Florida Vacations, Planned by a Travel Agent Who Lives Here
The Florida Keys
Stacey Vacations plans Florida vacations from inside Florida — I live in Winter Haven, in the center of the state, and I never charge a planning fee. The Keys, the Gulf beaches, the Atlantic coast, and the theme parks are all home turf, and each one suits a different kind of trip.
The Florida Keys are the closest thing to the Caribbean you can drive to. The island chain is famous for its coral reefs — John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo was the first underwater park in the United States, and snorkelers and divers come from everywhere for it. Bahia Honda State Park, Marathon's Sombrero Beach, and Islamorada's Anne's Beach handle the beach days, while boating, fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding fill the rest.
At the end of the road, Key West is the southernmost city in the continental U.S. and has a personality all its own: the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, the streets of Old Town, the nightly sunset celebration at Mallory Square, and a food scene built on Key lime pie, conch fritters, fish tacos, and Key West pink shrimp.
Clearwater Beach
Clearwater Beach is the Gulf Coast at its most classic — a long stretch of soft white sand on warm, calm water that regularly lands on lists of America's best beaches. Pier 60 is the gathering point, with street performers, vendors, and a nightly Sunset Celebration as the sun drops into the Gulf.
Families add the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home to rescued dolphins and sea turtles, and day-trippers ferry over to Caladesi Island State Park for an undeveloped barrier island just minutes away. Dolphin cruises, deep-sea fishing charters, jet skis, and a beachfront lineup of seafood restaurants and casual cafes round it out — an easy, low-stress beach week, and a short drive from Orlando if you want parks and sand in one trip.
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach calls itself the "World's Most Famous Beach," and the claim has teeth: the hard-packed Atlantic sand is one of the few places anywhere you can drive a car on the beach. The Daytona International Speedway, home of the Daytona 500, anchors the town's racing identity with speedway tours, the Motorsports Hall of Fame, and events year-round.
Off the track, the Daytona Beach Boardwalk and Pier brings amusement rides, arcades, and funnel cakes; the Halifax River offers calm water for kayaking and boating; and the nightlife runs late along the beachfront. For a quieter afternoon, the Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse — Florida's tallest, and climbable — are both close by.
Rosemary Beach
Rosemary Beach, on the Panhandle's scenic 30A corridor, is Florida at its most polished. The planned community's West Indies- and New Orleans-inspired architecture, cobblestone streets, and courtyards feel closer to a European village than a beach town, set against powdery white sand and clear Gulf water.
The Town Square holds the boutiques, galleries, and restaurants; walking and biking trails thread through parks and preserves; and the area's rare coastal dune lakes are an ecosystem found in only a handful of places worldwide. Evenings bring live music and outdoor movies on the green. This is the pick for travelers who want a quiet, beautiful, walkable beach week rather than a boardwalk scene.
Miami
Miami is Florida's big-city beach vacation — the "Magic City" runs on Latin American energy, Atlantic beaches, and a nightlife that doesn't really stop. South Beach pairs its sand with the pastel Art Deco district; Little Havana serves Cuban food and music a few minutes inland; and the Wynwood Walls and the Pérez Art Museum Miami carry the city's huge art scene.
Shoppers work through Lincoln Road, Bal Harbour Shops, Bayside Marketplace, and the Design District, and the restaurant scene spans Caribbean, Latin, and just about everything else. Nature is closer than people think: Everglades National Park sits at the city's edge, where an airboat tour puts alligators and wading birds in front of you an hour after breakfast. Miami also happens to be a major cruise port, so I often pair a city stay with a sailing.
Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island, off Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast, is built for slowing down. Its east-west orientation and gentle currents make it one of the best shelling destinations in the world — beachcombers walk the tide line at dawn doing the famous "Sanibel stoop."
The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge covers much of the island with mangrove forests and wetlands full of herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills, and ospreys, explorable by kayak, paddleboard, or the wildlife drive. Strict low-rise building rules keep the island green and unhurried, bike paths run its length, and the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village preserves its early-settler story. Add fresh Gulf seafood and a slice of Key lime pie, and you have Florida's most restorative beach trip.
Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, Aulani, and Disneyland Paris — planned free by a Florida agent who's in the parks weekly or bi-weekly.
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