TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Florida has many world-class attractions. Millions flock to see the beaches, amusement parks, and gator parks. If you wish to see something a little bit odd, follow the tips below.

1) Visit the Western Hemisphere’s oldest building. Originally a Spanish monastery, this building dates back to the 1100s. It was later shipped here to the United States.

2) Visit Monticello and take a ghost tour. Many are offered including Daffodale Ghost Tours and Ghost Walk (in Mount Dora).

3) Have a taste for McDonald’s? Try something out of the ordinary at the European Gourmet McDonald’s in Orlando. They offer the traditional menu items in addition to lattes, eggplant, and made-to-order gourmet pizza.

Florida is a popular tourist destination for snowbirds seeking sunshine, college kids on spring break, and families going to Disneyland. However, Florida has a lot more to offer than just sandy beaches, warm weather and theme parks.

Florida is home to an amazing creature called the manatee. These gentle giants live in warm spring-fed waters such as Crystal River or Homosassa River. Unfortunately, although manatees have no natural enemies, they are endangered because of humans. These slow-moving creatures are not able to get out of the way quickly, so they often suffer serious wounds and fatalities due to the propellers of boats. There are estimated to only be about 1000-3000 Florida manatees left.

It is thrilling when you can spot a manatee in the wild, and even more thrilling if you wind up swimming with one. They are naturally curious creatures, and they will come up to you and check you out. They will even let you touch them.

If you aren't lucky enough to have a chance encounter with a manatee, you can arrange to swim with them as part of an organized group. There are tour groups that take people out on the water and when they see manatees, they drop you in the water so that you can swim with them. While these tours are expensive ($100 or more per person) they are well-worth it for a once in a lifetime experience that will show you a totally different side of Florida than you may have been expecting.