Guests have many choices for getting between and round Florida’s pristine coastlines, swampy lagoons and big-time cities.
Whereas the sprawl of Florida makes it a car-centric place, you’ll discover there are a rising quantity choices for exploring all of the Sunshine State has to supply. Whether or not you crisscross the state by airplane, hop on a practice alongside the southwest coast or Key-hop through water taxi, the transportation mode(s) you like will replicate the way you need to discover the state’s huge terrain.
Wherever your journey might take you, right here’s learn how to get round Florida.
Arrive in Florida by airplane at one its 131 airports
Should you’re visiting Florida from elsewhere within the USA or overseas, likelihood is you’ll be flying in. In complete, the state has 131 public airports (24 of them worldwide), with hubs in Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Seaside, Tampa, Fort Myers and Jacksonville.
A number of airways present flights inside Florida together with American Airways, United Airways, Miramar-based operator Spirit Airways and Fort Lauderdale–primarily based Silver Airways.
Together with most US airports, main holidays (eg, Thanksgiving and Christmas) can carry main congestion and longer wait instances at Florida’s airports, significantly as northern residents escape the colder temperatures.
Crisscross Florida north to south by practice
Maybe surprisingly, Florida boasts in depth passenger practice service. Amtrak has 19 complete stations within the state, serving three principal routes that usually run north to south. With 14 complete stops, the Silver Meteor route begins in Jacksonville, runs to Orlando in Central Florida after which south alongside the Atlantic Coast by means of West Palm Seaside and to Miami. The Silver Star route has 18 complete Florida stops, additionally beginning in Jacksonville earlier than hitting Orlando, operating west to Tampa and Winter Haven after which winding again to the Atlantic Coast through Fort Lauderdale to Miami.
For vacationers both beginning or ending an East Coast practice journey in Florida, Amtrak’s Auto Train is a novel providing. This in a single day route between Sanford, FL, and Lorton, VA – with no stops in between – helps you to take your automobile or motorbike on board. Don’t fear: you possibly can loosen up within the eating and lounge automobiles relatively than having to take a seat in your auto the whole time.
Additionally working throughout the state is Brightline, the trendy and splendid high-speed passenger rail system that at the moment connects West Palm Seaside, Fort Lauderdale and Miami inside one hour. Amid sometimes heavy visitors and rush hour in South Florida, this serves as a stellar possibility for shaving a while off a visit, with stations conveniently positioned within the coronary heart of every vacation spot’s downtown. Brightline has plans so as to add stations at PortMiami, Aventura and Boca Raton with a future enlargement north to Orlando as effectively.
Florida has two commuter rail programs. Tri-Rail has 18 stations in South Florida, operating from simply north of West Palm Seaside south to Miami Worldwide Airport. A number of stations supply native bus routes that hook up with their closest downtowns. Tri-Rail additionally has a cease at Miami Worldwide Airport for optimum intermodal comfort. SunRail is Orlando’s commuter-rail system, with 18 stations operating from DeBary south to the Poinciana station in Kissimmee – offering a straightforward technique to discover all that Central Florida has to supply.
It’s exhausting to withstand the pleasure of touring in Florida by boat
Lined with white-sand seashores and turquoise waters, Florida is a boating utopia. Its principal cruise ports are among the many busiest on the earth, together with these in Jacksonville, Cape Canaveral, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami – all with simple transportation connections to go to close by cities. Cruise liners depart ceaselessly for locations within the Caribbean, Mexico and past, with journeys lasting from a weekend to a number of weeks.
Inside Florida, numerous ferry and water-taxi choices present tranquil and sometimes scenic journeys. The Yankee Freedom III ferry in Key West is the one public transportation possibility for accessing distant and delightful Dry Tortugas Nationwide Park, a seven-island park that’s 70 miles off the coast of the Florida Keys.
Water taxis are fashionable in areas with coastal and river terrains. You possibly can hail an aquatic trip with St. John’s River Taxi in Jacksonville, the Pirate Water Taxi in Tampa, the Naples Bay Water Shuttle, Fort Lauderdale’s Water Taxi and in Destin on the Panhandle.
For a splurge, boat rental and personal constitution all through the state additionally beckon. Be suggested that along with any hourly or every day rental charges, extra expenses for a captain’s companies, crew, gasoline, in a single day dockage and extra might apply. You’ll need to kind out as many charges as potential up entrance to keep away from sticker shock if you’re again on land.
Hit the open highway to find Florida by automobile
Florida’s roads run the gamut from State Street A1A – which hugs the Atlantic Ocean from Fernandina Seaside all the best way all the way down to Key West – to main highways. A number of of the state’s main interstates have tolls – together with the Florida Turnpike (Ocala to Homestead), the stretch of Interstate 75 between Miami and Naples and the Bee Line Categorical between Orlando and Cape Canaveral. As toll cubicles have turn into a factor of the previous, tolls are collected through radio tag or billed by mail, so should you’re renting a automobile, contemplate renting a tag too to keep away from additional charges.
Automotive leases are broadly out there all through the state to these 21 and older. (These below 25 should pay a surcharge.) All automobile renters in Florida are required to have a sound driver license from their state or nation of residence and could also be required to buy insurance coverage upon arrival. Should you don’t need to get behind the wheel, taxis and ride-share firms like Lyft and Uber function all through the state.
A number of cities and areas all through Florida have their very own shuttle or trolley programs as effectively. Notably, Gainesville has an autonomous, self-driving system that shuttles people alongside considered one of its principal streets. Trolleys all through the Sunshine State embody Clearwater’s Jolley Trolley, St Petersburg’s Beach Trolley and Tallahassee’s free StarMetro.
For exploring past a single city or area, buses stay a seamless possibility for these on a finances. Along with nationwide staple Greyhound, operators like FlixBus and GotoBus supply routes throughout the state.
No matter how you could navigate the state’s roads, anticipate heavier-than-usual congestion from October by means of April. This era is called “Snowbird Season,” when an inflow of oldsters from colder factors settle in for the winter to take pleasure in Florida’s hotter temperatures.
High 5 highway journeys in Florida
Accessible transportation in Florida
Florida caters effectively to these with accessibility needs. All through the state, activities and resources – including wheelchairs, vehicles and guides – are widely available. Worldwide vacationers can buy a disabled parking move for $15 to make use of throughout any Florida journey.
