23/07/2023
Update 5: my last update on my family adventure in Florida. Naples, Everglades, Key West, Miami and Titusville (Space Centre). My last week was my favourite, beach, sun, wildlife … it was amazing!
It was still busy (specially for my husband driving around in the RV) our first stop after visiting Bush Gardens was Naples, we didn’t really see much as we arrived to our RV parking place at around 11 pm and in by the morning we just drove straight to the Everglades to see aligators in the wild . It was very interesting, the airboat experience was cool. I manage to see a couple, but the best part was the talked about them afterwards, we saw them up closed and learned a lot. Afterward we headed to Key West, our next RV stop, the drive down the keys was amazing and we manage to stopped in a few island to enjoy the view and the beaches which are warm water with no waves. It was like been in a pool. The only issue is that the beaches got some seaweed which it can be uncomfortable to walk near to the sea, it was only an small stretch, you can still bring your towel or chairs and lie down in nice soft sand. We also stopped at Blue Hole at Big Key Pine which is a really nice place to look out for alligator and tortoises, we were lucky enough to see Deers in the wild. The whole place is natural reserve . To get into the beaches , there was a $10 fee for all 5 of us and you can spend there until closing time, definitely worth it .
On Key West, we enjoy a lovely key lime pie (highly recommended!) and we were lucky to joined a tour to swim in the 3rd biggest coral reef in the world 1hr away from key West . Absolutely amazing. We all enjoyed it and it’s for all ages . Saw lots of fishes and had a great time exploring the reef carefully .
After that we drove to Miami, what a brilliant city, lots to see and do but mainly, a great place to enjoy the beaches. Miami Beach was great, clean, warm clear water, we end up the day at the Hark rock Casino and Hotel, also worth seeing that, the actual hotel is impressive (shape of a guitar) the strings are powerful lights pointing to the sky that are visible from various places in the Hollywood area of Miami at night. Definitely a place to consider, specially if you want to relax . Our last stops was Titusville, a proper old American town near the Space Centre.
We went to the Space Centre next, I really enjoyed it. Comparing it with Disney or Universal is very unfair because they are so different. It a lot smaller but still lots to see, do and learn. Nasa is currently trying to get space exploration up there again and with more private investment (Space X) this looks like is going foward. We manage to see a launch of a satellite into space the day we were flying back home, again just luck that it was happening that day. The space centre has always been a dream for me to go and see . A tick off the list!
Top tip: if you are thinking on renting an RV, you will need to book an RV camp parking. Stel camping is illegal in Florida, also is too hot , you will need your hook ups to get the air-con working in your RV, also these camp places are nice and clean. Best place to book is directly with KOA camping.