If you had told me that northern Florida was secretly a tropical oasis full of crystal clear springs and wild beauty, I would have been absolutely shell-shocked. But after road tripping from Tennessee all the way down to the Everglades for spring break, I couldn’t believe how much I’d fall in love with northern Florida, and now I’m dying to return to adventure and explore there even more on a future vacation. Northern Florida is somehow under-the-radar, likely overshadowed by the beaches of South Florida and Disneyland, but it is well worth a visit in its own right. 

In this northern Florida travel guide I’ll be sharing an adventurous, outdoorsy take on what things to do, where to eat, where to stay, and why underrated northern Florida and not Miami should be your next spring break destination!

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Crystal clear water where you can swim, float, dive, paddleboard, and more; Ginnie Springs is a must-visit destination. You can even go camping to extend your stay in this stunning location. It is a popular spot for scuba divers, as there is the famous Devil’s Eye, a deep blue hole you can dive down into.

The only downside is that it is privately owned, so the costs of visiting can rack up quickly: $15 admission for each individual plus a $12 rental each for a paddleboard. That being said, I thought it was well worth it for a full day of adventuring. The upside of it being privately owned is that they have a ton of facilities: a shop, rentals, bathrooms, and showers.

If you want to enjoy beautiful waters at a half of the price, go swimming at Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park, which is owned by the state and will only cost $6 per car to visit. There are also bathrooms and showers here plus a few picnic benches (with campgrounds too!), so bring some camp chairs and prepare to spend a full day by the waterside.

There is a separate swimming area that is set aside, but past that you can go kayaking or paddle boarding up the river. We didn’t get a chance to enjoy this section on the river on our trip, but I definitely want to come back with my own gear and explore more.

One of the most spectacular parts about northern Florida is how wild it is; a shocking contrast to the well-developed south. Forests and wildlife areas abound, and the best part is you don’t have to go all the way down to the Everglades to see some spectacular birds.

We took a scenic drive through Ocala National Forest and then spent a morning doing the Black Point Wildlife Drive, a seven-mile long auto birding tour at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It cost $10 to visit the park, and I have to say I honestly enjoyed it so much more than the Everglades! Drive slowly, put your window down to listen to the bird calls, and look out for gators as well as plentiful Roseate Spoonbills, Anhingas, Wood Storks, White Ibises, Tricolor Herons, Glossy Ibises, and more!

No visit to Florida is complete without seeing the beach, so either pair your scenic drive through Ocala National Forest with heading east to Daytona Beach, or after you finish birding at Merritt Island NWR spend your sunset relaxing on beautiful Cocoa Beach.

Cocoa Beach features beautiful white sands and a pier with shops (with lots of ice cream shops!). You can find parking right by the pier, which made it super easy to visit and enjoy. I loved just watching the waves crash, it was such a soothing place, and definitely less busy than the beaches in the south!

For the ultimate bucket list experience, visit Devil’s Den and snorkel or scuba dive in a CAVE (!!!). It looked and felt like a Mexican cenote, and it was easily one of the most stunning places in all of northern Florida.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to visit at first, because this is another privately owned place and it is NOT for casual swimming; you must pay a $15 admission fee and then either bring your own gear or pay $10 for a snorkel rental. But I am so happy a few locals talked me into it because it was just incredible – you can see little fish and sometimes even a turtle in the freshwater! When you go, please be super respectful of the divers, because this is actually a scuba diving training center and not set up to be an Instagram hotspot, and it gets quite packed so try to avoid the peak times.

There are soooo so many incredible state parks in northern Florida; I feel like we barely scratched the surface. For the price of just a few dollars, you can hike, swim, float, camp, and more in jaw-dropping, tropical landscapes. I saw some of the bluest water I have ever seen in my life, and I honestly could not believe these locations existed within the United States.

Florida is well-known for their alligators and crocodiles, and by now you probably know how amazing their birds are as well. But if you’re lucky and arrive at the right time of year, you can actually see manatees! These herbivorous gentle giants have been known to swim right up to kayakers, and they are affectionately known as “sea cows.” In Crystal River, you can actually swim with the manatees – this tour from Get Your Guide will allow you to be in the water with the manatees, teach you how to ethically observe them, and you’ll get a chance to learn more about the area too during the boat ride there.

Visit some of the local springs in March through September (they tend to come later to northern Florida than southern Florida where the waters are warmer) to see these incredible creatures. If you see one in the water while you are kayaking, swimming, or paddle boarding, please still maintain a safe distance because all wildlife is unpredictable, no matter how friendly (and don’t ever feed wildlife!).

How long should you visit northern Florida for?? I think 5-7 days is just perfect, so you can fit it perfectly into your spring break or take a quick summer trip. But if you have more time, here are a few options to tack onto your northern Florida travels:

• Venture west to explore the beaches near Pensacola
• Take a scenic drive through Ocala National Forest and keep going east to spend sunset at Daytona Beach
• Head down south and take a boat tour of the the Everglades – here are a couple of tour options to increase your chance of seeing some amazing wildlife
• Explore even more springs: Rainbow Springs State Park, Madison Blue Springs State Park, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, and many more!
• Spend time in Orlando on your way in or out of town and check out sealife at the Orlando Aquarium
• Go camping, visit more state parks, or go on a full southern road trip up the state and into Georgia, South Carolina, and beyond!

Northern Florida is a large swath of land north of Orlando. Depending on what you want to do with your trip, you can fly into Jacksonville International Airport on the east coast, fly into and drive north from Orlando International Airport, or start more in the middle of northern Florida by flying into Tallahassee International Airport. A rental car is a must, and if you head down south at all, be aware that many freeways have tolls.

The best time to visit Northern Florida in the spring is March to May. In June, precipitation levels rise, and earlier in April can be stormy and rainy as well. From March to May the weather will be pleasant in the high 50s to high 80s (Fahrenheit), but if you want to visit the springs in the warmer summer months to swim, August to October the heat and humidity will be more managable. For a fall trip, September to November is a great time to visit as the summer crowds will have died down greatly.

•  Great Outdoors Restaurant: close to Devils’s Den, a perfect lunch spot with an outdoor patio
• Swampy’s: located in Ocala close to Ginnie Springs and Gilchrist Springs, and has an incredible river view
• Jazzys Mainely Lobster-Seafood: located in Cocoa Beach and home to absolutely killer lobster rolls
• Merritt Island Pancake House: perfect breakfast stop post-birding on Merritt Island
• Cedar River Seafood: because no trip to Florida is complete without stopping for some seafood!

• Coldwater Gardens: glamping and even a treehouse (!) in northwest Florida
• Best Western Gateway Grand: features a pool and is centrally located to visit many of the springs, in middle-north Florida in Gainsville
• Radisson Resort at the Port: has one of the most incredible pools around, located northeast Florida just north of Cocoa Beach
• Flamingo Inn Beachfront: incredible ocean views from the pool, located in northeast Florida in Daytona Beach
• Mystic Dunes Resort: located in Orlando, this is a great place to start or end your trip – close to the airport, beautiful pool and grounds – or you could stay here the entire time!
• Want more options? Check out more options with Tinggly here – Tinggly is an experience gift; we used this Weekend Getaway in Florida box to book a stay at the Mystic Dunes Resort like I did or at another hotel!

• Mosquitoes: mosquitoes can carry a number of diseases and sometimes appear as early as February, but are most common in the warm and humid summer months. Make sure you bring plenty of bug spray to protect yourselves, and keep in mind which sprays are safe to have in the freshwater springs.
• Humidity: from June to September, the humidity in Florida is quite high, with August being the worst month at an average of 71%, so keep that in mind that it will make hot days feel even hotter.
• Sun protection: Florida is called the sunshine state for a reason! Definitely bring and wear sunscreen, a broad spectrum with at least SPF 15, and reapply every two hours, or after swimming. I would recommend buying reef-safe suncreen; while there are no reefs in the springs these sunscreens are likely to be better for the health of the freshwater ecosystem.
• Tolls: if you drive south or possibly on your drive to/from the airports, keep in mind many freeways have tolls. Some you stop and pull off to pay (CASH ONLY) but most take an image of your license plate and send a bill to you in the mail. If you are visiting for a longer period of time, you might want to look into getting a Sun Pass.

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