When you think of the state of Florida, you may have white sandy beaches, palm trees and certain theme parks come to mind. And of course, we can all appreciate beautiful beaches and fun, magical experiences. But the sunshine state has so much more to offer than what it’s typically known for!

In Florida, you can get up close and personal to incredibly unique, wild creatures. Float down crystal clear rivers, seeing all the way down to the bottom. You can visit the most remote beach in the country where few people will ever venture. Search for prehistoric fossils unsurfaced by waters and rivers. Florida truly is full of natural wonders and treasures.

We’re here to give you a little taste of the real Florida. The natural, wild side of Florida. Here are seven experiences you should add to your Florida Bucketlist for your next trip! 

1. Hunt for Shark’s Teeth

 Have you ever gone on a treasure hunt for shark’s teeth? This is an adventure that adults and kids will love to do together- the perfect family friendly activity! Bonus, this is an educational adventure if you throw in some lessons about sharks.

Caspersen Beach, FL

Caspersen Beach is in Venice, FL and is known to be THE sharks tooth capitol of the world. Yes, of the world! Locals and tourists alike visit this special place in search of finding sharks teeth. What makes this area rich in sharks teeth? Well, millions of years ago, Florida lay submerged under water, and a variety of shark species roamed the area. Venice Beach sits along a sloping shelf of a coastal land mass. With no sudden drop off, a layer of shark teeth is gradually eroded over time and brought on shore.

Where to go:

Caspersen Beach provides a large parking lot, boardwalk, outdoor shower, and even a canoe/kayak launch along Harbor Drive. 

What to bring: 

You’ll need the right tools for this adventure. Bring a solid shovel and a metal sifter. We also brought our CGear Sand Free Mat which acted as a perfect place to sort through the sand and shells to find teeth. You’ll also want to bring a baggie of some sort to store your new treasures!

Gainesville

Another fun area to search for sharks teeth is in Gainesville, Florida. We did a private tour with Mudslinger Tours, where a guide brought us through a private creek. They provided all the tools for this 3 hour excursion, and are excellent with kids. We found much larger teeth than the ones in Venice. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of all the different kinds of teeth and fossils we found. We highly recommend this tour for a fun, educational adventure. For contact information for Mudslinger Tours, click here.

We recently got this Osprey Hydration backpack, which has been perfect for our travels, and great for keeping everyone hydrated when hiking!

2. Everglades Airboat Tour

Everglades National Park is made of 1.5 million acres of wetlands.  It’s landscape is made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods. One way to really experience the beauty of the Everglades and see some of the wildlife, is to take an airboat tour. There are many airboat tour operators along 41 across the Everglades.

We chose to do a tour with Everglades Safari Park. They have RV parking in their lot (even for a big rig like ours!) They offer a variety of tours, plus a nature walk, wildlife show and the opportunity to pet a gator.

Our tour was 40 minutes, and our guide was so knowledgeable. We learned about the landscapes, ecosystem, and animals that make up the Everglades. We happened to go on a colder, windy day, so we didn’t see very many gators. Just the airboat ride experience was worth the trip! Afterwards we went to the wildlife show to learn more about alligators!

It was a perfect family-friendly excursion.

To reserve tickets for your Everglades Safari Park tour, click here.

3. Kayak Safari

Silver Springs State Park

This was one of our favorites family adventures in Florida. Silver Springs State Park is known for it’s “glass bottom” boat tours, and is actually the oldest tourist destination in Florida! The river is crystal clear and there is so much wildlife to see! This trip showed us the rustic, natural part of Florida, and it sure is beautiful!

We highly recommend going on a canoe or kayak adventure down the Silver River. Kayak and canoe rentals are available on site, or you can bring your own (there is a launch fee). We LOVE our inflatable kayaks, they are easy to bring anywhere!

The entire kayak trip down the river is filled with breathtaking beauty of the crystal clear water, landscape and wildlife. We saw so many turtles and fish, a lot of alligators, and MONKEYS! Yes, monkeys. There is a small island down the river where there are around 300 wild monkeys. They are so much fun to watch and observe, but do not get too close (they will attack!)

Please note that there is no swimming allowed in this river. And you wouldn’t want to, we saw a ton of alligators along the riverbank! 

Sadly, we didn’t see any manatees on this trip, but they can be seen here! Maybe you will have luck and seeing these amazing creatures on your kayak safari in Silver Springs State Park.

4. Swim with Manatees

If you’re looking for off-the-beaten path things to do in Florida, you have to add swimming with manatees to the list! 

You’ll want to bring: snorkel gear, towel, underwater camera and a method of transportation (like our inflatable kayaks)

Three Sisters Springs is one of the most well known areas to view manatees. You can choose to swim with the manatees or just look at them while you stay dry on land!

If you want to visit Three Sisters Springs, but don’t necessarily want to get wet…then head to the Three Sisters Springs Center. This area has a boardwalk surrounding the springs, where you can view the manatees in the water underneath a beautiful canopy of trees. The boardwalk hours are 8:30-4:30. For current admission prices, click here. 

You cannot access the water from Three Sisters Springs Center. In order to swim with the manatees, you need to kayak or canoe there. Nearby public boat launches are located at Hunter Springs Park or King’s Bay Park. You can also do a guided tour that will take you by boat right to the spring entrance (there are many companies that offer this!)

NOTE: Once you arrive by canoe or kayak, you’ll need a way to tie your watercraft to the ropes along the shore. Rules state that you cannot attach your watercraft to vegetation on the shore, FYI.

The main areas in the Springs where the manatees gather together are roped off. However, they do swim in and out of these areas and you can get pretty close! Just remember, DO NOT touch them!  Manatees are such amazing creatures to observe, we know you’ll love this experience!

5. Visit One of the Most Remote National Parks

About 70 miles west of Key West, lies Dry Tortugas National Park. The park is known for its tropical reefs and fish, shipwrecks, and the massive (yet unfinished) Fort Jefferson. There are only two ways to get to the Dry Tortugas: by ferry or seaplane.

The ferry ride is 2.5 hours one way, and gives you about 4 hours of time on the island. The seaplane is a pricier option, but is only a 40 minute flight, and gives you a full 6 hours to enjoy the island. Both services provide snorkel equipment and life vests.

What to do here? Swim, snorkel, fish, explore Fort Jefferson, or just relax and enjoy the pristine landscape and views surrounded by crystal blue water.

To read our full review and guide to Dry Tortugas, click here. 

6. Explore the Florida Keys by Boat

There’s more to the Florida Keys than just Key West! We recommend renting a boat or hiring a charter to take you fishing and to the outlying sandbars around the Keys. *NOTE: There are some waters that are very shallow and you’ll need to be a highly skilled boater with charts and GPS to navigate, hence why hiring a boat charter is probably a better option *

We happened to meet a very nice family who invited us onto their boat for a day out on the water. We went fishing and caught over 40 fish! (plus a few sharks!) Then, we headed to a sandbar that only locals know about. The area offers shallow, crystal clear water to splash around and play. There were even swings hung from rugged trees over the water. Truly nature’s playground!

7. Explore Caverns

Did you know there were CAVES in Florida? 

Located in Marianna, Florida Caverns State Park is the only park in Florida with air-filled caves accessible to the public. You must book a cave tour to enter the caves, and this is done on a first come, first served basis (not reservable online.) There is a $5 entrance fee, along with a tour fee ($10.75/adults and $5/kids ages 3-13)

The park is opened from 8am until sundown, 365 Days a year. However, cave tours are not available Tuesday or Wednesday or on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Usually, cave tours sell out by the morning, so be sure to arrive early when they open to reserve your tour!

Unfortunately, the cave was closed due to flooding from recent rains when we planned to visit. It’s best to watch the weather and call the park before your visit to make sure the tours are operating.

For up to date information about Florida Caverns State Park, click here. 

Although we believe we hardly have to convince anyone to visit Florida, we hope these Bucketlist places inspires you to visit and explore a different side of Florida. The real, natural, WILD side of Florida! 

You can catch a glimpse of our weekly adventures in Florida by viewing our YouTube Videos “The HenHouse Adventures.” Be sure to like, subscribe and turn on those notifications to follow along our journey as we travel the country in our RV!

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