Florida

Understand

While Florida is considered to be part of the South, it originated not as a British colony, but as a Spanish one. As a result, the state has a unique history. Although Florida was a founding member of the Confederate States of America, and like other Southern states shared the experience of slavery and racial segregation during its history, today, Florida is a very diverse state, and contains a number of regions with slight cultural differences of their own that contribute to the state's diversity. Therefore, no one accent dominates in the speech of its residents, and it's often said that Florida is the only state that gets more "Southern" the farther north you go, and that is indeed true in a cultural sense. For a long time, Florida had been a swing state in presidential elections, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. However, a large influx of retirees in the 21st century has swung the political balance in favor of the Republicans as of the 2020s.

History

Florida was inhabited by Native Americans for over 13,000 years before the arrival of European explorers, colonists and slavers. It is estimated that there were some 350,000 inhabitants, of many tribes, when the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León arrived in 1513 in search of, according to legend, the Fountain of Youth. The first European settlement dates back to the 1560s with St. Augustine, established in 1565, holding the distinction of being the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States. However, this early settlement did not lead to the same level of rapid colonization that took place in the British colonies to the north, as the climate made large-scale settlement, especially inland, difficult for Europeans who were used to milder climates. Attempted settlements by Europeans, such as the New Smyrna Beach colony owned by a British man who employed former inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, were not always successful as challenges of climate and disease too

Getting there

By plane

Orlando International Airport (MCO IATA) - your choice airport for Disney World and the other attractions in Central Florida. Located south of downtown Orlando, this airport offers tons of car rentals and free shuttles to Disney and Universal for visitors. Being centrally located it serves as a hub or focus city for Jetblue, Frontier, and Southwest Airlines. There are international connections from South America, Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. Miami International Airport (MIA IATA) - the biggest airport for travel in South Florida, it's the best option for trips to the Everglades or Miami's beaches. The airport is a hub for American Airlines and the most popular entry point with a wide variety of flights from Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Cuba and Mexico. Tampa International Airport (TPA IATA) - serves the Gulf Coast, namely the Tampa Bay area. There are direct flights offered from all over the U.S. and from a number of international destinations in Canada, Cuba, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL IATA) - the fourth-largest airport in Florida, and another valid option to consider with many domestic low-fare carriers such as Allegiant, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Jacksonville International Airport (JAX IATA) - primary airport for travel in North Florida, serving Amelia Island and historic St. Augustine. Other large airports can be found in Pensacola, Fort Myers, Tallahassee, Saint Petersburg/Clearwater, West Palm Beach, Sarasota, Key West, Gainesville, Melbourne, and Sanford. There are many more airports throughout Florida that may get you closer to your destination; watch for these smaller airports while researching your destination.

By car

Three Interstate highways connect Florida with adjacent states:

Interstate 10 (I-10) enters Florida from Alabama near Pensacola and passes through the center of the Panhand

Getting around

By car Traveling by car is the most common and most convenient way to get around the state for travelers and locals alike. For the traveler car rental agencies are abound in Florida and many are available at every major airport. Orlando, in particular, is known as the "Car Rental Capital of the World". With Florida being the most visited state in the US, car rental rates here are among (if not) the lowest rates in the country due to sheer volume. Florida's major highways include:

Interstate 4 (I-4) crosses diagonally from Tampa, heads east through Plant City and Lakeland, then continues northeast past Kissimmee, Walt Disney World, and Orlando, before ending at Interstate 95 near Daytona Beach. Interstate 4 is the most travelled highway in Florida and due to the large volume of traffic, high speeds (70 mph,112 km/h outside of urban areas), construction, and large number of tourists it is also the most dangerous highway in the state, in terms of the number of accidents. & I-10 and US-90 enter Florida from Alabama near Pensacola and travels across the Panhandle, past Tallahassee and Lake City, and through rural North Florida to its terminus at I-95 in Jacksonville. US Hwy 90 straddles I-10 through the northern Florida Panhandle, going through the cities and towns as a local surface street/highway while I-10 goes straight through bypassing the cities and towns. US Hwy 90 continues past the I-95 corridor in downtown Jacksonsville and ends at FL A1A at Jacksonville Beach. I-75 enters Florida from Georgia and runs south through the center of the peninsula past Gainesville and Ocala before crossing just east of Tampa, where it then parallels the Gulf coast past Bradenton, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Naples, after which it travels due east across the Everglades (a section known as 'Alligator Alley') to the Miami suburbs. I-95 enters Florida from Georgia, north of Jacksonville, and travels down the Atlantic coast past St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Cape Canaveral, Ve

See

The 1 Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral was America's spaceport for the manned missions to the Moon and the Space Shuttle. The Visitor Complex contains spacecraft displays, two IMAX movies, the Astronaut's Hall of Fame, exhibits chronicling the history and future of space exploration, and a Space Shuttle Launch Experience.Florida has a long and complex history and is worth visiting for those interested in historical travel. 2 St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, is the United States' oldest permanent European settlement. It contains a large colonial fort, multiple attractions and site detailing its history, countless restaurants and bars, and plenty of shops in its small, walkable downtown. Florida's Lighthouses are numerous, historic, and beautiful; take some time to visit these iconic images of the coast. 3 The Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown Saint Petersburg, this is one of the largest Holocaust museums in the U.S. and exhibits a box car used by Nazis to transpor