Florida! Any help gratefully received. (Read 236 times)

Ok,

so we've booked a 3 week holiday for next summer to celebrate quite a big sea change in our life as a family.

We're flying out from London at the beginning of August and are based in a hotel in Orlando. We will do the parks for 2 weeks but for the other 7 days what would you recommend? Our party is myself, hubby and our 2 girls (will be aged 11 and 13) and my husband's parents. We will hire a car but don't want to be driving for hours. I thought of a couple of days maybe in Clearwater chilling on the beach, or would we be better sticking to the beaches on the East coast?

For me personally I like to seek out hidden gems, places off the tourist trail but worth a visit.

Thanks in advance, I'm excited.

kk

If you're not as interested in surfing and other activities that need waves, the Gulf beaches (Clearwater, St. Pete, etc.) are much nicer and the water calmer than the beaches on the east coast.  So, I think your beach choice is the correct one for ocean splashing, sunbathing, sand-castle building, etc.  If you do choose to go to the east coast for the beach, Jetty Park (http://www.jettypark.org/) has some nice beaches.  Depending on when you go, you could then drive south a bit to see the cruise ships leaving port in the late afternoon/early evening from Port Canaveral (http://portcanaveral.com/).  The east coast also has Kennedy Space Center (https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/) if you're a space enthusiast.  I'm pretty sure the Atlantis Shuttle exhibit is now open.

As far as other items off the beaten path, you might like Bok Tower Gardens (http://boktowergardens.org/).  If you like antiquing, you can visit Mt. Dora, Florida.  Also, the town of Winter Park (http://cityofwinterpark.org/visitors/shopping-dining-more/things-to-enjoy/) is a quaint, downtown area with lots of shops and boutiques.  If you'd like to do a little walking, skating, or biking, there are some paved trails in the Orlando area (http://www.traillink.com/trail/cady-way-trail.aspx).  Or if you prefer walking/biking in the woods (or what qualifies for woods in central Florida, I've read Alafia State Park (http://www.stateparks.com/alafia_river_state_park_in_florida.html) is quite nice.  I intend to go check that one out myself in the next few weeks.

Regarding races, I'll post some links to some local running calendars, below.  Keep in mind, however, our racing season is October to April, as May to September is pretty darn hot.  You're likely to find mostly 5ks and triathlons.  But, if you're looking to get your mileage in, there are a lot of running clubs who have organized runs for longer distances.  If you don't mind making a drive out to Cocoa, Florida, the Space Coast Runners has an organized run on Sunday along a shaded river road.  The organized run starts at 6:30 am, and people will run up to 14 miles starting at that time, but I have training partners who are doing 18+ miles and start earlier.  I'm pretty sure there are organized groups in Orlando as well.  If you want that information, send me a message, and I'll see if I can run it down for you.  And here are the calendars:

East Coast/Brevard County - http://mattmahoney.net/scr/cal.html - This page also has links to a lot of other central Florida running calendars.   I have personal experience with the "I Run for Pizza" 5k on the 9th.  It is a well-organized and popular event. (http://www.runningzone.com/series/news2/1729).

Orlando - http://www.trackshack.com/events.php

Tampa - http://www.runtampa.com/events/, http://www.tamparaceandrun.com/#!all-runs-tampa/cgnh,

I'm sure you've read about it, but Florida is very hot and very humid during August.  If you're planning to do vigorous physical activity (i.e., going for a run), do it before 9 am or after 6 pm.  Also, when you're out and about at the parks or anywhere else outdoors, wear sunscreen.  Reapply sunscreen often (every 1.5 - 2.0 hours, and after getting wet or sweating) or you WILL get very painfully sunburned.  And also, if you're going to be outside, hydrate.  You're going to sweat.  A lot.  And now I'll get out of mother mode.  Sorry.

Have fun on your visit!  If I think of more things to do around here, I'll post later.

I'm an occaisional visitor to the Orlando area, not so much for the theme park experience, but my mom lives here. She has taken me to a town called Mount Dora, which is a quaint little off the beaten path town with a nice historical village, good shopping and dining. It's definitely more laid back than Orlando, but check out this site and see if you're interested.

http://www.whattodoinmtdora.com/index.shtml

It's about 45 min to an hour north of Orlando.

"I'm sure you've read about it, but Florida is very hot and very humid during August.  If you're planning to do vigorous physical activity (i.e., going for a run), do it before 9 am or after 6 pm.  Also, when you're out and about at the parks or anywhere else outdoors, wear sunscreen.  Reapply sunscreen often (every 1.5 - 2.0 hours, and after getting wet or sweating) or you WILL get very painfully sunburned.  And also, if you're going to be outside, hydrate.  You're going to sweat.  A lot."

 

 

+1.  This is very true, even here in north Florida where it's slightly  "cooler".  On the really hot and humid days (July-August) I usually get up at 6 or 7 am to run; evenings will be warmer than early morning.

You forgot to mention the wildlife.

Cottonmouths are everywhere. There are plenty of rattlers too. People are also releasing burmese pythons into the wild. They number in the thousands and eat small mammals (50 - 125 lbs). Alligators should not be handled and can run as fast as a dog. Wild boars can be real jerks and fortunately encountering panthers is unlikely. When traveling with children there is a 50/50 chance they will be brought to tears by fire ants. In the water there are plenty of jelly fish and shark week usually falls in August. I'm not sure if the Discovery Channel has posted it's 2015 schedule for that yet.

Naples or Marco Island, on the SW coast about a 2.5 hour drive from Orlando. Beautiful beaches, quiet that time of year, great restaurants,  off season, so it would be relatively inexpensive. There are 3 local 5ks every august and 2 in july.

Thank you for the suggestions, I will take a look at them all.

To get the most realistic idea of what it's like for a Brit to get off the beaten path in Florida I recommend the Top Gear USA Special where they drive from Miami to New Orleans.

In this episode you will learn of topics such as renting vs. buying american cars, truckers, murder, rednecks, the big Stig, NASCAR, things that will get you shot in Alabama, and eating roadkill.

To sum it up, Clarkson says "Don't go to America!"

 

You forgot Chikungunya and Dengue

And Vibrio Vulnificus

And the local human population are something else.