Florida

Located in central Florida, Orlando is the honeypot that draws most visitors to Florida due to its incredible theme parks. In these elaborate amusement kingdoms you can explore the immersive worlds of your favourite movies and shows, fly through the air on rollercoasters, zip down waterslides and enjoy memorable photo opportunities with characters. However, Orlando isn’t all about theme parks, as the variety of attractions has grown to include world-famous restaurants, high-end outlet shopping malls, fabulous golf courses and amazing sport and concert venues.

Surrounded by water on three sides Florida is blessed with wonderful beaches to suit all tastes and budgets. The Gulf of Mexico on Florida's west coast is perfect for families with soft powdery sands and shallower warmer waters. Resorts include popular St Petersburg and Clearwater Beach where you'll find lots going on; travelling further south brings you to the more exclusive Sarasota and Longboat Key; sophisticated Naples with its superb beaches, boutiques and restaurants; charming Fort Myers and shell-laden Sanibel Island. The biggest city, though, is Tampa which has a thriving downtown, an historic old quarter and Busch Gardens® theme park.

Florida's Space Coast, located in east Central Florida, is just 45 minutes from Orlando and includes Cocoa Beach, known for its surfing. Also not to be missed is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, where you can experience the drama of spaceflight and if your timing is right, even watch a live launch!

Further down the east is Florida's Gold Coast with its wide expanses of sand and stronger surf thanks to the Atlantic Ocean, so perfect for surfing. Resorts include exclusive Palm Beach; fashionable Fort Lauderdale with its superb beaches and 165 miles of inland waterways; and Miami with its beautifully restored Art Deco district, superb 1930s architecture and world-famous South Beach. Continue south and you'll reach the chain-link islands known as the Keys, which begin in Key Largo, lead to Islamorada and Marathon and finally reach Key West, the USA's southernmost point.

If time allows, don’t miss the Everglades, a vast swampy wilderness covering much of Florida’s southern tip. Home to over 350 bird species, this is where alligators prowl the waterways and gentle manatees cruise the shallow springs and mangroves.