Cocoa Beach – the local billboards say it all – this is Orlando’s Closest Beach. It is just 45 minutes drive away from Orlando International Airport.  Take the aptly named Beach line Expressway (528) straight east, keep driving and arrive.  Buy a souvenir at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop, and then head to the beach – fantastic and not crowded at all.

Kennedy Space Center - is just north of Cocoa Beach.  It has an amazing museum of space exploration (known as the KSC Visitors Complex) and is well worth a full day visit. If you plan to catch a shuttle launch, be prepared to sit in traffic for several hours driving back to Orlando, but the spectacle of an actual launch will be well worth it.  Our whole family loved the day.

Daytona Beach - if all you are looking for is sun, sand and surf, then a quick trip Cocoa Beach will get you there a bit quicker and give you all you want.  However, Daytona Beach is less than two hours away, and it has a special appeal to Spring Breakers, bikers, and NASCAR fans. If you stay until sunset, the brightly colored Ocean Walk Shoppes and Movies offers a fantastic ocean view.  The beach is really hard and many cars and pick ups drive along it (slowly of course)

Tampa area – is less than two hours drive away from Florida on the West coast.  Check out Florida’s Gulf Coast in the historically rich city of Tampa. Nearby at St. Petersburg there are upscale shopping areas and museums while Clearwater Beach offers warm waters and powdery white sand.

Silver Springs – is another “Old Florida” icon.  It is famous for its glass bottomed boat rides, animal exhibits, and jeep safaris through the Florida forest. Silver Springs was opened in 1878, and is Florida’s oldest commercial tourist attraction.  It is where Johnny Weismuller filmed some of the earliest Tarzan movies.  A little drive away from Orlando but well worth visiting for the crystal clear springs.

Ocala National Forest – is not far from Silver Springs. It is the world’s largest sand pine forest and covers around 366,000 acres. Hiking, fishing, and canoeing are popular activities in this natural attraction.

Mount Dora - with its Victorian architecture, boutique shopping, and lovely lakefront, Mount Dora is one of the most genuine small towns in Central Florida. You can even see some of the few remaining citrus groves on the outskirts of this well preserved village.  My wife just loved Mount Dora with its fantastic quaint shops.  You can also go on a boat ride on the lake.  Well worth a visit.

Sebring – is a sleepy town less than two hours due south of Orlando, Sebring has a charming downtown district, and is home to the Sebring International Raceway, which is the oldest permanent road racing track in North America. Nearby Highlands Hammock State Park offers campsites and hiking trails.

Blue Spring State Park - with the water temperature at a constant 68º F, Blue Spring State Park in nearby Volusia County (where Daytona Beach is located) is a winter refuge for manatees between November and March. In the warmer months, human visitors enjoy snorkeling and canoeing.

The more that the theme parks put their prices up the more that people are looking for cheaper alternatives to enjoy their stays in Florida - and to keep the kids happy.

During our Guest’s successive wintering in the sunshine we have built up a valuable ‘store’ of trips to make to places where the admission price was often only a dollar - or maybe just a few dollars more. The greatest source of these is the wonderful resource of Florida state parks and recreation areas and historic sites.

Here are just a few that we have visited and enjoyed ourselves.

Blue Spring State Park
2100 W. French Ave.
Orange City, FL 32763

Named Florida’s best manatee observation point. Blue Spring produces 105 million gallons of crystal clear water a day. Fishing, canoe and kayak rentals, picnic areas, scuba diving, swimming, camping, nature trails and the historic Thursby House. A designated manatee refuge, Blue Spring is visited by numerous West Indian manatees during the winter months. (Best avoid weekends and holidays - very crowded then)
Directions: I-4 W. to Exit 114 in Deland. West to U.S. 17, south to French Ave. in Orange City. West on French Ave. to Park Entrance.

Rock Springs Run Reserve State Park
Off State Road 46 (at entrance to County Road 433; County Road 433 not marked) Sorrento, FL32776

Rock Springs Run State Reserve is approximately 14,000 acres of a variety of plant communities typically found throughout Central Florida’s landscape. The reserve is located approximately 30 miles north of Orlando and easily located off of I-4 at the exit for S.R. 46; then follow S.R. 46 west for almost 10 miles. The property was purchased in March 1983 for habitat preservation, for watershed protection and to provide recreational opportunities in the Central Florida area. Directions: Off S.R. 46, 3 mi. W of Wekiwa River Bridge.

De Leon Springs State Park
601 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
De Leon Springs, FL 32130

Native Americans visited and used these springs as long as 6,000 years ago. By the 1880s, the springs had become a winter resort promising “a fountain of youth.” There is excellent swimming in the spring, which remains at 72 degrees year round. Canoe, kayak, and paddleboat rentals are available for exploring the springhead and spring run. Visitors can enjoy an outdoor picnic or dine at the “Old Spanish Sugar Mill” Restaurant where guests can make their own pancakes at the table. (Great fun for the whole family!) Directions: From I/4 N. of Orlando take SR.17/92, then S.R. 17 to De-Leon Springs, turn onto Ponce de Leon Blvd. The park is located at the corner of Ponce de Leon Blvd. and Burt Parks Rd.

Believe it or not, the manatee, or “Sea Cow” is a distant cousin of the elephant, and scientists have traced them both back some 60 million years to a common ancestor. Their forelimbs contain three to four fingernails, very similar to an elephant’s.

Manatees are herbivores, eating only aquatic plants, and typically grow to about 2,000 pounds and almost 12 feet. Unhappily, their backs often bear the marks of boat propeller scars, as they tend to graze near the surface of shallow water. They have no natural predator, but contact with humans (and their boats!) along with loss of feeding grounds (also down to the humans) has made them an endangered species

So Where Can I see Manatees in the Orlando area?

The easy answer, of course, is at Sea World, but it might be more fun to see them in the wild. We have seen manatees on the Gulf Coast where they congregate around docks in the summer months, and around the Merritt Island area by The Kennedy Space Center.

In the cooler months, however, the ocean gets too cold for manatees, so they look for warmer waters. They typically come to inland Florida waters via rivers and canals.

The best place to see manatees inland is at Blue Spring State Park, just off the St. Johns River  (you can get there on the I4), between November and March. There they have a boardwalk which gives perfect viewing.

If you want to get up close and personal, go to the Crystal River area, and go snorkelling or rent a small boat. As many as 300 manatees winter in the Crystal River area on the West coast, 80 miles north of Tampa, and less than 2 hours from Orlando. Again, the best time is from late November until the end of February and it is recommended to avoid weekends if you want to avoid the crowds.

Strangely enough, the Tampa Electric Company is a great place to see manatees during the colder weather. The company’s Big Bend Station on Tampa Bay attracts manatees in winter to its warm-water discharge and they have built a special manatee viewing centre with a viewing platform, open from early December to March (closed Monday and Tuesday). From the I-75 in Tampa take the ApolloBeach exit onto Big Bend road. The viewing centre is at a turn after the road’s intersection with U.S. 41.

Happy mermaid hunting!

Andy Brownlie

During a conversation with locals we were asked if we had ever visited one of the areas national parks. We hadn’t so we looked for information on the internet and decided to visit Blue spring national park.

The park is located about 35 miles from Orlando and the main attraction (for us) was the fresh water spring.  

The water rises from the spring at a temperature of around 20c and during the cooler months can become a temporary winter home for manatee.

The spring deposits its water into the St Johns so during the summer the manatee can still be found within the park area. The animals always nearby ready to swim back to the spring area when the cooler months return.

Within the park area is an under cover BBQ area, a supplies shop, cafe and a diving equipment hire shop (face mask flippers etc) which can be used to snorkel / swim in the area of the spring.

The spring itself is open for public use but if the temperature cools swimmers must be prepared to vacate the water for the retuning manatee.

Boat trips are available either by John boat (which last about 2 hours), The crew double up as park guides and provide information on points of interest and they are very informative, or for the more energetic and adventurous canoes or Kayaks are available to explore the St Johns river.

The park is home to numerous types of wild life and visitors can expect to come across anything from snakes to alligators.

The area is a complete contrast to the vision most visitors have to an entertainment park in Florida.

If you are looking for a day of peace and quiet and want to get back to nature a visit to Blue springs or one of the many other national parks might just do the trick.

Brian Pearson