8
PLAN YOUR TRIP Welcome to Florida ........ 2 15 Top Experiences ........ 6 Need to Know ................. 14 What’s New ..................... 16 If You Like... ..................... 17 Month by Month ............. 21 Itineraries ........................ 24 Theme Park Trip Planner ............................ 30 Travel with Children ....... 37 Regions at a Glance ....... 42 YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions to help you put together your perfect trip UNDERSTAND FLORIDA Florida Today .................. 454 History ............................. 456 People & Culture ............ 465 Fine Art & Pink Flamingos........................ 470 A Florida Feast ................ 475 From Boots to Beaches .. 480 Swamp Thing .................. 485 A State Divided Ever since the controversial 2000 Bush-Gore resident 463), Florida politics has been almost evenly divided b ans and Democrats. This held true in 2010 when the T belief systems (% of population) Jewish 3 Protestant 40 Roman Catholic 26 Others 15 Nonreligious 16 75 would be White 1 w 16 would be Black N 2 would be Asian 6 w *According to the US Census Burea so are included in applicable race ca if Florida w 100 people 10,000 BC After crossing the Bering Strait from Siberia some 50,000 years earlier, humans arrive in Florida, hunting mastodon and saber-toothed tigers, at the end of the last ice age. AD 500 Indigenous peoples settle in year-round villages and begin farming, cultivating the ‘three sisters’ of corn, beans and squash, plus pumpkins, lemons and sunÁowers. P disc landing s Canave it an isla arou names ‘The Flo ‘Feas a Magic Kingdom, manatees are a tourist attraction, and developers long ago discovered how to get gold from a swa drain it. Florida’s modern history truly begins with the late-19th coons who dried the marshes, built railroads and resorts and lessly promoted Florida as an ‘emerald kingdom by southern succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Since then each e marked by wild-eyed speculation inspiring great tides of im from the 1920s real-estate mania to the 1950s orange boom Cuban exodus to the 1980s inÁux of Latin Americans – eac followed by a crash: the Great Depression, race riots, cartel c 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, and so on. Today, Florida’s boom-and-bust cycle continues. Whate makes for great storytelling. First Inhabitants &Seminoles Florida’s original inhabitants never organized into larg tribes. For some 11,500 years, they remained split into num Resorts & Mansions » Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry B Plant Museum, Tampa » Hotel Ponce de León, St Augustine » The Breakers, Palm Beach » Whitehall Mansion, Flagler Museum, Palm Beach » Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables Àand the legendary fountain of youth, and in a thousand and one ways, Florida still nur- tures these alluring, ever-hopeful fantasies. Sexy Swamps Exaggeration comes naturally to Florida. Within its hot, seductive, semitropical wilderness, alligators prowl beside every waterway, egg-white herons strut through reedy ponds, lovable manatees winter in crystal springs and sea turtles nest in summer. Osprey and eagles, dolphins and mighty tarpon, Áocks of roseate spoonbills, coral-reef forests, oceans of sawgrass: de- spite the best eՖorts of 21st-century hu- mans, overwhelming portions of Florida remain untamed, sometimes disconcert- Welcome to Florida All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go! TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET PAGE 2 PAGE 453 GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP Learn about the big picture, so you can make sense of what you see Miami Museums 333 Nightlife 333 Food 333 Museums & the Arts Culture vultures circle Miami day and night, which is almost a real-time performance-art piece. There are the major cultural institutions – the Bass, the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Lowe, the Museum of Contemporary Art – as well as vibrant gallery and arts di i lik W d d Nightlife Welcome to Lifestyle the Rich & Famous, w the tagline ‘champag wishes and caviar dr doesn’t come close to turing the indulgent, ligate love of beauty, sexy DJs, sweet mojit and good times that Miami nightlife. Of c it’s not all glam celeb spotting, drag shows bottle service. Authen Cuban dancehalls an hipster-free dive bars things somewhat rea Ethnic/Gourmet Purely in culinary ter Miami is the perfect storm, the ideal mix wealth, immigrants a agricultural abundan to produce a world-c foodie scene. At one are the trendy, celebr chef-driven laborator of gourmet perfectio and at the other are t hole-in-the-wall ethn eateries where somet as simple as rice and houlder eb & Sep) In South Florida, bruary has ideal dry eather, but no Spring eak craziness. With school in eptember, northern eaches/theme arks less crowded, Low Season (Oct–Dec) »Beach towns quiet until winter snowbirds arrive. »Hotel prices can drop from peak by 50%. »November to April dry season is best Miami GOSep–May Tampa Bay GOFeb–Apr Orlando GOSep–May St Augustine GOJun–Aug year-round wet & dry mers, mild winters ers, cold winters Your Daily Budget Budget less than $100 »Dorm beds/camping: $20–30 »Supermarket self- catering and cheap eats »Beaches are free »Avoid a car; stick to one place and bike Midrange $150– 250 »Budget to midrange hotels: $80–150 »Mix of in-room meals and seafood feasts »Target theme park/ beach shoulder seasons »Rental car: $40–50 Top End over $300 »High-season beach hotel/resort: $250–400 »Miami gourmet dinner (for two): e fair. February birthday, cul- h an incredible ght (www al.org). eed Weeks ng the Àrst f February, up olks rev their two major car Rolex 24 Hour aytona 500 – ll throttle. rida State r ry old, Tampa’s e Fair is classic March Beach resort high season all over, due to Spring Break. Modest temps, dry weather make ideal time to hike and camp. Last hurrah for manatees. 6 Spring Break Throughout March to mid-April, American colleges release students for one-week ‘spring breaks.’ Coeds pack Florida beaches for debaucherous drunken binges – but hey, it’s all good fun The biggies? Panama ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

PLAN 2 YOUR TRIP - Lonely Planetmedia.lonelyplanet.com/shop/pdfs/florida-6-contents.pdf · Florida has cast a sensual spell over travelers, and its surreal landscape, heavenly beaches

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PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Florida ........ 215 Top Experiences ........ 6Need to Know ................. 14What’s New ..................... 16If You Like... ..................... 17Month by Month ............. 21Itineraries ........................ 24Theme Park TripPlanner ............................ 30Travel with Children ....... 37Regions at a Glance ....... 42

YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT

Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions

to help you put together your perfect trip

UNDERSTAND FLORIDA

Florida Today .................. 454History ............................. 456People & Culture ............ 465Fine Art & Pink Flamingos........................ 470A Florida Feast ................ 475From Boots to Beaches .. 480Swamp Thing .................. 485

A State Divided Ever since the controversial 2000 Bush-Gore resident

463 ), Florida politics has been almost evenly divided bans and Democrats. This held true in 2010 when the T

belief systems(% of population)

Jewish3

Protestant

40

Roman Catholic

26

Others

15

Nonreligious

16

75 would be White 1 w16 would be Black N2 would be Asian 6 w*According to the US Census Bureaso are included in applicable race ca

if Florida w100 people

10,000 BC After crossing the Bering Strait from

Siberia some 50,000 years earlier, humans

arrive in Florida, hunting mastodon and

saber-toothed tigers, at the end of the last

ice age.

AD 500 Indigenous peoples settle in year-round

villages and begin farming, cultivating

the ‘three sisters’ of corn, beans

and squash, plus pumpkins, lemons and

sun owers.

Pdisc

landing sCanave

it an islaarou

names‘The Flo

‘Feas

a Magic Kingdom, manatees are a tourist attraction, anddevelopers long ago discovered how to get gold from a swadrain it.

Florida’s modern history truly begins with the late-19thcoons who dried the marshes, built railroads and resorts andlessly promoted Florida as an ‘emerald kingdom by southernsucceeded beyond their wildest dreams. Since then each emarked by wild-eyed speculation inspiring great tides of imfrom the 1920s real-estate mania to the 1950s orange boom Cuban exodus to the 1980s in ux of Latin Americans – eacfollowed by a crash: the Great Depression, race riots, cartel c1992’s Hurricane Andrew, and so on.

Today, Florida’s boom-and-bust cycle continues. Whatemakes for great storytelling.

First Inhabitants & SeminolesFlorida’s original inhabitants never organized into largtribes. For some 11,500 years, they remained split into num

Resorts & Mansions

» Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry B Plant Museum, Tampa » Hotel Ponce

de León, St Augustine » The Breakers,

Palm Beach » Whitehall

Mansion, Flagler Museum, Palm Beach » Biltmore Hotel,

Coral Gables

Seaside Fantasy Maybe there’s no mystery to what makes the Florida peninsula so intoxicating. Beaches as ne and sweet as powdered sugar, warm teal waters, rustling mangroves: all conspire to melt our workaday selves. We come to Florida to be soothed, to let go – of worries and winter, of inhibitions and reality. For many, it’s merely the desire for an indulgent beachy getaway of naps, swimming, seafood and rosy sunsets. Others seek the more ex-citable hedonism of South Beach, Spring Break and Key West. Still more hope to lose themselves within the perfected phan-tasmagorical realms of Walt Disney World and Orlando’s theme parks. As for Ponce, he traipsed the peninsula seeking mermaids

and the legendary fountain of youth, and in a thousand and one ways, Florida still nur-tures these alluring, ever-hopeful fantasies.

Sexy Swamps Exaggeration comes naturally to Florida. Within its hot, seductive, semitropical wilderness, alligators prowl beside every waterway, egg-white herons strut through reedy ponds, lovable manatees winter in crystal springs and sea turtles nest in summer. Osprey and eagles, dolphins and mighty tarpon, ocks of roseate spoonbills, coral-reef forests, oceans of sawgrass: de-spite the best e orts of 21st-century hu-mans, overwhelming portions of Florida remain untamed, sometimes disconcert-

Ever since Ponce de León, Florida has cast a sensual spell over travelers, and its surreal landscape, heavenly beaches and prehistoric beasts still quicken the pulse and inflame the imagination.

Welcome to Florida

“All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!”TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET

PAGE

2

PAGE

453GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP

Learn about the big picture, so you

can make sense of what you see

Miami Museums Nightlife Food

Museums & the Arts Culture vultures circle Miami day and night, which is almost a real-time performance-art piece. There are the major cultural institutions – the Bass, the Adrienne Arsht Center, the Lowe, the Museum of Contemporary Art – as well as vibrant gallery and arts di i lik W d d

Nightlife Welcome to Lifestylethe Rich & Famous, wthe tagline ‘champagwishes and caviar drdoesn’t come close toturing the indulgent,ligate love of beauty, sexy DJs, sweet mojitand good times that Miami nightlife. Of cit’s not all glam celebspotting, drag showsbottle service. AuthenCuban dancehalls anhipster-free dive barsthings somewhat rea

Ethnic/Gourmet Purely in culinary terMiami is the perfect storm, the ideal mix wealth, immigrants aagricultural abundanto produce a world-cfoodie scene. At one are the trendy, celebrchef-driven laboratorof gourmet perfectioand at the other are thole-in-the-wall ethneateries where sometas simple as rice and

houlder eb & Sep)In South Florida, bruary has ideal dry

eather, but no Spring eak craziness.

With school in eptember, northern eaches/theme arks less crowded,

Low Season (Oct–Dec)

» Beach towns quiet until winter snowbirds arrive.

» Hotel prices can drop from peak by 50%.

» November to April dry season is best

#

#

#

#

MiamiGO Sep–May

Tampa BayGO Feb–Apr

OrlandoGO Sep–May

St AugustineGO Jun–Aug

year-roundwet & dry mers, mild wintersers, cold winters

Your Daily Budget Budget less than

$100 » Dorm beds/camping:

$20–30

» Supermarket self-catering and cheap eats

» Beaches are free

» Avoid a car; stick to one place and bike

Midrange

$150–250

» Budget to midrange hotels: $80–150

» Mix of in-room meals and seafood feasts

» Target theme park/beach shoulder seasons

» Rental car: $40–50

Top End

over $300

» High-season beach hotel/resort: $250–400

» Miami gourmet dinner (for two):

e fair. February birthday, cul-h an incredible ght (wwwal.org).

eed Weeksng the rst f February, up olks rev their two major car Rolex 24 Hour aytona 500 – ll throttle.

rida State rry old, Tampa’s

e Fair is classic

March Beach resort high season all over, due to Spring Break. Modest temps, dry weather make ideal time to hike and camp. Last hurrah for manatees.

��6 Spring �Break Throughout March

to mid-April, American colleges release students for one-week ‘spring breaks.’ Coeds pack Florida beaches for debaucherous drunken binges – but hey, it’s all good fun The biggies? Panama

Looking for other travel resources?

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Lonely Planet in numbers70 languages spoken by our writers

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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Looking for other travel resources?

LONELYPLANET.COMFor travel information, advice, tips & digital chapters

MAGAZINEFor travel stories, inspiration & ideaslonelyplanet.com/magazine

EBOOKSGuidebooks for your readerlonelyplanet.com/ebooks

APPSLocation-based guides for the streetlonelyplanet.com/mobile

twitter.com/lonelyplanet

facebook.com/lonelyplanet

lonelyplanet.com/newsletter

STAY IN TOUCH lonelyplanet.com/contact

AUSTRALIA Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011%03 8379 8000, fax 03 8379 8111

USA 150 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607%510 250 6400, toll free 800 275 8555, fax 510 893 8572

UK Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ%020 8433 1333, fax 020 8702 0112

Paper in this book is certified against the Forest Stewardship Council™ standards. FSC™ promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.

Get the right guides for your trip

DISCOVER• Best-of• Photo-packed• Inspirational

COUNTRY & CITY• The original• Comprehensive• Adventurous

Lonely Planet in numbers70 languages spoken by our writers

12 seconds pass between posts on our Thorn Tree travel forum

100,000,000 Lonely Planet guidebooks sold, and still counting

190+ countries covered by a Lonely Planet guide

TRIPS• Themed itineraries• Inspirational &

practical ideas• Local experts

THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Jeff Campbell, Jennifer Denniston, Adam Karlin, Emily Matchar

Miamip48

ThePanhandle

p417 NortheastFlorida

p318

Tampa Bay &Southwest Florida

p361 SoutheastFloridap186

The SpaceCoastp305

Orlando &Walt Disney

Worldp227

The Evergladesp136

Florida Keys& Key West

p153

YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE

In-depth reviews, detailed listings

and insider tips

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A–Z ................. 494Transportation ............... 504Index ................................ 513Map Legend .................... 527

VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO

HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP

ON THE ROAD

PAGE

46

PAGE

493

GETTING THERE & AWAY Nearly all international travelers to Florida arrive by air, while most US travelers prefer air or car. Getting to Florida by bus is a distant hird option, and by train an

en more distant fourth. or regional hubs in Flori-

ude Miami (p 133 ), Fort ale (p 197 ), Orlando

Tampa (p 373 ).and rail

online

B.brCay.caymEl Al (IberiaKLM (KLan (LALufthan.lufthansaQantas.com)Swiss lines (Varig(RG; Viv

Transportation

Look out for these icons:

o Our author’s recommendation S A green or

sustainable option F No payment required

MIAMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

THE EVERGLADES . . 136EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Tamiami Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . 137Homestead to Flamingo Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

FLORIDA KEYS & KEY WEST . . . . . . . . . 153UPPER KEYS. . . . . . . . . . . . 157Key Largo & Tavernier . . . . 157Islamorada . . . . . . . . . . . . .160Long Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163MIDDLE KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . 163Grassy Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163Marathon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165LOWER KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . 167Big Pine, Bahia Honda & Looe Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168Sugarloaf & Boca Chica Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170KEY WEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA . . . . . . . . . . 186GOLD COAST . . . . . . . . . . . 187Hollywood & Dania Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Fort Lauderdale . . . . . . . . .190Lauderdale-by-the-Sea & Deerfield Beach . . . . . . . . .198

Boca Raton . . . . . . . . . . . . .199Delray Beach . . . . . . . . . . . 203Lake Worth . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Palm Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . 208West Palm Beach . . . . . . . .213TREASURE COAST . . . . . .220John D Macarthur State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Jupiter & Jupiter Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220Stuart & Around . . . . . . . . 223Fort Pierce . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

ORLANDO &WALT DISNEY WORLD . . . . . . . . . . . . 227ORLANDO & AROUND . . . 231WALT DISNEY WORLD . . . 254UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289SEAWORLD, DISCOVERY COVE & AQUATICA . . . . . .299SeaWorld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299Discovery Cove . . . . . . . . . 302Aquatica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

THE SPACE COAST 305Kennedy Space Center . . 307Cocoa Beach & Around . . 309Canaveral National Seashore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314Melbourne & Indialantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315Sebastian Inlet & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316Vero Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . .316

On the Road

See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book.

NORTHEAST FLORIDA . . . . . . . . . . 318ATLANTIC COAST . . . . . . . 319Daytona Beach . . . . . . . . . .319Flagler Beach & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328Fort Matanzas National Monument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328St Augustine . . . . . . . . . . . 328Jacksonville . . . . . . . . . . . . 339Jacksonville Area Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343Talbot & Fort George Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345Amelia Island . . . . . . . . . . 346NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349Blue Spring State Park . . 350Cassadaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350DeLand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351Ocala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352Ocala National Forest . . . 354Gainesville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355Around Gainesville . . . . . . 359

TAMPA BAY & SOUTHWEST FLORIDA . . . . . . . . . . 361TAMPA BAY AREA . . . . . . .364Tampa Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364Hillsborough River State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375St Petersburg . . . . . . . . . . .376St Pete Beach & Barrier Island Beaches . . . . . . . . . 383Clearwater Beach . . . . . . . 386

SOUTH OF TAMPA . . . . . . . 389Sarasota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389Myakka River State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397Fort Myers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399Fort Myers Beach . . . . . . . 403Pine Island & Matlacha . . 405Sanibel & Captiva Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407Naples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414NORTH OF TAMPA . . . . . . . 414Tarpon Springs . . . . . . . . . .415Weeki Wachee Springs . . .415Homosassa Springs . . . . . .415Crystal River . . . . . . . . . . . .416

THE PANHANDLE . . . 417GULF COAST . . . . . . . . . . . .420Pensacola & Pensacola Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420Perdido Key . . . . . . . . . . . . 429Destin & Fort Walton Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430Beaches of South Walton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432Panama City Beach . . . . . 434Cape San Blas & Port St Joe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436Apalachicola . . . . . . . . . . . 437St Vincent Island & Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439St George Island . . . . . . . . 439Inland Panhandle . . . . . . . .441

TALLAHASSEE & THE BIG BEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442Tallahassee . . . . . . . . . . . . 442Around Tallahassee . . . . . 447Steinhatchee . . . . . . . . . . . 449Manatee Springs State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450Cedar Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

ApalacheeBay

G U L F O F

M E X I C O

RiverApalachicola

84ºW

Havana

85ºW86ºWDothan

87ºW

CityPanama

Apalachicola

Fort WaltonBeach

Pensacola

PensacolaBeach

PanamaCity Beach

89ºW

Biloxi

88ºW

Mobile

TALLAHASSEE

State ParkGrayton Beach

ApalachicolaNational Forest

31ºN

30ºN

29ºN

28ºN

27ºN

26ºN

25ºN

84ºW85ºW86ºW87ºW88ºW

LakeSeminole

Cen

tral

Tim

e Z

one

Eas

tern

Tim

e Z

one

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Apalachicola

Crystal River

St Petersburg

Sanibel Island

Everglades National Park

Key West

Pristine white-sand beaches,teal waters (p425)

Mecca for sweet Florida oysters(p437)

manatees (p416)

Artful encounters at the Salvador Dalí Museum (p376)

legendary shelling (p407)Upscale beach getaway,

the gators (p137)Kayak in the swamp with

Kayak and swim with wintering

Everyone’s welcome at thisparty (p171)

› Florida

60 miles100 km

00

0

400ft

ELEVATION

MISSISSIPPI

ALABAMA

O C E A N

A T L A N T I C

BayTampa

Florida

e y sK

r i adFl o

Bay

SJt o

n's Riv

reh

ver

Ri

anwne

eSu

FernandinaBeach

Jacksonville

St Augustine

83ºW

Gainesville

82ºW

Daytona Beach

Orlando

Cocoa Beach

Suwannee

Cedar Key

HomosassaSprings

Crystal River

Tampa

Clearwater

Bradenton

Sarasota

St Pete BeachSt Petersburg

Lakeland

Ocala

Palm Beach

Delray Beach

Dania Beach

Boca Raton

Fort Lauderdale

BeachMiami

FloridaCity

Flamingo

Miami

Key Largo

Venice

FortMyers

Naples

KeyWest

NationalOcala

NationalCanaveral

Seashore

Big CypressNationalPreserve

SwampSanctuary

Corkscrew

Coral ReefState Park

John PennekampEvergladesNational Park

Dry TortugasNational Park

Forest

31ºN

30ºN

79ºW80ºW81ºW

29ºN

27ºN

26ºN

25ºN

80ºW81ºW82ºW83ºW

LakeOkeechobee

IslandAmelia

CaladesiIsland

Island

IslandSanibel

Captiva

egl

ver

ad

The Valley

Shark

E

s

ParkFort DeSoto

rn

'sTu

Flo ir ad

e

(toll)

pik

Alligator Alley

Top Experiences ›

Flo

rida

Stra

itsof

t AA

Ri

RR

aiaa nesvillenn

C

St Augustine

Gainesville

Ocala National Forest

Cocoa Beach

Walt Disney World

Miami

Canaveral National Seashore

John Pennekamp Coral ReefState Park

The nation’s oldest city is a time warp (p328)

Indie music scene that really rocks (p355)

crystal springs (p354)Outdoors paradise of hiking and

dolphins (p314)

(p309)Florida’s best surf scene

theme park (p254)

and nightlife (p48)

Kayak with manatees and

Chic, sexy, Latin-spiced culture

The world’s grandest

Coral reef cities (p157)

FortPierce

Melbourne

IslandAnastasia

CapeCanaveral

GEORGIA

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their fi rst travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offi ces in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

Jeff Campbell Coordinating Author, Tampa Bay & Southwest Florida, Understanding Florida Jeff Campbell is the great-grandson of Florida pioneers who cleared the pines, mined the phosphate and paved the roads in central Florida. As a child, he remembers winter nights driving with his grandfather through the orange groves to ‘light the pots,’ searching for alligators in the local lake and riding Space Mountain the year it opened. As an adult, he’s been a travel writer for Lonely Planet since 2000. He

was the coordinating author of Florida 5, as well as of Southwest USA; Zion & Bryce Canyon Na-tional Parks; Hawaii; New York, Washington & Mid-Atlantic Trips; and three editions of USA.

Jennifer Denniston Orlando & Walt Disney World, The Space Coast Jennifer caught the travel bug at age nine, when her parents took the family on a 10-week trip through Europe, and has since traveled independently across fi ve continents. She and her hus-band, a geology professor, spend three or four months every year road-tripping with their daughters Anna (10) and Harper (8). They live in Iowa, where Jennifer earned her Masters degree in American Studies and taught writing at the Uni-

versity of Iowa. She has written for Lonely Planet for many years.

Adam Karlin Miami, The Everglades, Florida Keys & Key West Adam grew up, as so many Americans do, with grandparents in Florida, and fondly remembers many a De-cember snowbirding in West Palm Beach. Later in life he worked as a reporter for the Key West Citizen before being hired by Lonely Planet to cover South Florida in all her myriad weirdness. Since then he’s written or contributed to over two dozen guidebooks for the company, almost always in tropical places: the South-

ern USA, Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia. It’s a living. Follow Adam at www.walkonfi ne.com.

Emily Matchar Southeast Florida, Northeast Florida, The Panhandle Like 99% of Americans, Emily’s fi rst experience with Florida was a childhood trip to Disney World, and she’s been eagerly returning to the state ever since. As a native Southerner, she has a particular affi nity with the Panhandle, where, on this past trip, she ate more fried oysters than is probably recommended. When she’s not traipsing the globe, Emily lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and writes about culture, travel and

food for a number of magazines and newspapers. She’s contributed to more than a dozen Lonely Planet guidebooks.

Read more about Jeff at:lonelyplanet.com/members/jeff campbell

Read more about Jennifer at:lonelyplanet.com/members/jenniferdenniston

Read more about Adam at:lonelyplanet.com/members/adamkarlin

Read more about Emily at:lonelyplanet.com/members/emilymatchar

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