Planning a Trip to Florida

March 24, 2022April 2, 2021 by beyondthebucketlist

Planning a Trip to Florida

This post may contain affiliate links which means Trip Scholars may make a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here. Thanks for helping us keep the lights on!

The raw beauty of Florida is unmatched by any state in the continental United States. In a single day during a Florida road trip, you can drive from the rolling waves of the East Coast to the dense panther-filled jungles in Central Florida. When planning a trip to Florida, curious travelers will want to understand its natural beauty and complexities.

As a tourist, your visit to Florida will likely be jam-packed with beach lounging, seashell collecting, kayaking in the Keys, hiking in the Everglades, and swimming in crystal-clear lagoons. If you are wondering how to plan a trip to Florida, we suggest you begin by exploring it from home. By familiarizing yourself with the following important topics will lay the groundwork for you to really understand Florida as more than a simple tourist destination.

Explore the Nature to Plan your Trip to Florida

The Everglades

The Everglades is one of the largest of America’s National Parks. It’s brimming with wildlife and vast, wide-open natural landscapes, and no visit to Florida is complete without a day or two spent there looking for gators. Learning about Florida’s wildlife and conservation efforts will help you appreciate the landscapes and species found only here. The National Park website has plenty of resources to virtually explore the subtropical wilderness.

If you’re more of a visual learner, or mostly interested in the wildlife that this environment shelters, this free Discovery documentary focuses on the relationship among the native species.

Bird Watching

Florida is world-renowned as a bird watcher’s paradise. Even I couldn’t help but be enthralled by the vast number of large exotic birds that call Florida home: Cormorants, American White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, and Ibis just to name a few. This Florida Birding website provides great resources for identifying species and the game Wingspan is a fun way to learn about many of the birds you will see.

Manatees, The Gentle Giants of Florida

To round out your knowledge of Florida wildlife, you can’t miss researching the Florida Manatee. Endangered and protected, they are perhaps one of the most important native species that call Florida home. This National Geographic article explores the slow, underwater life of sea cows and why they are so at risk.

I visited several state parks in Florida, including Blue Springs and Silver Springs, where sightings of manatees are common. If you are heading to Tampa, here are more tips to see manatees in person.

Explore the History to Plan your Trip to Florida

St. Augustine-- The First Settlement in the United States

Jamestown and Plymouth get all the glory when it comes to colonizing the United States, but St. Augustine was established long before its northern counterparts. This History Channel article lays out how the Spanish colony was established, as well as the timeline of France and Spain arriving and laying claim to settlements in Florida.

Today St. Augustine is a tourist mecca in Florida. It’s a beautiful city covered in brick and old colonial architecture. Add in its lovely coastline, and it’s easy to see why it’s one of the top destinations in Florida.

Florida's Cuban Heritage

From Miami to the Keys, any visitor to Florida will notice the heavy Cuban influence in the area: from food to coffee, and rum to cigars. It’s apparent that although we cannot trade with Cuba itself, Cuban culture plays a huge role in Florida. During my time in Florida, I savored Cuban sandwiches and guava jam just like I enjoyed during a previous visit to Cuba. This PBS article explains the four great exoduses of Cubans to Florida, and why so many immigrated to the neighboring state.

The Seminoles

Native Americans are integral to the fabric of the United States. After centuries of oppression, tribes like the Seminoles continue to preserve their rich traditions. This is the official Seminole Tribe website and it provides lots of information for those interested in learning about Florida’s most famous Indian Nation. They are the only Native American Tribe to never sign a peace treaty with the US government.

The Seminoles are an important, lesser-known group in Florida’s history. Slaves from Georgia and South Carolina fled to Florida and took refuge with the Seminole people. The offspring of the slaves and the Seminoles created the Black Seminoles, as outlined in this Yale article. The Black Seminoles were known for their bravery and tenacity during the Seminole wars and after the fact many were exiled to the Bahamas.

Black History in Florida

From the first free black settlement in Fort Mose to the slave trade fueling the sprawling sugar plantations of Florida, to the many influential Black Floridians in recent history and today, Black Americans played a large role in Florida’s history. In fact, right before the civil war was over, half of Florida’s population was enslaved African Americans. This article takes a look at Florida’s slave-trade history.

Florida was a confederate state during the civil war, but not all of Florida– the Keys famously tried to remain part of the union, despite mainland Florida’s views on slavery.

The Conch Republic

The Keys also once seceded from the United States for a completely unrelated reason. Visit the Florida Keys and you’ll see dark blue flags proudly fluttering in the wind with the white emblazoned logo of the Conch Republic. In the 1980s, during the ramping up of the War on Drugs, the Florida Keys seceded from the US in protest. Not in protest of anti-drug laws, per se, but because of the highly invasive roadblocks set up on the way to Key West. This short podcast from Stuff You Should Know outlines the publicity stunt and the weird history of the Conch Republic.

The Florida Keys are a must-see on any Florida itinerary. From the bustling famous Key West to the more laidback Key Largo– there’s an island for every kind of traveler.

Movies and books to help you plan a trip to Florida

Cocaine Cowboys

In our exploration of Florida, we have to glance at the Cocaine trade. Florida has long been a major player in the international trade of Cocaine, both as a port of entry and as a major consumer of the infamous drug.

The documentary Cocaine Cowboys does a great job of examining the booming Miami Cocaine trade of the 1980s. Straight from the mouths of cops, citizens, and smugglers, it’s a harrowing look at an unscrupulous time in Florida’s history.

Florida & the Great Depression

Christopher Knowlton’s book, Bubble in the Sun, is a great read for those who want to learn a little more about the glamorous side of Florida and how it caused the US economy to come crashing down. The book illustrates how the boom of Florida in the roaring 20s, a land of excess and crime, may have directly caused the great depression. Florida has a complicated modern history of development, overindulgence, and extravagance. You’ll still see signs of this today walking the high-rise lined streets of Miami.

Florida is Weird

We’ve all heard the infamous “Florida man” stories. But take it from longtime Florida resident Dave Barry– it only gets weirder the longer you stay. His book Best. State. Ever. is a look at the weirder side of Florida and the odd attractions and stories that make his state so unique.

Whether it’s Florida that brings out the weirdness in us or the other way around, I found myself sucked into the strange culture during my visit. Standing in a parking lot in the middle of the night feeding stray cats from a can of Spam and parading a herd of ducks across the lot with crackers, I realized that maybe I had become ‘Florida woman’.

Planning a Trip to Florida

After spending a few weeks road-tripping through the state, I found Florida to be one of the most interesting states in the US, with diverse landscapes, a melting-pot cultural history, idyllic beaches, and also a prominent wildlife destination. Planning your visit is easy. But exploring the intricacies of Florida and digging deeper takes a little preparation. Be sure to check out all the resources we have available in our Tripscholars Resource Library.

This guest post was contributed by Geena at Beyondthebucketlist.

We love to learn from our guest writers and appreciate their expertise! Visit her website by clicking on the image or name below.

beyondthebucketlist

DO YOU WISH YOU COULD TRAVEL MORE?

You've landed in the right place! Tripscholars is here to help you extend the joy and wonder of travel far beyond your days on the road. Find travel education tips and inspiration in our ROADMAPS BLOG. Save yourself time and money by using our TRAVEL RESOURCES LIBRARY where we have already gathered top resources for you to enjoy from home. Tripscholars is where curious travelers come for meaningful travel planning and trip research.

Click Here to Learn More

Let's Connect

I’d like to send you a free gift!

The Curious Traveler’s 5 Step Guide to More Meaningful Trips

Like it? Pin it for later!

Share this post

There is Always More to Discover on the Trip Scholars Blog!

The 35 Best Movies in Greece to Watch Before Your Trip

What to Learn Before Your Trip to Indonesia

Parvati Valley, India. Photo by the Author

Incredible India: How to Plan for the Trip of Your Lifetime

Non-binary and Transgender Travel Guide

Highlands, Islands, and Unforgettable Cities – Planning a Trip to Scotland

Erica Forrest, author with her book Worldschoolers: Innovative Parents Turning Countries Into Classrooms

Worldschoolers Book

Nature Journaling Supplies: Build Your Nature Journal Kit

Person writing in a notebook with a map, passports, camera and phone on desk showing how to plan an itinerary

How to Plan an Itinerary: Your 9 Step Guide to Amazing Trips

Explore the Mythology of Your Destination

What to Learn Before Your Trip to Indonesia

March 24, 2022February 9, 2021 by beyondthebucketlist

What to Learn Before

Your Trip to Indonesia

Borobudor Temple, Indonesia Photo by Geena Truman

Like most travelers, my first exposure to Indonesia was the island of Bali. Locally known as the “Island of the Gods”, it’s a beachy paradise with a spiritual aura that has, in recent years, become Instagram famous. Because of this, it’s also one of the most heavily touristed regions in the world. It can be easy to forget that Indonesia is so much larger than just Bali, and that Bali, by all accounts, is a limited representation of the rest of the sprawling country. I’ll be sharing what to learn before your trip to Indonesia to make the most of your time in Bali, or any of the islands you are able to visit.

Of Indonesia’s more than 17,000 islands, all scattered across the warm tropical oceans of the equator, about 6,000 of them are inhabited. Each has a unique personality and even its own distinct language. So far, I’ve only had the pleasure of visiting 9 islands, but I can confidently say if paradise on earth exists, you’ll find it here. It’s a country that keeps me coming back and learning more with each visit. There are a lot of pre-trip resources available so you can arrive with a greater understanding of Indonesia’s culture and be ready to hit the ground running.

Learn about Indonesia’s history before your trip

Before you delve into the culture of Indonesia, it’s important to consider what part of the country you’re visiting. Raja Ampat, Flores, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, or Lombok all have drastically different histories and traditions, different religious beliefs, and speak different languages. This can complicate both travel and governing throughout a country. But it adds so much cultural diversity to Indonesia. It’s both the blessing and the curse of being a country composed of individual islands.

To get a big picture look before my first trip to Indonesia, I read Indonesia, Etc. by Elizabeth Pisani. With the enthusiasm of a thrilling travel story, she paints the tumultuous and complicated history of Indonesia’s more than 300 different ethnic groups, and the effort the government has made to unite them. It’s an eye-opening and educated read that helped me to understand Indonesia as a whole.

If you’re itching for more reading material, pick up A Brief History of Indonesia: Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia’s Largest Nation by Tim Hannigan or A Brief History of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium, and Guns: The Story of an Island Paradise by Willard Hanna. These books cover Indonesia’s history, what life is like on the islands, and what makes the islands unique destinations worth visiting.

Of course, if you’re wondering why you may want to go to Indonesia in the first place, the bestseller Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is a light and inspiring place to start.

Explore the culture of the Indonesian Islands Before Your Trip

Once I paint a backdrop of the history of Indonesia, I dive into the culture so that I know what experiences are worth having– those bucket list experiences that I don’t want to miss. For example, visiting the ancient Buddhist temples of Borobudur, the belching sulfur mines of Ijen, and the innovative street food scene of Yogyakarta. Or trekking through the jungles of Sumatra in search of wild orangutans, summiting the smoldering active volcanoes, and exploring the idyllic beaches and colorful underwater worlds living on Indonesia’s reefs.

Here are more resources to guide you toward having the most meaningful and culturally immersive experiences in Indonesia.

Consider DuoLingo

Having the ability to communicate with locals, even just a few phrases, will completely change your trip. You’ll get local recommendations, be able to chat about politics and traditions, and it allows you to ask questions you may not have thought about before your visit. Learning an entire language before your trip is probably unreasonable, but DuoLingo helped me brush up on basic Indonesian phrases quickly. Although each island speaks its own specialized language, most residents also speak Bahasa Indonesia which is what DuoLingo offers. And, it’s completely free. For many more ideas about language learning, read our article, How to Learn a Language Before Travel.

Kecak Dance In Uluwatu Bali

I stumbled upon the traditional Kecak dance scene by accident on my first trip to Bali. It’s a combination of Hindu drama and music, performed with elaborate costumes and no musical instruments. The entire performance is done with only synchronized chanting. To make the display even more memorable you’re overlooking a stunning sunset atop a cliffside within the grounds of a Hindu Temple.

Religiously, Bali is a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, while the rest of Indonesia is predominantly Muslim. Visiting the temples on the island and experiencing the variety of religious backgrounds will widen your perspective.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Indonesia is stuffed full of ancient temples, but only a few have earned the prestigious honor of UNESCO Heritage status. Their website is a great resource to learn the significance of the Borobudur Temple Complex, Komodo National Park, and the Prambanan Temple before you visit. For more ideas about visiting UNESCO sites, read our article, Visiting the World’s Most Valuable Places.

I highly recommend visiting Borobudur at sunrise, as it was meant to be seen. The vast temple complex was crafted with the morning sun in mind, and witnessing that hazy pastel sunrise really enhances your experience.

Food of Indonesia

To get your mouth ready for the pure explosion of pleasure that you’ll experience in Yogyakarta (island of Java), settle onto your couch and pop on the Netflix documentary, Street Food. Diving into the traditional preparations of iconic street foods and highlighting the best vendors to seek out, this documentary opens your eyes to the world of street food all over Asia, especially in the cultural capital of Indonesia–Yogyakarta.

As an avid traveler who loves to get off the beaten path and tries to understand the cultural undertones of a country before I go, I find that Parts Unknown, hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain, is an amazing resource. At the very least, it’s gastronomic inspiration, but often I find that his look at the food culture of a country reveals so much more than gastronomic insights. The Indonesia episodes are particularly intrepid as Bourdain dives into the diverse food culture of Jakarta and even gets to witness a traditional funeral ceremony.

Explore the diverse nature in Indonesia before your trip

Volcanoes and the sulfur mines on Mount Ijen

Volcano hikes are extraordinarily popular in Indonesia, especially for sunrise. There are plenty to choose from– Mount Batur, Mount Bromo, Mount Rinjani– but climbing Mount Ijen is more than just a look at Indonesia’s stunning natural beauty, it’s a look at the back-breaking sulfur industry, as well. National Geographic wrote an amazing piece about the mines and gave a personal look into the lives of the miners who toil away there. It is worth learning more about it before your trip to Indonesia.

My experience climbing Ijen was one of the most memorable of my time in Indonesia. It was almost painfully beautiful to experience the sunrise over the acid lake, watching the blue flames licking out of the mouth of the volcano. It was also eye-opening to meet a few of the miners who live in these hostile conditions day in and day out.

Experience the rainforest and the endangered species that thrive in it

The island of Sumatra is one of only two places in the world where you can still find orangutans in the wild. The only other place is yet another Indonesian island– Borneo. I spent a week in Sumatra trekking through the jungles of Bukit Lawang Nature Preserve to witness orangutans in their natural habitat.

Mass deforestation is, unfortunately, a huge problem in Indonesia, mostly due to palm oil production. If you want to learn more about orangutan conservation or to have your own ethical trekking experience in Indonesia, head on over to Sumatra Orangutan Explore. If you will be getting this once in a lifetime experience, it is worth learning more before your trip.

For some reading material about the rainforest, try Reflections of Eden by Birute Galdikas. I love this book. I cannot stress this enough. If you’re even slightly interested in orangutans and Indonesia, you have to read this book. Birute is an anthropologist who lived in Kalimantan, Borneo and studied orangutans for 40+ years straight. She is known as one of the leading authorities on orangutan research.

Are you ready to visit Indonesia?

Most travelers arrive in Indonesia hoping for pristine beaches and relaxation. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll absolutely get that. But there is so much more to experience, like the deep, rich traditions and complex history that takes time to understand. You can spend months in the country and still barely scratch the surface. These resources will give you a head start so that you can make the most of your Indonesian experience.

Learn more about these resources in the Trip Scholars Resource Library. Have you been to Indonesia or do you plan to visit. Tell us about it in the comments and let us know about any resources you have found valuable.