Two weeks in Florida in August

[Nianne]

Yes ..

It's why I'm saying in the post that we'll spend 3 nights in Crystal River. I understood it was from here that some trips start ?

 

[The Chairman]

4:47

4:41

4:02

4:19
​

These are times from Miami. The first times I gave you were from Orlando. I hope this helps.​

 

[Nianne]

Oh, okay, google didn't gave me the same location for blue spring. It was way further north

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Will she see any Manatees in August in Crystal River? And.. Orlando is not the place to be in August.

 

[The Chairman]

Blue Heron Bridge
1:23

1:17

Shark Tooth Diving at Venice Beach
3:15

(Non Diving)

1:01

3:24

3:20​

 

[gr8jab]

OP - only spending 3 nights in Orlando. Each park can take a day or more, and there are four Disney parks, plus Universal Studios. If you are Harry Potter fans, must do Universal Studios park-hopper. Otherwise, two intense days at Disney park-hopping might get you 70%.

I would add a few more days for Orlando, and then go straight to Blue Heron Bridge then Key Largo.

 

[The Chairman]

Oh, okay, google didn't gave me the same location for blue spring. It was way further north

There are lots of Blue Springs (plural) in Florida. We usually refer to them by the town they are next to: Madison Blue, etc. etc. There is only one Blue Spring (singular) and it's part of the Blue Spring State Park just off of the St John's River. It's a truly magical place with a nice swimming area. The spring goes down to 130+ft, but there is a sign at 60, suggesting that you should go no further. It's good advice as there are lots of geological formations to inspect and wonder at. It's not too unusual to see a bear at the spring(I've seen it twice) and I've seen deer as well. The shallow swim from the spring to the swimming hole is very cool if the park is mostly empty. You'll see invasive as well as native schools of fish, crabs and lots of turtles. The alligator gar give it a primordial feel. Put a bunch of swimmers in the water and you'll see a lot less.

If you can't tell, I love Florida and have lived here most of my life. Lots of fossils everywhere so stay sharp.

 

[gr8jab]

Yes, dumpster is right, Orlando in August is HOT, but we've done it many times with kids. If this is you one-and-only time to visit the parks, just tough it out. If this is not your only Orlando trip (past or future) maybe skip it altogether and enjoy more diving.

Orlando in October or early March is much nicer.

 

[The Chairman]

Will she see any Manatees in August in Crystal River?

She might. Then again, she might not. More likely to see manatee in the Keys at that time of the year.

 

[sportxlh]

Nianne: if you plan on visiting Disney World, note that you can also do a dive in the living Seas aquarium in Epcot Center. It's kind of expensive, but you get a backstage tour. The dive is a bucket list type of activity , interesting enough but once you've done it a time or two it's not a thing you'll rush back and do again.

If you can carve out some time to dive in Jupiter or West Palm Beach or Boynton it's well worth it. Drift diving is great. You're also very likely to see sharks and Goliath grouper not to mention many turtles in Jupiter.

In my opinion, diving in Key Largo and Islamorada is top-notch compared to the rest of the keys. If you like bars and taverns and restaurants and a bit of nightlife, Key West is worth visiting but I would not make the trip just for the diving.