Great Road Trips Around Orlando in a Rental Car

With its many iconic theme parks, Orlando is a place full of excitement and thrills. You can’t really visit the city without seeing the Happiest Place on Earth: Walt Disney World. It’s certainly not just children who experience the magic of Disney at Magic Kingdom and the other three theme parks— Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. In addition to Disney, Universal Studios, Legoland Florida, and the amusement parks SeaWorld and Fun Spot are major crowd-draws in and around Orlando.

Beyond the theme parks, there’s still plenty to discover in Florida, not least because Orlando is centrally located in the state, halfway between two very different coastlines. With a rental car, you can drive from Orlando to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico in about an hour. This makes the city a fantastic base for day trips or a perfect starting point for a multi-day road trip through the Sunshine State. Choose from our tips below and rent a car in Orlando for an amazing vacation!

Ocala National Forest

North of Orlando lies a forested area with hundreds (yes, really!) of lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and natural springs. Covering an area of 1,600 square kilometers, the Ocala National Forest is quite extensive. You can find peace and quiet there as well as enjoy active sports. For example, there are places where you can rent canoes or kayaks, especially near the various naturalsprings in the nature reserve.

Juniper Springs consists of natural pools and springs of all sizes, ranging from small and bubbling to large and gushing. You can relax in the warm water beneath a dense canopy of palm and oak trees. This recreational area is easily accessible by rental car, as it’s located right along FL-40. Another recreational area is Silver Glen Springs, but it can get very crowded and noisy due to jet skis, motorboats, and other watercraft. Don’t confuse this, by the way, with Silver Springs State Park, where you can take beautiful trips along the Silver River in a canoe, kayak, or a boat with a transparent bottom. Another beautiful option is a canoe trip on Spring Creek near Alexander Springs, along County Road 445. The farther you paddle, the better your chances of spotting animals such as manatees, alligators, ospreys, lizards, vultures, hawks, and turtles. Monkeys also live in the forests along the water. At all these springs, you can enjoy a stunning underwater world with fish and swaying underwater vegetation while snorkeling. Blue Spring State Park is also very beautiful, but you’re not allowed in the water there because it’s a protected area for manatees. As the name suggests, the crystal-clear water of Salt Springs is slightly salty, just like the shallow Lake George, the largest lake in Ocala National Forest. Divers head to Paradise Springs, where you can see prehistoric fossils on the underwater limestone walls.

Hiking and biking trails have been marked throughout the Ocala National Forest. You’ll walk along rivers and small lakes, through dense forests, and across wooden boardwalks through swamps. The Timucuan Trail is only one and a half kilometers long, but it offers an excellent overview of the forest’s flora: towering palm trees, sand pine shrubs, sweet-smelling southern magnolias, and a variety of colorful wildflowers. Some forest trails are reserved exclusively for horseback riders, totaling nearly 200 kilometers. Horse lovers will be in their element here, as horses play a prominent role around the city of Ocala, west of the park. There are hundreds of farms where thoroughbreds are bred, and you can visit some of them.

Just north of Ocala, the zip lines at Canyons Zip Line & Adventure Park offer a completely different perspective. There are no fewer than four different zip lines to choose from, allowing you to glide high above deep gorges and glistening lakes. One of the lines is the highest and longest zip line over water in the United States.

St. Petersburg / Tampa Bay

Drive your rental car an hour and a half southwest from Orlando, and you’ll reach Tampa Bay, named after the major city situated on its shores. Three roads run across dikes and bridges right through Old Tampa Bay, connecting Tampa to St. Petersburg. These bridges aren’t particularly interesting, but the Sunshine Skyway Bridge from St. Petersburg to Terra Ceia certainly is. The middle section is a tall, spectacular cable-stayed bridge spanning Lower Tampa Bay. A previous bridge here was struck by a ship in 1980 and collapsed. Parts of that old bridge are now two long piers where anglers love to cast their lines. With a little luck, you can catch sea bass, mackerel, tarpon, sea bream, and red snapper here.

The area around the bay is heavily urbanized. So is it really worth driving there in a rental car? Absolutely, and we’ll explain why. The beaches near St. Petersburg (often abbreviated by Americans to “Saint Pete”) are famous, but be sure to visit the city itself first. There you’ll find the largest collection of art by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí outside of Europe. At The Dalí, you can enjoy works such as the iconic melting clocks and visual illusions, including *Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea*. From a distance, this painting transforms into the silhouette of Abraham Lincoln. The city is also known for its many colorful murals, which you can view for free. In the heart of St. Pete lie the Sunken Gardens, a botanical garden over a hundred years old that features not only thousands of tropical plants but also waterfalls and flamingos.

The miles-long white-sand beaches of St. Pete Beach along the Gulf of Mexico are located on so-called barrier islands, narrow strips of land off the mainland coast. Near Pass-a-Grille Beach stands the pink-hued Don CeSar, once a favorite hotel of Marilyn Monroe and Al Capone. You can book dolphin-watching tours at various locations. The beaches in the far south are quieter, in the idyllic and unspoiled Fort De Soto County Park. From April through September, some beaches are closed because sea turtles are nesting there.

Drive your rental car to the best beaches

We’ve already mentioned a few beaches near St. Petersburg above, but the best beaches are located just a bit further south, on Anna Maria Island. One of the most popular is Manatee Public Beach, as it’s right next to a huge parking lot where you can park your rental car. Bean Point Beach, in the far north of the island, is much quieter. There are no facilities there, as the current is often too strong for swimming. It’s a beautiful beach to enjoy the sunset, though! On the southern side of the island, the situation is quite different: Coquina Beach attracts so many beachgoers that there’s even a daily market where you can buy souvenirs. A major draw of this beach is the Leffis Key nature reserve behind it. A shell and boardwalk path runs along the lagoon and through mangrove tunnels. The water at Cortez Beach is relatively calm, and this beach has no fewer than three piers where you can jump into the water or cast a fishing line. You can also do that on the lagoon side of the island at the historic Bridge Street Pier.

Beer Can Island Beach is a unique little beach, just south of Anna Maria Island, right next to the Longboat Key Bridge. Many people take a small boat there because you can almost never find a parking spot on the other side. You can reach this nearly deserted stretch of beach by parking your rental car as close to the bridge as possible, walking across the bridge, and then strolling down North Shore Road to the beach. Further south are Venice Beach and Caspersen Beach, where, in addition to beautiful shells, you might even find a shark tooth!

Alafia River State Park

About forty kilometers southeast of Tampa lies an old phosphate mine that has been transformed into a paradise for mountain bikers: Alafia River State Park. There are trails for all skill levels, ranging from smooth, wide routes to rugged, narrow paths that require good technique. The double-black trails are particularly challenging. You can rent mountain bikes at the bike shop in the park. But you don’t have to hop on a bike; there are also trails for hikers and horseback riders. You can also go canoeing and fishing in the Alafia River and in the lakes scattered throughout the park. Along the river, there are several spots for a lovely, relaxing picnic. At the park entrance, there’s plenty of space to park your rental car.

Tarpon Springs

Tarpon Springs is a charming little town known as the “sponge capital of the world.” Sponge diving was primarily carried out by Greek immigrants in the nineteenth century, and their descendants still leave their mark on the town. There are countless Greek eateries and shops where you can buy products from Greece, ranging from Kalamata olives and the olive oil made from them to oregano and aromatic balsamic vinegar. The historic center consists of houses built in the late nineteenth century, including the Safford House, which is now a museum featuring period interiors. At the Heritage Museum, you’ll learn about the town’s history, with a special focus on the sponge industry, old-fashioned diving gear, and how sponges are processed for sale. From the harbor, you can take a boat tour to go sponge diving the old-fashioned way or spot dolphins.

Crystal River

Crystal River is located on the so-called Big Bend Coast in northwestern Florida. Although it lies on the Gulf of Mexico, it’s one of the quietest parts of the state with little tourism, because that stretch of coastline is a wetland. By rental car, it’s about an hour and a half drive from Orlando to Crystal River. Here, you’re truly far away from the theme parks, and you won’t find any large hotels either. The coast here is known as the Nature Coast, and you’ll understand why—the vast wetlands are breathtakingly beautiful. Rent a kayak or canoe, and along the way you can spot turtles, crabs, and stingrays. Between November and March, hundreds of manatees choose Crystal River as their wintering ground. It’s the only place in Florida where you can swim with these somewhat clumsy but funny and curious aquatic creatures. You can also fully enjoy the aquatic world from your rental car, for example along the Ozello Trail or the Fort Island Trail. At the end of the trail is a small beach with a few gazebos and some picnic tables. Just watch out for the birds—they’re quick to snatch your food!

Homosassa Springs

Drive your rental car twenty minutes south from Crystal River and you’ll arrive at Homosassa Springs, best known for the wildlife park of the same name. This park is, so to speak, a showcase for Florida’s native flora and fauna. Animals such as black bears, alligators, crocodiles, white-tailed deer, river otters, and bobcats live here. You can also see manatees from the park’s underwater observatory. Injured or sick manatees are taken in here, nursed back to health, and then released back into the wild.

Kennedy Space Center

All of Florida’s coastal regions have names that perfectly describe what you can expect there. A fifty-minute drive east of Orlando lies the Space Coast, home to the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral, where the first space rocket was launched in 1957 and many more followed. Tickets aren’t cheap, but there’s plenty to see and do. You can easily spend a whole day there. During the bus tour, you’ll drive past the launch pads, and with a little luck, you might see a rocket under construction. The Apollo/Saturn V Center features a 110-meter-tall rocket that was used for the moon missions in the 1960s. You can also watch video and listen to audio recordings from that era. At the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, you’ll learn more about the work being done at the International Space Station (ISS) and how technologies developed for spaceflight are now used in everyday life. You can also experience for yourself what it’s like to be launched into space. The film screenings in the IMAX theater round out the space experience perfectly.

Canaveral National Seashore

The barrier islands and beaches north of Cape Canaveral were never developed for tourism, and the natural scenery there is stunning. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to manatees, alligators, and various species of sea turtles. It’s also home to breeding pairs of bald eagles, pelicans, spoonbills, and egrets. In the spring and fall, it’s populated by large flocks of migratory birds. With your rental car, you can drive the Black Point Wildlife Drive, a 12-kilometer route along the marshes in this nature reserve. The starting point is located along County Road 406 and is clearly marked. Along the way, you can stop to walk to an observation deck or take a hike, such as the Cruickshank Trail or the short Wild Birds Unlimited Trail.

A narrow island nearly forty kilometers long forms the barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and Mosquito Lagoon. A road runs across part of this island, giving you access to the beaches. These beaches aren’t very crowded because the entrance fee is quite high. Although the ticket is valid for a week, you probably won’t want to spend every day at the beach during your road trip in a rental car. Apollo Beach is a family-friendly beach, while Playalinda is a haven for windsurfers. The stretch between these two beaches is accessible only on foot or by mountain bike, making it as unspoiled as can be. From Apollo Beach, an elevated trail winds through the treetops to Turtle Mound, where you’ll enjoy a beautiful view of the lagoon and the ocean. In June and July, park rangers lead groups on nighttime tours to watch turtles nest. The lagoon’s name says exactly what to expect, so be sure to slather on plenty of good mosquito repellent, especially at dawn and dusk.

Glowing Water in the Indian River

The Indian River Lagoon lies between the Merritt Island Nature Preserve and the mainland. Here, during the warm summer months, you can witness a very special natural phenomenon: the water glowing due to bioluminescence. During those months, there’s a lot of plankton in the lagoon that glows when disturbed. If you paddle a kayak across the lagoon in the dark, every stroke of your paddle creates flecks and streaks of blue-green light in the water. The kayak itself also causes the water to glow, which is why most kayaks have a transparent bottom. Seeing the water glow with every splash and movement is an unforgettable experience. The darker it is, the more magical the effect, so choose a night when there’s a new moon.

Daytona Beach

In stark contrast to the serene tranquility of the Space Coast’s natural surroundings is Daytona Beach, located just forty kilometers to the north. This is a destination for those who love action and speed, as the World Center of Racing is all about high-speed sports. There are car and motorcycle races year-round at the International Speedway, including the most important NASCAR race of the year, the Daytona 500, in February, and Daytona Bike Week in March. When there aren’t any races, you can take guided tours of the track. True enthusiasts will be willing to pay to ride along as a passenger or even take a full day of lessons to race around the track as a driver. The history of motorsports in Daytona comes to life at the Motorsports Hall of Fame. Before the track was built, races were held on the beach. You can still drive a car onto the beach, but racing is no longer allowed—the speed limit is 10 miles per hour. On the beach, you can also go go-karting or parasailing.

Still, there are plenty of things to do in Daytona Beach that have nothing to do with racing. For example, the Museum of Arts and Sciences features a planetarium and a large collection of Cuban and African art. Train enthusiasts will be delighted by the exhibition of restored vintage train cars. The Daytona Beach Boardwalk features dozens of shops, restaurants, bars, carnival rides, and a historic pier. Daytona Beach residents often skip the beach in their own city and head to New Smyrna Beach instead. Do as the locals do and drive your rental car to this quieter beach, just twenty minutes from Daytona.

St. Augustine

A little further north, 170 kilometers by car from Orlando, lies St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. It was founded in 1565 when the Spanish controlled Florida. The oldest wooden buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1599, and much was also lost during the English siege in 1702. Nevertheless, Spanish influences can still be seen in the historic center, especially along St. George Street. Among other things, the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse is located there. Just outside the old town, the Castillo de San Marcos serves as a reminder of the Spanish resistance against the English advance. The fact that St. Augustine is now American is evident in the inevitable theme parks, such as Fountain of Youth—said to be the source of eternal youth—and Colonial Experience, where people in period costumes practice old crafts. The large collection of torture devices and methods at the Medieval Torture Museum is a bit creepy. To make it even scarier, you can take part in the Ghost-Hunting Experience, where you’ll encounter ghosts throughout the museum and hear the chilling stories of how they died. You can breathe a sigh of relief afterward when you view the miniature art exhibition that’s part of the museum.

The area around St. Augustine is a beautiful but fragile nature reserve: salt marshes, mangroves, oyster beds, and lagoons, surrounded by dense forests, such as in the Moses Creek Conservation Area. The protected area is home to many birds, including great blue herons and egrets, as well as ospreys and hawks. It is also home to gopher tortoises, deer, otters, and foxes.

Diving in Devil’s Den

There are many places to dive in Florida, so why would you drive nearly two hours from Orlando just to dive in Devil’s Den? Well, because this freshwater spring is a truly unique dive site, comparable to the underwater caves (cenotes) in Mexico. You can dive or snorkel there in the enchanting light of this prehistoric water cave. Incidentally, very little sunlight penetrates the cave, making the water significantly colder than in other caves in Florida. The Blue Grotto, for example, located three kilometers to the south, is warmer.

Diving and Surfing: Treasure Coast

The Treasure Coast owes its name to a massive shipwreck that occurred during a hurricane in 1715. Just off this coast, no fewer than eleven Spanish galleons sank, each fully loaded with gold, silver, jewels, and other valuables on their way to Spain. More than a thousand survivors reached the shore and managed to salvage part of the precious cargo, but by no means all of it. In 1963, a diver discovered more than a thousand gold coins, and since then, many others have hoped to find treasure. A diving excursion to one of those 300-year-old ships is a unique experience. At the McLarty Treasure Museum, you can learn more about the shipwreck and see scale models of the sunken ships.

Florida isn’t known for its big waves, but there are still a few spots where you can surf. Sebastian Inlet State Park on the Treasure Coast is one such spot. On the north side of the inlet, waves bounce off the pier, which amplifies their force.

Lake County

Lake County, northwest of Orlando, isn’t the only area in Florida rich in lakes and ponds, but it’s still unique. The town of Tavares is home to the only inland seaplane harbor. It’s fun to watch the seaplanes arrive and depart, and you can even take a flight yourself over this water-rich region. The “Splash and Dash” tours are particularly popular, during which the plane lands on the water and takes off again immediately. Tavares hosts water activities year-round, such as a classic boat parade, speedboat races, and dragon boat races.

The charming town of Mount Dora is located just east of Tavares. It’s not very big and is best known for its lively downtown area with an abundance of antique shops. There’s also a wide selection of excellent restaurants. Along Lake Dora, there are many places to picnic, such as Gilbert Park, which also features the inevitable boardwalk running along the water.

Rental Cars and Toll Roads in Florida

Many roads and bridges in Florida require a toll. Car rental companies often offer to install an electronic toll device in your rental car, but you usually have to pay a daily fee for this, even if you don’t use toll roads on some days. Much cheaper (and easier) is the Visitor Toll Pass, a free tag that you hang from the rearview mirror of your rental car. In the app, you enter a few details, such as your credit card number, your rental car’s license plate number, and the day your trip ends. You’ll then pay tolls automatically, but only when necessary—and often at a slightly lower rate as well. The Visitor Toll Passtag is available exclusively at Orlando International Airport, so you can only use this system if you pick up and return your rental car there. So it’s not an option if you’re renting a car for a so-called one-way trip, if you land at Orlando’s second airport, Sanford Airport, or if you rent a car at Melbourne Orlando Airport.

Driving Through Florida in a Rental Car: Don’t Underestimate the Distances

Florida is a large state, and traveling can take longer than you think. To give you an idea: the drive from Orlando to Miami is nearly 400 kilometers, and on the highways, that trip can easily take over four hours—at least if you drive straight through without stopping along the way. The drive to the state capital, Tallahassee, is about the same distance. Since you’ve rented a car to explore Florida and will likely be making frequent stops, you could spend two weeks touring the state and still not see even half of the most beautiful places and best attractions.

Rent a car in Orlando

We hope we’ve convinced you that Orlando and Florida have much more to offer than just theme parks. Just like the rest of the United States, Florida is completely geared toward drivers. The roads are excellent, and public transportation is reasonable at best, but often mediocre. You’ll almost always need a car to get anywhere. So rent a car in Orlando and head out to explore beautiful nature reserves, wide beaches, and an abundance of natural springs and lakes. By the way, you don’t have to rent a car right away upon arrival at Orlando Airport, because there are also plenty of car rental companies in the city itself.