Florida itinerary, day by day

From the art deco of Miami Beach through the Everglades and down the Overseas Highway to Key West, then up to Orlando: the map, what is worth booking and everything that costs nothing in the Sunshine State.

🗓️ 4 or 7 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: March to May and November

Miami · Photo Yaseen / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Florida in 4 days

2 stops · 7 things to do · ≈ 240 km

1Miami and South Beach

Days 1-2

Art deco hotels on the beach, Cuban and Latin American neighbourhoods and whole walls of street art, in a city where Spanish is heard as often as English.

🎟️ Worth booking

Biscayne Bay boat tour1h30 · from €35
The Miami skyline and the waterfront mansions of Star Island, seen from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Ocean Drive and the art deco district · Wynwood Walls · Little Havana and Calle Ocho

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Freehand Miami (€50 a night) · Mid-range: The Catalina Hotel & Beach Club (€145 a night) · Luxury: The Setai, Miami Beach (€500 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Ole Ole Steak House ★ 4.9 · 43161 reviews
ll Pastaiolo - Best Italian Restaurant South Beach ★ 4.9 · 19537 reviews · €€€
CVI.CHE 105 South Beach ★ 4.9 · 19376 reviews · €€
Españolita Miami Beach ★ 4.9 · 18782 reviews
Havana Vieja - Cuban Restaurant Miami Beach ★ 4.9 · 16380 reviews · €€

Photo Luis Erives / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 260 km

2The Everglades and Key West

Days 3-4

The wild wetlands of the Everglades, then the road that runs out over the sea, island to island, all the way to Key West.

🎟️ Worth booking

Everglades airboat rideHalf day · from €40
A flat-bottomed boat pushed by an aircraft propeller, skimming over the sawgrass in search of alligators.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Overseas Highway · Key West, and sunset at Mallory Square

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: El Patio Motel (€150 a night) · Mid-range: Eden House (€200 a night) · Luxury: Ocean Key Resort & Spa (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Red Shoe Island Bistro ★ 4.9 · 698 reviews
Conchiglia ★ 4.8 · 162 reviews
Moondog Cafe Key West ★ 4.7 · 4502 reviews · €€
Harpoon Harry's ★ 4.7 · 3780 reviews · €
Kaya Island Eats ★ 4.7 · 2764 reviews · €€

Photo Dominik Gryzbon / Pexels

Florida in 7 days

3 stops · 10 things to do · ≈ 600 km

1Miami and South Beach

Days 1-2

Art deco hotels on the beach, Cuban and Latin American neighbourhoods and whole walls of street art, in a city where Spanish is heard as often as English.

🎟️ Worth booking

Biscayne Bay boat tour1h30 · from €35
The Miami skyline and the waterfront mansions of Star Island, seen from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Ocean Drive and the art deco district · Wynwood Walls · Little Havana and Calle Ocho

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Freehand Miami (€50 a night) · Mid-range: The Catalina Hotel & Beach Club (€145 a night) · Luxury: The Setai, Miami Beach (€500 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Luis Erives / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 260 km

2The Everglades and Key West

Days 3-4

The wild wetlands of the Everglades, then the road that runs out over the sea, island to island, all the way to Key West.

🎟️ Worth booking

Everglades airboat rideHalf day · from €40
A flat-bottomed boat pushed by an aircraft propeller, skimming over the sawgrass in search of alligators.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Overseas Highway · Key West, and sunset at Mallory Square

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: El Patio Motel (€150 a night) · Mid-range: Eden House (€200 a night) · Luxury: Ocean Key Resort & Spa (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Dominik Gryzbon / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 350 km

3Orlando and Cape Canaveral

Days 5-6

The theme park capital of the world and, an hour to the east, the launch pads of NASA on the Space Coast.

🎟️ Worth booking

A day at a theme park (Disney or Universal)Full day · from €110
A full day in one of the largest leisure resorts in the world. Be there at opening time to beat the queues.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Kennedy Space Center, from outside · The lakes around Orlando

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Disney's Pop Century Resort (€130 a night) · Mid-range: Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort (€140 a night) · Luxury: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (€520 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Sassy Spoon ★ 4.9 · 5183 reviews · €€
Foreigner Restaurant ★ 4.9 · 178 reviews
Melting Pot ★ 4.8 · 4400 reviews · €€€
Southern Charm Cafe ★ 4.8 · 3437 reviews · €
Luca Turci Italian Restaurant ★ 4.8 · 1361 reviews

Photo Connor Scott McManus / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Cuban sandwich: roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard, pressed flat. Miami and Tampa both claim it.
Key lime pie: small tart limes and condensed milk on a biscuit base, the official state pie.
Stone crab claws: served cold with a mustard sauce, in season from mid-October to early May.
Conch fritters: fried dough studded with chopped sea snail, the snack of the Keys.
Cafecito: a tiny, sweet, strong Cuban coffee, bought at a street window in Little Havana.

⚠️ What to avoid

Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
Never travel without health insurance. Treatment is very expensive.
Hurricane season runs from June to November: watch the forecast and check your cancellation cover.
Do not feed or approach alligators, and keep small children back from the water's edge.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Florida guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Florida, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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