Silver Springs

Written by: Julie Hart
Authors Website

A visit to this park is a more sedate, leisurely day out than many of the other parks. Situated about 1.5 hours drive north of Orlando this is another of Florida’s natural springs, reputed to be the biggest of its kind in the world.

We visited out of season so it was nice and quiet, not too busy and no standing in line. We had a ride on a glass bottom boat which takes you along the river, with a perfect view of whats underneath. Of course everyone wants to see gators when they’re in Florida and we weren’t disappointed. It’s a good way to view the wildlife without getting wet. It’s all very relaxing, unhurried and the guides are great, they know their stuff and they tell you all about the history of the park, it’s origins going back to the days of the native American Indians and the flora and fauna in it.

After the boat ride we had lunch at one of the restaurants and then a stroll around the park taking in the scenery and the other animal exhibits such as the giraffes which came to us and we were allowed actually feed them by hand, a first for us!. We watched an outdoor show with a  variety of birds including parrots and more domestic type birds.

It’s about 3 or 4 years since our visit and no doubt changes will have been made since then. The clientele were more ‘mature’ than you would find in an average Orlando theme park but that’s probably usual in Florida in winter and in no way a negative! It’s a beautiful place, natures very own theme park I suppose. If you want to get away from the queues and the fast passes, fast food and fast rides and all the hustle and bustle, then this is a good place to come.