8 Great Fun Florida Road Trip Stops

Fun Florida road trip stops include driving on dirt roads and beaches, drive thru churches and other businesses, funky buildings, and other quirky Florida.

Building on the theme of Florida Road TripsĀ from a previous McCool Travel article (Road Trip Habits),Ā here are some Florida road trip stops to entertain (and hopefully inform) you.

McCool Travel tip: When possible,Ā stay off the major roads. Seeing Florida from smaller roads is much more fun than from the highways.

1. Florida Beach Scenes

Although there areĀ so many fun Florida road trip stops all over the state, I certainly hope you incorporate some beach time into your next Florida road trip. Perhaps you will see some of Florida’s colorful lifeguard stands, amazing beaches, or kitschy fun decorations.

colorful Miami Beach lifeguard stand
colorful Miami Beach lifeguard stand is a fun South Florida attraction
Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Locations: Anna Maria Island beach

The area near the Daytona Beach boardwalk retains yesteryear charm. The Jantzen lady is just one of the old school discoveries you will find.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
see the Jantzen diving womanĀ in Daytona Beach on your next Florida road trip

Perhaps you will also witness an exploding sunrise.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip funness: glorious Florida sunrises

2. Fun Florida Mailboxes

giant hand holding a mailbox in Miami Beach
Quirky South Florida: Artsy mailbox on Star Island, Miami Beach
manatee mailbox decorated for Easter
Florida Road Trip Attractions: manatee mailbox in Florida Keys

>>> Please also see the McCool Travel article:Ā Road Trip Sights: Manatee Mailboxes

3. USA’s Smallest Post Office

DrivingĀ Tamiami Trailā€”the road between Tampa and Miami (thus, its name Tamiami)ā€”in the middle of the Everglades,Ā is the world’s smallest post office. It is located in the small village ofĀ Ochopee. By the way, my grandparents lived a mile from this post office for about 25 years, so my cards and letters went through this building.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Fun Road Trip Locations in Florida: smallest US Post Office, Ochopee Florida

>>> Please also read the McCool Travel article: Scenic Drives in Florida.

4. Florida’s Funky Buildings

In addition to the smallest post office, Florida is home to the oldest building in the Western HemisphereĀ and countless other quirky, funky, fun buildings.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Stops: pink house on canal (look for manatees)

Little pink houses for you and me!

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Stops: Anna Maria Island stone house

See also Things to Do in Anna Maria Island Florida

I like to call the above house, The Flintstone House? So many houses in Florida were constructed with a miss-mash of whatever stones they could find. Interesting, right?

rear view of Opa-Locka City Hall
view of back of Opa-Locka City Hall

Explore the Arabian themed architecture in Opa Locka, Florida (but read my warnings first!).

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Locations: oldest building in the Americas

Can you believe there is a building in Florida that was built in the year 1141? Read the amazing story aboutĀ theĀ Spanish Monastery.

5. Mossy Roads in Florida

Exploring smaller roads in North Florida will present you with many opportunities to see Spanish moss hanging from oak and cypress trees.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Locations: Spanish moss in Florida
Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Sights: Spanish moss in Florida

6. Dirt Roads in Florida

If your Florida road trip experience has only been on I-95, I-75, and the Turnpikes, then you will be surprised (pleasantly, I hope) to learn that there are plenty of opportunities to drive on unpaved roads.

white sand unpaved road in central Florida
Florida Road Trips Scenes: white dirt road
Florida orange dirt road through citrus grove
Florida orange dirt road through citrus grove

Plenty of dirt roads can also be found in and near the Everglades. For exact locations, see our favorite Miami Scenic Drives.

bright red For Mustang convertible on dirt road in Florida
a convertible is highly recommended for our Miami Scenic Drives itineraries
Ford Mustang converible on dirt road in Everglades
Ford Mustang convertible on dirt road in Everglades

Some beaches allow for beach driving. Daytona Beach is perhaps most well known car beach in the world and it has 13 miles of drivable beach.

speed limit signs on Daytona Beach sand
Florida Road Trips Stops: drive on Daytona Beach

>>> Please also see the McCool Travel article: Things to Do in Daytona Beach

7. Florida Drive Thrus

The state of Florida has ample opportunity to shop, worship, and more from your car. Good thing we are on a road trip!

Farm Stores are a staple of South Florida living.

Farm Stores drive up window in South Florida
Florida Road Trip Funness: Farm Stores Drive Thru

Drive thru liquor stores are all over Florida.Ā Big Daddy’s is the most weep-established and oldest brand, so there are knock offs with cutesy names like Happy Pappy’s.

drive thru liquor store in Florida
Florida Road Trip pit stop: Drive Thru liquor stores

Alas, this location was closed so I could not cure my “eat catfish while driving” jones.

Big Mike's Catfish Shack building in Florida
visit a drive thru Catfish Shack on your next Florida road trip

And, yes, Florida has at least one drive in church. The Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church has two services on Sundays.Ā They serve snacks in the Friendship Hall but I wonder how many bring their own to eat in their vehicles.

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered. What are your favorites Florida road trip stops?
Florida Road Trip Stops: drive in church, photo by driveinchurch.net

8. Florida Cemetery Humor

Somewhat appropriately, I hope, this article on fun Florida road trip stops will end with cemeteries. Residents of Key West, locally called The Conch Republic, celebrate life every day and, as I found out, even spin a humorous slant to death.

Here are just two humorousĀ examples I found in the Key West Cemetery.

I Told You I Was Sick tombstone epitaph in Key West Cemetery
Florida Road Trip attractions: Key West Cemetery humor
tombstone in Key West Cemetery with saying "I'm Just Resting My Eyes"
fun Florida road trip locations: Key West Cemetery

>>> Please also see the McCool Travel article: Favorite Florida Keys Spots.

Other historic cemeteries, not necessarily humorous, in Florida include three Florida National Cemetery locations (Bushnell, Jacksonville, and Lake Worth) andĀ the Coconut Grove Bahamian Settlers Cemetery (where Michael Jackson’s Thriller video was filmed).

purple and white above ground cemetery in Coconut Grove FL
purple and white above ground cemetery in Coconut Grove FL

Some of the other fun Florida road trip stops categories I left off this list include Florida hills, local Florida food and drink, signs, McCool Travel Florida favorites, andĀ attractions.

Do you haveĀ anyĀ favorite Florida road trip stops?

Many fun Florida road trip stops are waiting to be explored and discovered.

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32 thoughts on “8 Great Fun Florida Road Trip Stops”

  1. Interesting choices. I’ve seen quite a few of these since living in Florida. I like visiting all of our great rest areas myself. šŸ˜‰ The manatee mailboxes are all along US1 and A1A.

  2. What fun Florida road trip ideas! šŸ™‚ I have pretty much drove the entire length of Florida a couple of times when we used to vacation in Key West. There is definitely so much to see and do along the way.

  3. A drive-in church? That’s something I’ve never seen! Florida is definitely full of some quirky sights and road-side attractions.

  4. Loved this! One of my favourite things about Daytona is the “yesteryear charm” you mention! Great article

  5. Great ideas for roadtrip stops – and great images! From reading those first two headstones, it looks like Disney took inspiration from Key West Cemetery for their Haunted Mansion graveyard!

  6. Great road trip stops!! I would love the humorous cemetery gravestones! I’ve never made it as far south as Key West, so I’ll keep that stop in mind. The history in Florida always amazes me. St Augustine is one of my fav cities. Would love to see some of Opa Locka one day. Great post! Thanks for sharing!

  7. I love a good road trip!! I’ve been watching Bloodline, some of these shots remind me of that show!

  8. How fun! I’ve always loved Florida’s colorful lifeguard stands, but the diving woman at Daytona Beach takes the cake!

  9. We did the trip twice. Our favorite stops were St. Augustine the town and Vilano Beach, St. Pete – Dali Museum, Alligator Alley for the airboat rides, Nokomis – the beach, and a stop for Indian River Grapefruits near the northern border of Florida.

  10. Love the mailboxes! We took a long road trip through the US last summer (approximately 6,000 miles zig-zagging about) which included part of Florida’s western coast and plan to do some more driving when we visit again in August. So fun to see the US from the road! Anita

  11. I love the fun things you see by the side of the road. I wish I had kept a separate file of photos just labelled ‘roadside nonsense.’ BTW ‘I told you I was sick’ is also the epithet on Spike Milligan’s grave except the church authorities required it to be printed in Gaelic because it looked irreverent.

  12. What a great round-up and reminder of why I love Florida. From quirky sights to natural beauty ( love that Spanish moss!), it’s a one of a kind place.

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