The Great American Road Trip ChallengeOne trip, ~2.5 years, 48 states
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Leg 4 · Winter

Florida

Palms, causeway, coral sunset

Florida

Tap a pin to open that stop's first day · numbers follow the driving order

The Sunshine State as one clean loop: the oldest city at St. Augustine, the theme-park capital at Orlando, the Gold Coast and Miami down the east coast, the Everglades and the Keys at the tip, the genteel Gulf beaches and Tampa Bay coming back up, and the capital and Emerald Coast across the panhandle.

Turquoise water and coral sun

Time it right

Drop into Florida in the depths of winter, when the peninsula is at its warmest and driest — the theme parks, the beaches, and the Everglades are all at their best — and loop the state before crossing the panhandle into Alabama.

12

Stops

52

Days

61

Things to do

1

States

The colour key

61 things to do across 52 days

  • Outdoor & Water Activities12
  • Museums & History11
  • Theme Parks & Attractions8
  • Landmarks & Monuments6
  • Shopping5
  • National Parks & Forests4
  • Cities & Metros3
  • Guided Tours3
  • Sports & Gamedays2
  • State Capitols1
  • Somber & Civil-Rights Sites1
  • Film & TV Locations1
  • Concerts & Venues1
  • Festivals & Events1
  • Food & Drink Trails1
  • Quirky Americana & Roadside Oddities1

And how much each one matters

  • AnchorAlways do — the reason this stop is on the map
  • Worth itDo most of these
  • BonusQuirky bonus, if it's happening while you're here

Jump to a day

Stops, in order

  1. Stop 1St. Augustine & JacksonvilleSt. Augustine & Jacksonville, FLDays 253–256

    The oldest city in America — a Spanish stone fort and cobblestone lanes — plus Jacksonville's beaches and riverfront.

  2. Stop 2Amelia IslandAmelia Island, FLDays 257–259

    A quiet barrier island at the Georgia line — Victorian Fernandina Beach, a Civil War fort, and shrimp-boat history.

  3. Stop 4Palm BeachPalm Beach, FLDays 270–272

    Old-money Florida — Worth Avenue's couture, Henry Flagler's marble mansion, and the resort that built the coast.

  4. Stop 5Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale, FLDays 273–275

    The 'Venice of America' — 300 miles of canals, a broad beach, and the boutiques and cafés of Las Olas.

  5. Stop 7Everglades National ParkEverglades National Park, FLDays 282–284

    The 'river of grass' — a vast subtropical wetland and the only place on earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist, best seen by airboat and boardwalk.

  6. Stop 8The Florida Keys & Key WestThe Florida Keys & Key West, FLDays 285–289

    A 120-mile chain of coral islands strung on a highway over the sea — the only living coral reef in the continental U.S., and Hemingway's laid-back, six-toed-cat Key West at the end.

  7. Stop 9Sarasota & NaplesSarasota & Naples, FLDays 290–292

    The genteel Gulf coast — Naples's upscale beaches and Sarasota's circus fortune turned into an art-and-mansion estate.

  8. Stop 10Tampa & St. PetersburgTampa & St. Petersburg, FLDays 293–297

    A big-city Gulf bay — a coaster-and-safari park, a historic Cuban cigar quarter, the world's best Dalí collection, and beaches ranked among the country's finest.

  9. Stop 11TallahasseeTallahassee, FLDays 298–300

    Florida's capital in the rolling, oak-canopied hills of the panhandle — an old-and-new capitol, a big university, and a reconstructed Spanish mission.

  10. Stop 12Pensacola & DestinPensacola & Destin, FLDays 301–304

    The Gulf's 'Emerald Coast' — sugar-white sand and green water, the Blue Angels' home, and Florida's last stop before Alabama.