Charming Towns and Nature Trips North of Orlando
♦ Routes (free): Detailed travel itineraries in USA
General
Within a drive of up to an hour and a half north of Orlando, there are several charming towns that are recommended to visit. You can stay in the Orlando area and go on star trips to the towns and attractions near them, or stay in one of the towns and tour it and its surroundings. You can read about attractions and entertainment in Orlando itself in the articles: Orlando Amusement Parks and Cool Small Attractions in Orlando.
Tickets to parks and guided tours in Orlando - Book from GetYourGuide.com:
♦ Tickets to the parks of Disney, Universal, Legoland, SeaWorld in Orlando:
Discounted tickets for several days, each day to a different park:
Winter Park
Winter Park is a charming, historic, and upscale town abundant with lakes and featuring many beautiful homes, including impressive estates, located near Orlando, about a 20-minute drive northeast of it.
The best way to get an impression of the town is by a guided boat tour of about an hour, sailing between three lakes connected by picturesque canals, provided by the company Scenic Boat Tour. On the cruise, you can view beautiful villas, historic buildings, interesting vegetation, various species of birds, and kayaks and SUPs of tourists and locals.
Short video about sailing the lakes of Winter Park:
Another excellent way to appreciate this picturesque historic town is via a guided bicycle tour that passes through the city's main points of interest.
The town's main thoroughfare is Park Avenue, which features a selection of lovely street shops, galleries, cafes, restaurants, and museums. The avenue is brick-paved and tree-lined. At its center is a spacious and well-maintained urban park called "Central Park," featuring a rose garden, fountains, and sculptures. A popular farmers' market takes place in the park every Saturday morning. The town has many other parks, as well as botanical gardens and golf courses.
At the end of this avenue is located Rollins College, which is the oldest university in Florida, established in 1885. This university is considered one of the most beautiful in the USA. It is worth taking a walk through the university grounds to see the beautiful, well-kept buildings nestled in vegetation and to walk along the shore of the lake on which it is situated. You can also visit (for free) a nice art museum located within it.
It is also worth visiting an impressive hotel called: The Alfond Inn, which belongs to the university—a luxurious and impressive boutique hotel with atmosphere, a beautiful courtyard, and a quality restaurant.
In the town, there are two recommended and unique art museums:
The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art – an impressive and unique museum with the world's largest collection of Tiffany works, including jewelry, vases, paintings, and many glass creations.
A whole designed chapel and many lamps and lovely stained-glass window panes. The museum is located in the city center in the heart of Park Avenue.
The chapel in the Morse Museum:
The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, housed in the historic home of the Czech-born American artist. The museum holds a collection of over 200 of his works. A guided tour of the recommended artist's home and studio is conducted on-site. The museum features lovely sculpture gardens.
In Winter Park, a popular and long-standing art festival is held annually, considered one of the largest in Florida: Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival.
Tours in the Orlando area from the Viator site:
In Orlando:
Near Orlando:
Attractions on the water:
Land-based attractions:
The Villages
The Villages is a well-maintained city in central Florida, only about an hour's drive northwest of Orlando, but another world entirely that I believe no Israeli tourist has heard of so far. It is considered the city with the most pickleball courts (a type of tennis with different paddles and ball) per capita in the world, and in my opinion, also with the most golf carts, many of them in special and beautiful designs, and it has 50 golf courses.
This is a charming and fancy place that serves as a starting point for many trips in the area and a paradise for lovers of shopping, food, music, and sports.
The city has three main squares that are similar to each other in design:
Lake Sumter Landing's Market Square:
Spanish Springs Town Square:
And a third square named: Brownwood Paddock Square.
In the center of each square is a stage where, in the evenings, a band performs, making the evening pleasant with good music suitable for dancing. Indeed, many couples dance in the square to the music, while others sit on benches and chairs around with a drink and enjoy the free live music.
In the square areas, there is a huge selection of restaurants, clubs, shops, and cafes. Everything is set among unique buildings and with many small lakes. This is an ideal place mainly for retirees; most who live and visit here are older people and even the elderly. The music clubs are full of dancing couples, and the restaurants, bars, and squares are bustling with people. The city has over 120,000 residents and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the USA in terms of population.
I recommend staying 2-3 nights in The Villages and from there going out for several trips in the vicinity as I will detail later: to the town of Mount Dora, to Silver Springs State Park, and to special horse farms.
Recommended accommodation in The Villages:
TownePlace Suites The Villages
A recommended suite hotel featuring equipped suites with a kitchen. The hotel has studio apartments, apartments with a bedroom and living room, and apartments with 2 bedrooms and a living room suitable for up to 6 people. The price includes a continental breakfast. Excellent location adjacent to Spanish Springs Town Square near plenty of restaurants, clubs, and shops. The hotel has a heated pool and fitness center. Free internet and parking.
A high-quality hotel in an excellent location at Brownwood Paddock Square near restaurants, clubs, and shops. The hotel features a swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa, fitness center, restaurant, and bar. Free internet and parking.
Hampton Inn & Suites Lady Lake/The Villages
A 3-star hotel belonging to the Hilton chain. The hotel has spacious rooms and suites. The hotel features a pool and fitness center. Free internet and parking.
Mount Dora
Mount Dora is a charming small tourist town in central Florida about 40 minutes northwest of Orlando. The town has a cute historic center with impressive buildings and is abundant with restaurants, shops, and atmosphere. It is located on the edge of a lake connected by canals to another lake.
Mount Dora was chosen by many tourist sites as one of the best small towns in Florida. Definitely a town with charm and character, beautiful houses, and a pastoral lake. The town hosts many festivals throughout the year and is known as the "City of Festivals."
In the town, there is a photogenic lighthouse named: Grantham Point Lighthouse, located in a lovely park and considered one of the town's symbols.
It is recommended to take a guided boat tour of two hours on the lake and in the canals. Premier Boat Tours offers a recommended cruise during which you can see plenty of wildlife, especially birds and alligators, charming and decorated houses along the canal and on the lakefront, and vegetation characteristic of Florida.
Another recommended activity in this town is a food tour of about two hours given by a recommended guide named Kimberly from Mount Dora Taste of Our Town Tours.
On the tour, you taste a variety of dishes at several restaurants, all in the historic town center, ranging from Mediterranean to Mexican, Belgian, Cuban, and French, including wines and margaritas to enhance the atmosphere. Between one restaurant and another, you visit unique and colorful art shops where you also have tastings of delicacies and wines.
Every Sunday a popular farmers' market takes place in the town center called: Mount Dora Village Market, and on Saturdays and Sundays there is a flea market in town called: Mount Dora Flea Market.
Silver Springs State Park
Silver Springs State Park is a park with natural springs that includes a large lake, rivers abundant with wildlife (mostly aquatic but also monkeys), and even filming sites for old movies like "Tarzan." The park has several hiking trails.
Especially recommended: Silver Springs Swamp Trail – a 2.9 km circular trail with excellent views among wildlife and typical vegetation.
You can take a guided glass-bottom boat tour on the lake, but it is highly recommended to paddle a clear kayak in the river and lake while viewing "manatees" (sea cows), fish, sea birds, alligators, turtles, and even a shipwreck up close and from above. The duration of the highly recommended guided cruise is about two hours.
♦ To order a clear kayak tour from the Viator site: Glass Bottom Kayak Tours of Silver Springs
Manatees in Silver Springs:
The park is located about an hour and a half (130 km) northwest of Orlando and only about 40 minutes (35 km) north of the town of The Villages.
Short video about a trip to Silver Springs:
Gypsy Gold Horse Farm
The horse farm named Gypsy Gold is located a little over an hour (110 km) northwest of Orlando (about half an hour south of Silver Springs). This is a farm of special black and white horses that have a long hair mane both on the neck and in the tail and on the legs.
To order a guided tour of the horse farm from the Viator site:
Gypsy Gold Horse Farm Tour. The tour lasts about two hours. You must arrive independently at the farm at the address provided on the aforementioned site.
A guided tour of about two hours is conducted at the farm by the 84-year-old owner. The farm owner describes the history of the farm and its special horses, presenting pictures of the various horses accompanied by humorous descriptions. He bought the horses from gypsies in England. Initially, he raised the horses for sale, selling about 50 foals a year. After the economic crisis of 2008, the demand for these horses decreased, and he converted the farm to tourism. It is a large farm with about 30 horses, mules, donkeys, and goats. You walk through the farm between the pens with the horses and the various animals in the environment with many large trees. Children are allowed to get on and take pictures with the horses.
New Smyrna Beach
You can read about trips in New Smyrna Beach and its surroundings in my article. This is a cute city located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, about an hour's drive northeast of Orlando. The city has an excellent sandy beach and features rivers and swamps in its heart with many animals and vegetation, making it an excellent destination for nature and sea recreation including fishing, boating, jet skis, swimming, diving, surfing, and kite surfing as well as hiking.
I recommend, for those who have time, to stay here for 2-3 nights to spend time both in this city and its lovely beaches and in nearby attractions such as nature parks, a trip to the town of Daytona Beach where the car racing tracks are located, and even a day trip to the space center at Cape Canaveral and more.
The beaches of New Smyrna Beach:
Smyrna Dunes Park, where there are very long hiking trails on elevated wooden platforms:
The Space Center at Cape Canaveral:
