journey

What are the Germans’ favorite destinations in the USA? It’s always the same names that come up: New York, California, Las Vegas – and Florida. The “Sunshine State“, as Florida officially calls itself, attracts tourists especially in the winter months with temperatures (mostly) above 20 degrees Celsius. Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa are major international airports; together with Fort Myers and West Palm Beach, that’s more than any other state has to offer.

Anyone who loves the loneliness of the Rocky Mountains or the vastness of California (certainly except Greater Los Angeles), Florida is definitely the wrong place. Florida is really crowded – 138 million tourists per 22 million inhabitants in 2022, and the figures are going up. First of all, it’s the sun that attracts so many visitors, accompanied by the mega amusement parks Walt Disney World (with over 50 million visitors annually) and Seaworld in Orlando or the Busch Gardens in Tampa. You will miss the amusement parks on our round trip – too loud, too expensive, too crowded. And besides, even driving bumper cars makes us sick.

However, we invite you to a great Florida tour that starts at Miami International Airport. After a night in Homestead, we head down via the so-called “Keys” to Key West, the southernmost point of the continental United States. The little town is flashy, colorful and most attractive – three hours of island hopping on the Overseas Highway are definitely worth it.

Next day’s top highlight is Everglades National Park. In the southern part of the park, we meet the first alligator before things get really exciting in Shark Valley on the Tamiami Highway. With rental bikes you can ride on a trail of approximately 24 kilometers which allows you to take pictures of the alligators from short distance. Sometimes the animals even lie in the middle of the path – scary, but great.