Choose from 156 Fun Things to Do in Florida
Oleta River State Park
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Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum
- This museum is popular with history buffs and families traveling with kids.
- Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to climb 88 steps to reach the top.
- The keeper’s quarters are wheelchair-accessible, but the lighthouse itself is not.
- Restrooms are available in the gift shop at the base of the lighthouse.
North Straub Park
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Overseas Highway
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Orlando International Premium Outlets
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Orlando Eye
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Key West Cruise Port
How to get to Key West
Your ship will likely dock at either Mallory Square or the Truman Annex, both of which are just a few blocks from Duval Street in central Key West. If your ship docks further out at the Navy Mole, near Fort Zachary Taylor. In that case, trolleys are available to shuttle you into the Old Town.
One Day in Key West
Get a feel for historic Key West by taking a tour with the open-air Conch Tour Train. The train departs from Mallory Square and takes you through the Old Town area of the island, passing Duval Street, the historic seaport, and the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. The Hemingway Museum is a must-see for any visitor to Key West. There, you can tour Hemingway’s old writing studio, see the first swimming pool in Key West, and cozy up to some of the dozens of furry felines who wander the house, descendants of the writer’s many cats.
For panoramic views of the island, climb to the top of either the observation tower at the Shipwreck Museum or the Key West Lighthouse. Grab a bite to eat and then spend the afternoon enjoying Key West from the water: swim with the dolphins, sail on a glass bottom boat, paddle a kayak or go diving or snorkeling.
Want to explore a different side of Key West? Join the Jimmy Buffett-focused Trails of the Margaritaville Tour or the spooky Ghosts and Gravestones of Key West Tour. The Key West Cemetery is also worth a stop, with above ground tombs reflecting the island’s mixed ethnic heritage.
If your ship is still in port at sunset, don’t miss the Sunset Celebration, a nightly arts festival at Mallory Square that kicks off two hours before the sun sets.
Port Information
English is the official language and the currency is the U.S. Dollar. ATMs are widely available.
Key West Aquarium
- The Key West Aquarium is a hit with families traveling with kids.
- The aquarium is wheelchair-accessible and dog-friendly.
- Give yourself 45 minutes to an hour to explore the aquarium exhibits, or more if you plan to take a guided tour.
Key West Shipwreck Treasure Museum
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Memorial Presbyterian Church
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Lake Eola Park
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Miami Beach Botanical Gardens
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Miami Beach
- Much of Miami Beach is pedestrian friendly, but you can cover more ground by car, or by taking a city sightseeing bus tour or boat tour.
- The most crowded beaches run from about 5th Street to 21st Street in the South Beach area.
- Families with kids should head north of 21st Street, especially to the beaches at 53rd Street or 73rd Street, or to Matheson Hammock Park or South Pointe Park.
Key Largo
Key Largo may seem underwhelming at first glance, but “under” is the key word, as the main sights are underwater, past the touristy shops and motels. The 33 mi (53 km) island is the longest in the Florida Keys; it also has the Keys' biggest concentration of dive sites.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a must stop. The first underwater park in the U.S., Pennekamp provides some pleasant beaches, decent nature trails, and colorful coral reefs. An aquarium at the visitor center provides a glimpse of what’s under the water, and a glass-bottom boat tour shows the real thing.
If you want to go deeper, take a snorkeling trip or a diving excursion. After a day of activity, stop for seafood in one of the many restaurants on the key.
Practical Information
The easiest way to travel to Key Largo is by car. The major route through the Keys, U.S. Hwy 1 snakes its way down to Key Largo, continuing all the way to Key West.
Rickenbacker Trail
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Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center has been hurtling humans and shuttles into space since 1968 and is still a primary site for NASA launches. Parts of the sprawling campus are open to the public with daily tours offering opportunities to interact with real astronauts, test your skills with a simulated space flight, and see artifacts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.
The Basics
The campus is made up of several “mission zones,” all accessible with admission. See the Rocket Garden, filled with historic engine replicas and full-size Titan rockets; the Space Shuttle Atlantis; and the Early Space Exploration Hall, where you’ll find hands-on exhibits highlighting the pioneers of spaceflight and the global race to the moon. On-site bus tours depart every 15 minutes and narrate a two-hour route to several launch sites, including those used by the techy space explorers at SpaceX, and the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where you can navigate astronaut artifacts and walk beneath a 363-foot (110-meter) rocket from the Saturn V mission. Visit on a day trip from Orlando, or opt for an Ultimate Space Pass that includes a tour of NASA’s launch headquarters, lunch with an astronaut, two IMAX movies, the Shuttle Launch Experience, and free time to experience the center’s exhibits and galleries.
Things to Know Before You Go
- There’s lots to see and do at Kennedy Space Center, so plan on spending a full day here.
- The space center one of the most popular family attractions in Florida.
- The bus tour is included in general admission but stops running 2.5 hours before closing time.
- Choose a helicopter tour over the Kennedy Space Center for a bird’s-eye view of the sprawling facility.
How to Get to the Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center visitor complex is adjacent to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, 45 minutes from Orlando by car, on the eastern side of the Intracoastal Waterway. There is no public transit to the center, but several tours include transport to the Space Center from Orlando. There’s plenty of on-site parking, though only multi-day tickets include the cost of parking.
When to Get There
Because there’s so much to do, it’s best to arrive as close to the daily 9am opening time as possible. Closing times vary seasonally between 6pm and 8pm. The center is seldom crowded (except on launch days), but you can avoid large field trip groups by visiting on a weekend.
How to See a Rocket Launch From the Kennedy Space Center
To count down and feel the rumble of lift-off just a few miles away from a real launching rocket, you’ll have to time your visit just right, as only a handful take place each year. The visitor center offers the closest viewing stations for shuttles and rockets blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, and has four designated spots for lawn chairs (some of the spaces require tickets, which typically go on sale two weeks prior to launch).
Oldest Store Museum
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New World Center
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Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
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Located on the northwest coast of the island, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum is a short distance from almost all locations in Key West.