Most of Florida protrudes into the sea as the southeastern extension of North America, due to its southern location Florida is also known as the Sunshine State. In Florida it is sunny almost all year round, the good weather is ideal for water sports and swimming.

Three different national parks extend over the area of ​​Florida and offer the possibility to spend one or more days there in the fresh air. The Everglades National Park is particularly beautiful, but the other two national parks are also worth a visit and give a varied impression of this special state. Days at the beach, sports, hiking, but also shopping and exciting days in cities like Miami or Orlando are the order of the day in Florida and ensure that you never get bored there.

The area of ​​the Sunshine State was discovered by the Spaniards around Easter. This is where the name of today’s US state comes from: Easter means Pascua Florida in Spanish. The last part of the word was used as the name for the region.

Florida is a popular destination for tourists and vacationers from all over the world. Particularly wealthy visitors indulge in luxury and rent one of the beach villas at exclusive prices. For mere mortals, the hotspot among vacation destinations in Florida is Tallahasee.

For those who find it too strenuous in this vibrant city, there is a game of the NFL teams from Florida for a variety of leisure activities. You should really watch a game of the different teams from the American Football League. The spectacle of what is actually happening on the pitch is almost even more interesting than the game itself. Here you get an interesting impression of the cultural life of the Americans. In Florida you have enough opportunities to watch one of the amusing games, because three teams are among the world’s best in the league. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Miami Dolphins are based here.

Florida – key data

Land area: 170,304 square kilometers (22nd place of all states in the USA)

Share of water surface: 17.9%

Population: 18.33 million (2008 estimate, ranked 4th of all states in the United States)

Population density: 108 residents per square kilometer (8th place of all states in the USA)

Member of the United States since: March 3, 1845

Capital: Tallahassee (168,979 residents, 2007, metropolitan area 352,319 residents)

Largest city: Jacksonville (794,555 residents, 2006, metropolitan area 1.3 million residents)

Highest point: 105 m, Britton Hill (the lowest highest point of any state in the USA)

Lowest point: 0 m, Atlantic Ocean

Governor: Charlie Christ (Republican)

Lieut. Governor: Jeff Kottkamp (Republican)

Local time: CET -6 h. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November: CET -5 h.
The time difference to Central Europe is -6 h in both winter and summer.

Postal abbreviation: FL

Florida – geography

Much of the state of Florida lies on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Florida Strait. To the northwest is the Panhandle, which stretches along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Florida borders the US state Georgia to the north and Alabama to the northwest. The state is relatively close to several Caribbean states (including Cuba and Bahamas ). Florida is one of the largest states east of the Mississippi River and only Alaska and Michigan have a larger body of water.

According to ehotelat, the Florida peninsula is for the most part a plateau of karstified limestone with extensive caves and sinkholes, underground springs supply the population with water. The limestone is covered with sandy soils. The eastern coast to the Atlantic consists for the most part of a sandy beach with barrier islands in front of it. In between runs the Intracoastal Waterway from Key West to Georgia ).

The Everglades, an enormously wide, very slowly flowing river, encompass the southern tip of the peninsula.

Because Florida is not near tectonic plate boundaries, earthquakes are very rare.

At 105 m above sea level, Britton Hill (on the Panhandle) is the highest point in Florida and the lowest highest point in any US state. The highest point on the Florida Peninsula, Sugarloaf Mountain in Lake County, is 95 m high.
Much of the region south of Orlando is made up of low-lying plains, just a few points, such as B. Clearwater, rise 15-30 m above the water. Central and northern Florida is characterized by rolling hills (30-75 m high).

Florida – how to get there

Most travelers arrive in Florida by air or by car. Bus, train or boat connections are used less often.

Ship
Florida is almost completely surrounded by the sea and is a popular cruise destination. Fort Lauderdale is the largest transatlantic port in the United States.

Airplane
Florida is very accessible from airports inside and outside North America. The most important airports in Florida for tourism are Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has the largest number of passengers in Florida. Serves Walt Disney World, the Space Coast, and the Orlando area.

Miami International Airport (MIA) : the second largest international airport in Florida. It is usually used as a starting point for Miami, the Everglades and the Keys. The airlines Delta, American and US Airways have their air hubs here.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) : serves the Fort Lauderdale and Broward Counties regions. The airport is located between 40 and 50 kilometers north of Miami and is often used as a low-cost alternative to Miami.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) serves Tampa Bay and Saint Petersburg.

Other airports with significant international flights are Daytona Beach (DAB) and Jacksonville (JAX). Most cities in Florida have airports and have flights to other US cities, including Gainesville (GNV), Key West (EYW), Sarasota (SRQ), Fort Myers (RSW), Palm Beach (PBI), Tallahassee (TLH) ) and Pensacola (PNS).

Bus
For bus travel to Florida is Greyhound the most important company. Greyhound trips to Florida are available from most major US cities.

Train Amtrak
offers convenient, affordable connections to Florida from the east coast of the United States. Amtrak’s Silver Service operates between New York and Miami with stops in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, among others. Unfortunately, there is no direct train connection between Florida and Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago or the Midwest. Another option is the daily Amtrak Auto Train between Lorton, Virginia and Orlando.

Florida climate

Florida in the southeastern United States can be divided into two climate zones: the northwest and central Florida are subtropically humid, the southern parts of the country are tropically humid.

In the rainy season between June and September, Florida has regular, sometimes strong, tropical storms. The precipitation in the rainy season usually falls in the afternoon in violent thunderstorms. In summer, dust from Africa affects air quality. From September / October, the rain will decrease first in northern Florida and then in southern Florida.

The driest time is spring. Forest fires often occur towards the end of the dry season in spring. Most areas of Florida do not have snow or sleet, but there are exceptions during El Nino Cycle winters, when Florida temperatures are lower than normal.

Eastern winds that have warmed over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream keep southern Florida temperatures comfortable year round. In January, the coldest month in Florida, temperatures between 18 ° C at night and 24 ° C during the day are reached in the south. In the north the January values ​​are between 5 and 20 ° C. From March, temperatures rise in Florida and in July and August they reach highs between 32 ° C in the south and 35 ° C in the north. However, these high temperatures are mitigated on the coast by constant winds.

The humidity in Florida is particularly high in summer.

Best time to visit Florida

In Miami and South Florida, the summer is humid, hot and humid, so this is not a preferred travel season. The main season here is between December and February. During this time the weather is warm and dry here, but there are also many holidaymakers on the way and the prices are high. From June to October, temperatures and rainfall increase, but prices decrease.

In the north (e.g. Jacksonville and Panhandle) summer is the main tourist season, pleasant weather can be found here in spring between March and May, these months are also outside the hurricane season. From April the sea in the north reaches pleasant bathing temperatures. In winter, northern Florida can get cold.