kayaks; confirm what is available before the long drive down.
Good to know
Go between December and April, the dry season, though Nine Mile Pond can become too shallow to paddle late in the dry season. Everglades is one of the 11 parks with the $100 nonresident surcharge.
Every evening the Mallory Square waterfront fills with high-wire acts, sword swallowers, jugglers and musicians, all free, as the sun goes down.
What it is
Every evening, the Sunset Celebration on the Mallory Square waterfront in Old Key West begins about two hours before sunset and winds down soon after the sun has gone. It is free. The street performers, from high-wire and sword-swallowing acts to unicyclists, jugglers, musicians and comedians, are not paid by the organisers and live on tips.
How to do it
Look up the day's sunset time and arrive about an hour ahead if you want a place along the edge of the water. The area around the square gets very congested at sunset, so walk or cycle from your hotel rather than trying to park. If you would rather watch from the water, sunset sails leave from the harbour a few minutes away.
Good to know
Carry small bills for the performers. Book sunset sails a day or two ahead in winter.
For a first trip of ten days to two weeks, pick Miami, the Keys and Orlando. Miami gives you the beach, Little Havana and day trips into the Everglades; the Keys need at least two nights, ideally the last in Key West for the sunset and an early ferry to the Dry Tortugas; Orlando needs as many days as you have theme parks on your list. With a week, choose one half: Miami and the Keys, or Orlando and the Space Coast. St. Augustine suits a night on the way north to Jacksonville, and the Gulf beaches around Tampa, about 85 miles west of Orlando, a few days of rest.
How to combine them
Fly into Miami and out of Orlando, or the other way round. From Miami, the Overseas Highway reaches Key Largo in about an hour and a half and Key West, some 160 miles away, in about four hours; it is the only road, so either drive back the same way or fly out of Key West, which has flights on several airlines. Miami to Orlando is about 235 miles, four and a half hours or more on Florida's Turnpike. Brightline trains link MiamiCentral and Orlando airport in 3 hours 25 minutes; check the timetable when you book. From Orlando, the Kennedy Space Center is about an hour east on SR 528, and St. Augustine about two hours north.
Getting around
Outside Miami Beach and the theme park resorts you need a car. Florida's Turnpike and Card Sound Road, the back way into the Keys, have cashless tolls paid by SunPass, a compatible transponder or Toll-By-Plate, so agree a toll plan with the rental company. Park fees vary: the Everglades charges $35 per vehicle plus, in 2026, $100 for each non-US resident aged 16 and over, unless you hold the $250 nonresident annual pass. Dry Tortugas and Biscayne are not on that surcharge list, and the Castillo de San Marcos charges $15 per adult.
When to go
November to April is the dry, mild season, with winter highs around 75°F (24°C) in the Keys, and with spring it is the busiest time. From June to October highs reach about 89°F (32°C), with afternoon showers from late May. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, peaking around 10 September, with most storms from mid-August to mid-October, so book flexible rates for those weeks. Winter is also manatee season in the springs near Orlando and stone crab season in Miami.
Questions travellers ask
How many days do you need for a trip to Florida?
In must30's view, ten days to two weeks for Miami, the Keys and Orlando: four days in Miami, two or three in the Keys with a night in Key West, and four or more in Orlando. With a week, choose one half of the state instead of spending it on the road.
When is hurricane season in Florida?
From 1 June to 30 November. Most storms come between mid-August and mid-October, with a peak around 10 September. Storms are not constant, but book refundable rates for those weeks and follow the National Hurricane Center if one forms.
Can you visit the Dry Tortugas in a day?
Yes, from Key West. The Yankee Freedom ferry sails at 8 am and is back about 5:15 pm, with almost five hours on Garden Key, and it sells out weeks ahead. The seaplane takes about 40 minutes each way and costs more.
Is it worth driving from Miami to Key West?
Yes, if you stay at least one night: the Overseas Highway crosses 42 bridges, the Seven Mile Bridge among them, and takes about four hours each way. As a day trip it is very long; Key Largo and Marathon make shorter days out from Miami.
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