12 of the best day trips from Orlando, Florida: Orlando is so much fun, we have visited four times now. Each time for a couple of weeks, and every time we find more to do there. There’s plenty of day trips in Orlando a short drive away too. And these Orlando day trips will give you more of a sense of the beautiful state of Florida. So we have rounded up the best Orlando excursions which all the family will love. If you’re looking for road trips from Orlando or weekend trips from Orlando you can do in a day or longer then we have them all here including mermaids (really) and the best Orlando Florida beach just a stone’s throw away.
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Table of Contents
1. See mermaids swimming at Weeki Wachee Springs
One of our favourite retro day trips to Orlando Florida is the enchanting Weeki Wachee Springs.
Around two hours drive from Orlando it’s absolutely packed full of old school charm. If you’re looking for car rentals Orlando is a perfect starting point.
It’s been entertaining guests for the past 70 years and the black and white films showing footage from the 1950s is wonderful.
There’s a boat trip down the crystal clear spring where you can look out for manatees and plenty of playgrounds and simple fun. But the highlight of Weeki Wachee is the mermaid show.
Kids and grown ups will absolutely love Weeki Wachee. It’s a world away from the high-tech theme parks of Orlando and wonderful for it.
One of those day trips Orlando visitors will always remember.
Find out more here.
🚗 Drive time: 2 hours one way
2. Race around the rockets at Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center has to be one of the best day trips in Florida.
It is a short drive from Orlando but feels like a world apart.
With huge space shuttles, a 3D cinema, loads of interactive exhibits and a really fun rocket garden to run through this is a wonderful place for all ages.
A highlight is seeing the Atlantis space shuttle and everything about the park is geared towards informing and interacting with the public. It’s a wonderful place for anyone with even a passing interest in space and one of those wonderful road trips from Orlando.
Book your Kennedy Space Center tickets here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour one way
3. See dolphins in the wild at New Smyrna Beach
Once you’ve seen dolphins in the wild it will banish any thoughts of seeing them in captivity. Watching them jump and swim alongside your boat is one of the best feelings. And there are places near Orlando to do just that.
At New Smyrna Beach there is plenty of fun to be had on the gorgeous sandy beaches, walking through the sweetest little town and enjoying the tranquility of this seaside location.
Taking a boat trip through the Indian River Lagoon was a highlight though. And watching the dolphins as they should be seen is just so wonderful.
If you’re looking for an Orlando Florida beach this is one that’s easy to get to and really beautiful.
Find out more about the Marine Discovery Center boat tour here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour one way
4. Get to grip with the bricks at Legoland Florida
When you’re looking for fun day trips in Florida, this will really hit the mark. While there are plenty of theme parks in Orlando Legoland is a really special park filled with so much fun for kids (and grown ups) of all ages.
We found Legoland to be much quieter than the other parks when we visited and a lovely theme park to wander through.
For summer days there’s also a water park within the resort which is a great place to cool off. It’s one of the great central Florida day trips and a nice drive down to Legoland and we all loved it.
Book your Legoland Florida tickets here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour one way
5. Take a day trip to St Augustine – best day trips from Orlando
St Augustine is one of the great places to visit near Orlando.
Described as being the oldest city in the USA a day trip here is the perfect place to soak up old school America.
This lovely town is filled with cobblestone streets, gorgeous shops and charming buildings.
See the nation’s oldest school, visit Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas, Flagler College and the Lightner Museum. One of the best day trips from Orlando.
Book day tickets to St Augustine here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour 30 minutes one way
6. See alligators in the wild in the Everglades
The Everglades are a beautiful stretch of National Park which are still accessible from Orlando.
It’s on the same route as day trips from Orlando to Miami and so while better combined with an overnight stay they are still do-able as a day trip.
We took a picnic and stopped off at rest places along the road which is where we encountered our first alligator in the area. Exercise good caution here (we left straight after taking this photo) but enjoy the beautiful Everglades and the wildlife.
You can stop at the very top of this area to experience an airboat ride and see alligators in the wild.
Just outside of the city if you’ve got a day in Orlando to work out something different to do this would be perfect.
It’s also great for weekend visits from Orlando if you’re taking trips to Miami from Orlando.
Book your everglades airboat ticket here together with free entrance to the Wild Florida Wildlife Park.
🚗 Drive time: 45 minutes one way
7. Take to the sea at beautiful Clearwater Beach
Clearwater Beach is an absolutely stunning beach accessible from Orlando Florida.
This beach has beautiful, white sand and gorgeous water and is one of the great day trips central Florida has on offer.
They have a really fun boat ride here where you can take to the sea and look for wild dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. The town also has lots of lovely restaurants and shops to enjoy too.
Book day trip tickets to Clearwater Beach from Orlando here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour 45 minutes one way
8. Go wild at The Florida Aquarium – best day trips from Orlando
The Florida Aquarium in Tampa is one of the great day trips Florida has on offer.
It’s an absolutely wonderful place to visit with kids and jam-packed with exhibits and interactive fish themed shows.
There are a number of other creatures alongside the fish but our favourite was getting a chance to see the stingrays up close and personal.
There’s a brilliant mini water park for the hot days and for an additional charge the aquarium also runs boat trips out in to the Tampa bay to look for wild dolphins and manatees.
It’s a fun day out and a great opportunity to get over to the beautiful west coast of Florida. One of the really fun day trips from Orlando Florida.
Book your Florida Aquarium tickets at their website here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour 30 minutes one way
9. Go shell hunting on Pass-A-Grille beach, St Petersburg
St Pete’s Beach is regularly voted as one of the most beautiful beaches in the US. We really wanted to visit the west coast of Florida, which is very different from the east.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, we overshot and ended up at Pass-A-Grille beach which is absolutely breathtaking.
The water was calm and warm and we spent the longest time paddling in the sea and picking up beautiful conical shells.
We adored this whole area of Florida and will definitely return to spend time here.
The beaches have plenty of restaurants just back from the beach too making it a lovely place to spend the day.
If you are looking for a close to Orlando Florida beach then consider this one as it really is stunning.
🚗 Drive time: 2 hours one way
10. Winter Park boat trip – best day trips from Orlando
We love Winter Park which is an easy half day trip from Orlando but feels a world away.
It’s a beautiful area lined with gorgeous shops and restaurants and a lovely place to just hang out and get away from the theme parks for a while.
We try to visit every time we’re in Orlando as it is so feel-good. One of the really fun things you can do in Winter Park is take a scenic boat trip which winds its way through Winter Parks series of lakes.
It’s a great place to see wild alligators and a host of other Floridian wildlife.
Find out more about the boat trips here.
🚗 Drive time: 30 minutes one way
11. Fun on the sand at Cocoa Beach
Cocoa Beach is most definitely old school USA. The beach here is beautiful and we love the quirky pier with its restaurants, shops and entertainment.
If you’re interested in surfing Cocoa Beach is home to the world’s largest surf shop. Just watching the surf boards cut through the waves is a great experience in itself.
This is an easy location to combine with a trip to Kennedy Space Center or just enjoy for a day by itself. Don’t miss Cocoa village, a historic, riverside location which really gives a glimpse into the small towns of yesteryear.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour one way
12. Enjoy old school USA at Silver Springs – best day trips from Orlando
Another of the great National Parks close to Orlando is Silver Springs.
This has a wonderfully old school feel and you can almost imagine the holidaymakers of yesteryear crowding in to the park.
The glass bottom boats are a real highlight here and going out in to the springs with handfuls of fish food and watching all of the fish swimming underneath.
There are restaurants, shops and plenty to keep the family occupied and it’s also a really shady place for those hot days. Don’t miss Silver Springs, it’s a beautiful day out.
Find out more at the Silver Springs website here.
🚗 Drive time: 1 hour 30 minutes one way
Check out our ultimate guide to Florida with kids here.
Further reading on day trips from Orlando
We hope you’ve enjoyed our round up of the daytrips from Orlando.
🗺️ – Check out our itinerary for a two week trip through Florida here for more ideas.
🗺️ – We also have an itinerary for a A family road trip through Florida and Georgia
🏨 – See our list of the best family resorts in Florida (on our sister site Family Hotel Expert)
See our guide to the USA for kids for more inspiration
Your Orlando checklist
- ✈️ Find great flights to Orlando with Opodo
- 🎫 Get your visa for the USA from iVisa who will organise all the forms for you
- 💳 Get a Currensea Card to easily pay for purchases abroad
- 🎢 Buy your themepark tickets at a fantastic price from Attractiontix
- 📚 Get planning your trip with the Lonely Planet guide to Florida
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This is a fantastic post – thank you for sharing all of these tips! We are heading off for our first ever trip to Florida later this year and while we’ll obviously spend most of our time at the Disney Parks I want to make sure we explore further afield as well. I’d heard of Winter Park but most of the others you mention are new to me. The Weeki Wachee Springs sounds brilliant!
Have a great time Chloe – I’ve just published a post on our itinerary in Florida too. Weeki Wachee springs is AMAZING! Let me know how you get on 🙂
You should try the Show Case of Citrus! No star truck rides, orange picking and an orange slushies with vanilla yogurt ice Cream to die for!
Sounds great! Will definitely add to the list for our next visit, thank you for sharing!