11 “Tourist Traps” in Florida Worth Visiting At Least Once

The Best Things to Do in Florida

Nothing screams ‘Florida tourist’ like a sunburned family in matching t-shirts blocking sidewalks from Miami to Orlando.

But before you roll your eyes at those Mickey ears and ‘Salt Life’ decals, hear us out. some of these tourist magnets actually deliver experiences worth braving the crowds, costs, and questionable fashion choices.

Here’s our rundown of Florida attractions that—despite their postcard status—actually don’t suck.

Magic Kingdom

Dropping obscene amounts of cash to stand in line for hours in swamp-like humidity sounds like punishment, not vacation.

And yet… there’s something undeniably magical about walking down Main Street toward that fairy-tale castle, churro in hand, that hits different than any other theme park experience.

The park has mastered the art of separating you from your money, but watching the fireworks explode over Cinderella Castle while the kid next to you loses their absolute mind is weirdly worth it.

Everglades National Park

This 1.5-million-acre swamp is basically dinosaur country, and the airboat tours might scream ‘tourist,’ but there’s nothing manufactured about watching a 12-foot gator slide silently through murky water five feet from your face.

The Everglades is Old Florida at its finest, aka a vast wilderness that will make you forget about the high-rise hell of coastal development just miles away.

Skip the roadside gator wrestling shows and opt for a ranger-led tour where you’ll learn that the Everglades is actually a slow-moving river and not just a fancy name for a swamp.

The mosquitoes are absolutely biblical during summer, so pack enough DEET to concern environmentalists.

Kennedy Space Center

Where else can you see actual spaceships that have left Earth’s atmosphere and returned?

This place manages to be educational without being boring, which is the holy grail of attractions where parents and kids don’t want to murder each other afterward.

Standing under the massive Saturn V rocket that sent humans to the moon will make you feel both incredibly small and weirdly patriotic.

If you time it right and catch a launch, you’ll experience the ground literally shaking beneath your feet as thousands of pounds of thrust tell gravity to go screw itself.

South Beach

Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, the beautiful people will make you question your life choices. But South Beach delivers a sensory overload that somehow lives up to its own hype.

The impossibly blue water against white sand, the pastel Art Deco buildings that look like they were designed on acid, and the 24/7 parade of characters that would make a casting director weep with joy… It’s all exactly as advertised.

Skip the overpriced Ocean Drive restaurants (tourist tax: 100%) and hit up local spots a few blocks inland.

Better yet, watch the sunrise over the Atlantic with the interesting mix of early-morning joggers and night-clubbers on their way home, both wondering what the other is doing with their life.

Hemingway Home

In a state where ‘historic’ usually means ‘built before 1980,’ Hemingway’s Key West house is, well, older.

The six-toed cats are worth it alone, even if you’ve never read a word of his works. These polydactyl furballs (about 60 of them) roaming the property like they own the place are direct descendants of Hemingway’s pets and have more personality than half the people on Duval Street.

The house itself is a surprisingly peaceful Spanish Colonial oasis, and the guides actually know their stuff about both the writer and his whiskered legacy.

Go early before the cruise ship crowds, when the cats are most active and judging you the least.

St. Augustine

When a Florida attraction claims to be ‘historic,’ approach with skepticism. But run, don’t walk, to St. Augustine’s old town.

The narrow cobblestone streets aren’t just for show. They’re genuinely old AF and guaranteed to destroy any non-sensible shoes. Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S., has withstood centuries of hurricanes, attacks, and now, selfie sticks.

Grab a drink at one of the local distilleries housed in historic buildings where you can pretend you’re a pirate with slightly better dental care than the originals.

The Salvador Dalí Museum

St. Petersburg was once known as God’s waiting room. But it’s reinvented itself with a killer arts scene anchored by this architectural middle finger to conventional museum design.

The building itself is amazing with its geodesic glass bubble erupting from concrete. Inside houses the largest collection of Dalí’s work outside Spain, including his famous melting clocks to lesser-known works that’ll make you question reality (and possibly what was in that pre-museum coffee).

Even if you know nothing about art beyond what you’ve seen on dorm room posters, the museum’s digital experiences and optical illusions make surrealism accessible without dumbing it down.

The gift shop’s melting clock merchandise is tacky and yep, absolutely necessary to take home.

Dry Tortugas National Park

Seventy miles west of Key West sits this remote island fortress that requires actual effort to reach, immediately filtering out the weak and unprepared.

The ferry ride might make you question your life choices (dramamine is your friend). But stepping onto this isolated outpost with its massive 19th-century Fort Jefferson surrounded by water will make you forget your seasickness.

Snorkeling here means swimming through crystal clear waters over perfectly preserved coral with fish that haven’t yet learned to fear humans.

The limited daily visitor count means you’re not fighting crowds for that perfect photo, making this perhaps the least ‘touristy’ experience on a tourist list.

Wynwood Walls

This former warehouse district turned open-air art gallery could have been just another gentrification cliché. But the rotating collection of world-class murals creates a genuinely impressive outdoor museum that justifies its Instagram fame.

Yes, you’ll see influencers contorting themselves for the perfect shot, but the art itself—massive, vibrant, and constantly evolving—transcends the social media circus around it.

The surrounding Wynwood neighborhood offers Miami’s best people-watching outside of South Beach, plus craft breweries where you can recover from art overload with locally made IPAs that are actually nice.

Swimming with Manatees in Crystal River

Florida’s unofficial mascot is this whiskered potato with flippers. And Crystal River is where you can respectfully hang out with them in their natural habitat.

During winter, hundreds of these gentle behemoths gather in the constant 72-degree springs, creating the only place in America where you can legally swim with them (with strict rules—no riding the sea cows, folks).

There’s something profoundly humbling about floating alongside a curious 1,000-pound creature that could crush you but chooses to gently boop your mask instead.

The Overseas Highway

This 113-mile stretch of US-1 connecting the Florida Keys isn’t just a road. It’s a journey across 42 bridges surrounded by water in impossible shades of blue-green that your camera phone can’t begin to capture.

Yes, everyone and their grandmother does this drive. But bombing across the Seven Mile Bridge with nothing but ocean on both sides justifies the rental car convertible splurge you definitely made.