25 essential road trips from Tampa everyone should do at least once

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Estimated time: 2 hours
You really can't get a feel for how massive a Saturn V rocket is until you take a stroll under one suspended just a few feet above your head, and this is the only place in the world to do that. Take guided tours of launch areas, see historic rockets, ride the Shuttle Launch Experience and see the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County.
Photo via Kennedy Space Center/Facebook

Epperson Lagoon

Estimated time: 35 minutes
Epperson Lagoon’s purified, bright blue waters opened to the public late last year in Wesley Chapel. The 7.5-acre, man made lake and beach has a little something for all ages and activity levels, featuring a waterslide, swim-up bar, floating obstacle course, concert area and kayak rentals.
Photo via Epperson Lagoon/Facebook

Clearwater Beach Pier 60

Estimated time: 45 minutes
It may be the most outright touristy thing on this list — it’s not only on the beach, it’s on a beach regularly called the best in the nation — but that doesn’t mean locals can’t have some fun in the sun at Pier 60. The 1,080-foot pier is a major attraction for anglers, while performers and artisans of all stripes teem the surrounding area 364 days a year for a couple of hours before and after the sun goes down.
Photo via Beach Pier 60/Facebook

Florida Polytechnic University

Estimated time: 45 minutes
Architect Santiago Calatrava designed this lacy behemoth of a building. The Innovation, Science, and Technology (IST) is surrounded by 84 arched pergolas and 94 operable louvers. It is the only Calatrava design in the Southeastern US, and it's great place to Instagram. There’s no way you'll miss it’s stunning architecture heading to Orlando on I-4.
Photo via Florida Polytechnic University/Facebook

Keel and Curley Winery

Estimated time: 25 minutes
A winery, a brewery, a farm, a beautiful event space, and restaurants––Keel and Curley Winery has it all. In 2003 Central Florida blueberry farmer Joe Keel wanted to find something to do with his end-of-crop blueberries, and the winery was born. Now, it’s a must-visit location, only a short drive from Tampa.
Photo via Keel and Curley Winery/Facebook

Replay Museum

Estimated time: 45 minutes
A whimsical, interactive museum filled with over 100 old pinball machines and vintage video games located in the heart of downtown Tarpon Springs. Whether you’re 6 or you’re 60 you’ll find a colorful, hunking piece of old technology to play with. Immerse yourself in some fun 80’s tackiness.
Photo via Replay Museum/Facebook

Cassadaga

Estimated time: 2 hours
A small unincorporated community, Cassadaga claims to be the most spiritual location around, and the psychic capital of the world. Get your tarot cards analyzed, your palms read, or set up an appointment with a spiritual healer at the Cassadaga spiritual camp, sitting quietly in between Orlando and Daytona Beach.
Photo via Cathy Salustri

Honeymoon Island State Park

Estimated time: 45 minutes
One of Florida’s most popular state parks located across from Palm Harbor, Honeymoon Island attracts locals and tourists alike with its beautiful beaches, diverse wildlife, and range of nature activities, including an information center where visitors can learn about the park’s history and ecosystem. There’s also a ferry to another highly-praised Florida destination, the boat-only accessible Caladesi Island.
Photo via Honeymoon Island State Park/Facebook

Sunken Gardens

Estimated time: 30 minutes
Right across from a Panera and an Outback Steakhouse, downtown St. Petersburg’s Sunken Gardens has an unassuming city-like exterior. But upon entrance, the botanical garden offers beautiful trails filled with lush, tropical foliage and calm waterfalls. And there’s flamingos.
Photo via Sunken Gardens/Facebook

Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks

Estimated time: 50 minutes
Tarpon Springs is rich with sea-sponge collecting history and Greek culture––and your out-of-town visitors will love this charming, little waterfront town. There’s many local sponge-oriented tours offered, where you can harvest your very own sea sponges. After your sea adventures, you can eat some of the best Greek food that Tampa Bay has to offer.
Photo via Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks/Facebook

The Venus Project

Estimated time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Take an extensive tour of the funny little houses involved in The Venus Project - a clean, green, and sustainable effort of reinforced concrete domes. This utopian community near Lake Okeechobee is a small-scale example of their blueprint for a new world civilization.
Photo via thevenusproject.com

Weeki Wachee Springs

Estimated time: 1 hour
Mermaids do exist! Located two hours west of Orlando, Weeki Wachee Mermaids offers live shows and a spring fed water park. There’s also a wide variety of activities to do in their crystal blue waters, like kayaking, tubing, and canoeing.
Photo via Weeki Wachee Springs/Facebook

Spook Hill

Estimated time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Let your car defy gravity and roll uphill at this creepy roadside phenomenon in Lake Wales. This historically harrowing site was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places,
Photo via VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/CC 3.0

Whimzeyland

Estimated time: 30 minutes
Whimzeyland is a weird little house in Safety Harbour that is partially built with bowling balls, that's right- a colorful, extravagant bowling ball house. It’s taken over two decades to create this D.I.Y psychedelic wonderland, and it’s definitely worth the short drive.
Photo via Whimzeyland/Facebook

Mable Ringling’s Rose Garden

Estimated time: 1 hour 5 minutes
The oldest operating rose garden in Florida, at a whopping 106 years old, the Mable Ringling’s Rose Gardens in Sarasota are an art exhibit all on its own. The rose garden shares the 66 acre grounds of Ringling with iconic massive banyan trees, and tons of other beautiful Florida-centric fauna.
Photo via Ringling/Facebook

Silver Springs

Estimated time: 1 hour 45 minutes
In the spring of 1938, a colony of rhesus macaque monkeys was established at Silver Springs State Park, in the greater Ocala area. Since then, more than 1000 have been reported, and if you’re lucky enough you’ll see these wild monkeys. Silver Springs also still offers the tourist-favorite glass bottom boat rides too.
Photo via silversprings.com

Solomon’s Castle

Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Designed and built by Howard Solomon, the castle-style home, which is constantly being added to, covers 12,000 square feet and stands (at the moment) three stories high. Tucked away in the deep foliage in Ona, Florida, lies this fairy tale fortress which also serves as an eccentric art gallery.
Photo via Solomon’s Castle/Facebook

Blue Springs State Park

Estimated time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Located on the St. Johns River, Blue Springs is one of the biggest springs in Central Florida, offering plenty of opportunities to see gators, manatees and other Florida wildlife. Diving, kayaking and swimming are also a staple of this spring, and, if you’ve got a license, diving is welcome here too.
Photo via PIXABAY.COM

Bok Tower Gardens

Estimated time: 1 hour 20 minutes
A botanical and historical masterpiece designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., crowned with a neo-Gothic/Art Deco 205-foot bell tower. Escape the city bustle and spend a peaceful afternoon in Lake Wales strolling around this 250 foot acre garden and bird sanctuary.
Photo via Bok Tower Gardens/Facebook

Coral Castle

Estimated time: 4 hours 45 minutes
The drive will be worth the end result with this one - take a road trip down to Miami and experience Coral Castle Museum, a sculpture garden of stone made to look like a castle. There's a very uncomfortable mother-in-law chair for your favorite relative.
Photo via Coral Castle/Facebook