General Information

• Visit Florida
• www.visitflorida.com
• Operated by the state’s tourism board, this site is content-rich. In addition to basic information on many of the state’s attractions, as well as weather reports and event calendars, Visit Florida also offers trip-planning tools, blogs, video features, and reservation services. While the site is unflinchingly positive about everything (of course), it’s surprisingly informative and an excellent resource if you’re in the initial stages of planning a trip.

Newspapers

To keep up with daily news in Florida, the websites for four papers in the state are good resources.

• Miami Herald
• www.miamiherald.com
• Covers Miami and South Florida.

• St. Petersburg Times
• www.tampabay.com
• Covers the Tampa Bay area.

• Orlando Sentinel
• www.orlandosentinel.com
• Covers Orlando and Central Florida.

• Florida Times-Union
• www.jacksonville.com
• Covers Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

For arts, entertainment, and event calendars, alternative weekly papers are the best resource.

• Miami New Times
• www.miaminewtimes.com
• Covers South Florida.

• Broward-Palm Beach New Times
• www.browardpalmbeach.com
• Covers South Florida.

• Creative Loafing
• http://tampabay.creativeloafing.com
• http://Sarasota.creativeloafing.com
• Covers Tampa Bay and Sarasota.

• Orlando Weekly
• www.orlandoweekly.com
• Covers Central Florida amusements beyond the theme parks.

• Folio Weekly
• www.folioweekly.com
• Has listings for the areas around Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Parks and Recreation

• National Parks Service
• www.nps.gov/state/FL
• This site offers information on all 10 national parks in Florida, with hours, seasons, entrance fees, and other vital information.

• Florida State Parks
• www.floridastateparks.org
• A fantastic resource for every possible bit of information you could need on any of Florida’s 160 state parks.

• Reserve America
• www.reserveamerica.com
• Many of the state, national, and privately owned RV parks in Florida use Reserve America to process campground reservations.

• Ross’s Central Florida Surfing Reports
• www.cflsurf.com
• Surfers should point their browsers to Ross’s for up-to-date information on conditions on the central Atlantic coast around the Cocoa Beach area; the site also has links to webcams and surf-report sites throughout the rest of the state.

• Central Florida Fishing Report
• www.centralfloridafishingreport.com
• Although this site requires registration to access some of its features, many of which are quite valuable for those who will be making repeat fishing expeditions in the state, the site offers captain reports and angler reports from all over Florida that can help you plan a trip with up-to-date information on what’s biting and what they’re biting on.

© Jason Ferguson from Moon Florida, 1st Edition