We spent 2 weeks in Florida in early November. It was the first trip to the US for me and the kids. Tomasz has been to the other side of the ocean many times, but never to Florida, so it was a great new adventure for all of us.

I have already written about the conditions of entry to the USA HERE

OUR ROUTE

1. We spent the first 3 days in Miami, and you can read about what we did there HERE
   • Walk through the financial district of Brickell and Downtown
   • Miami Beach: Ocean Drive, Art Deco District and colorful lifeguard towers on the beach
   • Wynwood, a colorful neighborhood known for its street art and Mexican tacos
2. We drove the entire route along the Florida Keys, all the way to Key West.
   • On the way we stopped at Marathon Island on Sombrero Beach.
   • In Key West, we walked from the most southernmost point in the USA to the lighthouse, Hemingway’s house (which we did not visit due to the price) and ate delicious ice cream at Flamingo Crossing
3. We have visited the Everglades National Park, where we went on airboat trip looking for alligators! You can read about the details HERE
4. On our way north we made a quick stop in West Palm Beach where we met up with my school friend and her family!
5. The next 2 days we relaxed in St.Pete. Beach, pool, beach, pool….
6. We visited the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, details HERE.
7. We admired manatees at Homosassa Springs and went kayaking on the Weeki Wachee river. Details HERE.
8. We spent 3 days in Orlando, of which 2 days at Disney World, which will surely remain in the memory of children for a long time! Details HERE.
9. The last day was a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, which for me was one of the best attractions in Florida. We even saw a rocket launch! Details HERE.

Below is a map of our route. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly how many miles (kilometers) we drove, because we forgot to check in the car at the end, but more or less it’s definitely over 1,450 miles (over 2,333 km). These blue dots are the places we wanted to visit. We managed to visit most of them, except of course around Cape Coral and Fort Myers, because it was there that Hurricane Ian hit in September.

CAR

We rented a car for 2 weeks. Although Americans complain about high fuel prices, for us it was the only relatively cheap thing in the USA. For $40 we had a full tank of gas, which is absolutely impossible in Sweden. We had the car unusually rented through Turo applications (rental for days from a private person) and it worked very well.

ACCOMMODATION

All accommodation, as always, we had booked through Booking.com. I have to admit that despite the different standards of the hotels we stayed in, the beds were very comfortable everywhere. And the important thing is that clearly in the USA double beds are standard in rooms, so it was perfect for us. For the first time in a long time, we had no problem finding accommodation for 4 people! I understand that with older children, it will not work, but ours, for now, sleep together without whining.

What surprised me were the bathrooms, specifically the tubs/showers. There were bathtubs everywhere and the showerheads were fixed (i.e. there were no showerheads with a hose and you couldn’t adjust the height). It’s supposedly standard in the US, but it’s new to me 😊

Hotel breakfasts in the USA are really terrible. Before leaving, I didn’t believe Tomasz that it could be so bad, but unfortunately it can. Not only did we get cheese and ham only in the first hotel, but everything was sweet and artificial. White toast bread, inedible scrambled eggs, peanut butter, the ingredients of which are far too long, breakfast cereals so sweet that even Adam refused to eat them. It is true that for the children it was a real attraction to make waffles every day (Gabriela mastered the waffle maker), but the fact that they did not have a decent sauce or jam destroyed the effect a bit. In addition, apart from one hotel, we were provided with plastic (or styrofoam) plates, cups and cutlery everywhere. Even in 4*Hilton! Can you imagine the amount of plastic we left behind after every meal? Horrible….

The hotels we stayed in are:

1. Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Miami Downtown/ Brickell – very nice, good location, good breakfast for the USA
2. Fairway Inn Florida City Homestead Everglades – a typical American motel. Just average.
3. St. Pete Beach Suites – our favorite spot. Close to the beach, 2 swimming pools, nice studios, clean. In addition, it is possible to rent bicycles and beach equipment (including toys) for free.
4. Holiday Inn Express Crystal River – good hotel, location was ok for us, but we actually drove everywhere. Clean, nice rooms.
5. Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Lake Buena Vista in Orlando – the hotel has its glory days behind it, but it had a very attractive price. A large room, actually an apartment with a kitchen. Considering that we slept there for 4 nights, we needed this space.
6. Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Lake Okeechobee – fortunately, we only slept there on the way to the airport and I’m glad I didn’t have to stay there any longer. i.e. the beds were comfortable and it was reasonably clean, but the atmosphere was average…

WHAT DID WE LIKE?

Honestly, I think it was one of our best long trips (so far). For me in the lead with Oman and Thailand. I liked both the architecture and the vibe of Miami, the beautiful beaches we visited, the nature in the Everglades (plus airboat trip) and around Crystal River and Homosassa (plus kayaking), the madness at Disney World and the fantastic Kennedy Space Center at the end. The only thing that didn’t blow me away was the Florida Keys, but that’s probably because we spent too much time sitting in the car.

Children as the top 3 attractions mention Disney World (mostly Animal Kingdom), sunbathing in St. Pete and Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park. But if you ask them carefully, they seem to have liked everything. There was practically no whining or complaining, so we probably managed to achieve a good balance so that everyone was happy 😊

WHAT WE DID NOT LIKE AND WHAT DID SURPRISE US?

1. Ubiquitous plastic and total lack of care for the environment. Already 4 years ago, being in Cambodia, I remember when there was a big discussion about plastic straws and then paper or metal straws began to appear. So how much was my surprise when it turned out that in the USA we got plastic plates and cutlery for breakfast. Plus, disposable plastic bags in supermarkets. I felt like in Poland 15 years ago, when the ladies at the cash registers put 2 products into separate bags. Horrifying!
2. Reminders to fasten seatbelts in the car, turn on the lights, etc – seriously? In 2022, people need road signs to remind them that seat belts are mandatory?
3. Motorcyclists without helmets in the Florida Keys – another issue that surprised us. In Asia, we were not shocked, but in the USA – yes.
4. Advertisements for private health care, insurance and lawyers on the radio and on billboards. That’s pretty much the only ad there is. Clinics miraculously curing cancer, aggressive lawyers who will help you get compensation, etc. Seriously, not my vibe….
5. Problems with electrical devices… Tomasz has been to the USA many times, so of course we knew that our plugs did not fit the local sockets and we were prepared for that. But he didn’t mention that the voltage in American contacts is different than in ours… So what was my surprise when it turned out that my hair dryer didn’t work. Then I read that mobile phones and laptops have built-in transformers that deal with voltage changes, and that’s why Tomasz never noticed this problem before. And I didn’t do my research before the trip. Fortunately, the toothbrush charger somehow worked, but the charges lasted for 2 days, not a week as normal. So don’t pack hair dryers or razors, because you won’t use them anyway 🙂