About

About ULTIMATE Florida Guide

ULTIMATE Florida Guide is an independent guide for visitors to Florida, USA. We publish 7 curated lists: hotels, michelin stars, theme parks, sights, national parks, property and getting around. We cover Orlando and the theme parks, the Palm Beaches, Tampa Bay, Sarasota and Longboat Key, St. Augustine and Amelia Island, and 30A and the Emerald Coast, plus Florida’s national parks. Miami, Naples, Key West and Fort Lauderdale have their own guides.

How we choose

Every place in our lists has been checked against its own website or an official source such as the National Park Service or the Florida Department of Revenue. We don’t use review scores, and we leave out anything we can’t confirm. MICHELIN distinctions are quoted only from the official MICHELIN Guide.

Before you go

Opening hours, park rules and seasons change often. Please check directly with each place before you travel, and follow official alerts in hurricane season. Prices are in US dollars.

For venues

Run a venue in Florida and spotted something to update? We review our lists regularly and welcome corrections.

Photo credits

• Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, by Juliancolton, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Breakers, Palm Beach, by Nick22aku at English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Brightline at Orlando International Airport, by elisfkc2, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Cà d'Zan at The Ringling, Sarasota, by This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Canaveral National Seashore, by TripOfALifestyle.com, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, by Juliancolton, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Clearwater Beach, by Michel Rathwell from Cornwall, Canada, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, by Taty2007, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Destin Harbor at night, by Jackstrawer, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Don CeSar on St. Pete Beach, by Art Anderson, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Eastern Green, Rosemary Beach, by Miamireader, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, by chensiyuan, licensed Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Canaveral National Seashore, by TripOfALifestyle.com, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, by Daniel Kraft, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Centre Street, Fernandina Beach, by Ebyabe, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The former Hotel Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College, by Farragutful, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Fort Lauderdale’s Central Beach on the Atlantic, by EgorovaSvetlana, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Grayton Beach State Park, by Ebyabe, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore, by Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The beach at Rosemary Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, by Miamireader, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Breakers, Palm Beach, by Nick22aku at English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The corner of Front and Duval Streets in Key West, by Julian Lupyan, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Rocket Garden at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, by Michael Rivera, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The St. Augustine Lighthouse, by Viktoriya Sorochuk, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, by Robbschultz69, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Sunset at the Naples Pier, by pmarkham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Acropolis of Athens by day, seen from Philopappos Hill, by A.Savin, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Goat Cay and the turquoise shallows of the Exumas, by DrGvago, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The golden sand and calm water of Paynes Bay, St. James, by Barry haynes, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The old town of Belgrade above the Sava, with the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Michael, by Tatil Dükkanı, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Romanian Athenaeum in its garden, by Jorge Franganillo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Hungarian Parliament lit up at night on the Danube, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Bixby Creek Bridge on the Big Sur coast, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The beach at Rosemary Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, by Miamireader, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Oia’s white houses and blue domes on the rim of the Santorini caldera, by Norbert Nagel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Blue Mosque at night, by Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Las Vegas Strip at dusk, by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Triple Bridge over the Ljubljanica, by Fred Romero from Paris, France, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower, by Domob, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Griffith Observatory with downtown Los Angeles beyond, by The Fun Chronicles, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the Maldives, by Luka Peternel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Yachts in Puerto Banús, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, by Robbschultz69, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Monaco from above, Port Hercule and Monte-Carlo below the mountains, by Spike, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Sunset at the Naples Pier, by pmarkham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The New York City skyline from Top of the Rock, by Dillan Payne, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Millennium Bridge over the Morača, by Desemeus, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sebilj fountain and the square of Baščaršija, by Yukof, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River from the Bund, by Zhang Zhang (张涨）), licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Stone Bridge over the Vardar, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, by Julian Lupyan, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The ramparts of Galle Fort, by Daibo Taku, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the twin volcanic spires of the UNESCO-listed Pitons, by xiquinhosilva, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Skanderbeg Square with the Et’hem Bey Mosque, by Andrew Milligan sumo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The spires of Zagreb Cathedral above the rooftops, by Alex Sirac, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Lake Eola and the Orlando skyline, by JER3L1337, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, by chensiyuan, licensed Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The clock tower on Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, by User:MVASCO, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park, by Daniel Kraft, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The white sand of Pensacola Beach, by Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The clock tower on Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, by User:MVASCO, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, Tampa, by MatthewHoobin, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Eastern Green, Rosemary Beach, by Miamireader, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Lido Key Beach, Sarasota, by Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Cà d'Zan at The Ringling, Sarasota, by This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The beach at Rosemary Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, by Miamireader, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Siesta Beach at sunset, by Fred Hsu on en.wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, by Juliancolton, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The St. Pete Pier, by Jackdude101, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Tampa skyline from the Hillsborough River, by joiseyshowaa, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Tampa skyline from the Hillsborough River, by joiseyshowaa, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Rocket Garden at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, by Michael Rivera, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Brightline at Orlando International Airport, by elisfkc2, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Whitehall, the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, by Rich Andrews, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The clock tower on Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, by User:MVASCO, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, Tampa, by MatthewHoobin, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.