The Complete Guide To: Secret Florida

SECRETS? IN FLORIDA?

Many. The Sunshine State gets more than 80 million visitors each year, and many of these tourists descend on Orlando, the world's theme-park capital. But even in the city at the centre of peninsular Florida, there are some little-explored corners.

Epcot is not one of them. Originally conceived by Walt Disney as an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", its high-minded mission was gradually eroded until it ended up as just another theme park - albeit one of the world's most impressive and popular. But away from the crowds, just down the road from Walt Disney World off Highway 192, is the real town that the Disney Corporation created.

In its architecture, Celebration celebrates the past, not the future - in the form of neo-traditionalist homes that are hybrid reproductions of those found in the United States' prettiest old towns, such as Savannah and Charleston. White picket fences and rocking chairs on porches set the nostalgic tone.

Unlike other Disney creations, you do not need to pay at the gate - just drive straight in and park. To explore, ask for a walking trail map at the town hall, or rent a bike or electric-powered buggy at Wheelz of Celebration (741 Front Street). Eat at the Market Street Café (701 Front Street), a fine 1950s-styled diner, and, if you want to stay over, book in to the town's only lodgings, the Celebration Hotel (001 407 566 6000; www.celebrationhotel.com; doubles from $229/£121). Calling itself "delightfully charming", the wood-framed building occupies a lake-front position, and is decorated with sepia photos of old Florida.

ANYTHING GENUINELY OLDER?

For another take on theme-park-free Orlando, aim for a sophisticated suburb just a few miles north-east of downtown (and therefore about 45 minutes' drive from Walt Disney World). The refined neighbourhood of Winter Park, established in the late-19th century as a kind of New England in the south, is full of antique shops, jewellers and art galleries. Sophisticated cafés spill out on to the red-brick pavements of its main drag, Park Avenue; the pick of the bunch for brunch is 310 Park South (001 407 647 7277). From 10am-2pm each Sunday, Florida-sized portions of eggs Benedict or California scramble cost around $10 (£5.50).

At the north end of Park Avenue, you'll find the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (001 407 645 5311; www.morsemuseum.org; open 9.30am-4pm daily except Mondays, with late opening to 8pm on Fridays, and Sundays from 1pm; $3/£1.60). It holds an extensive collection of exquisite stained glass designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. For less esoteric entertainment, take a Scenic Boat Tour (001 407 644 4056; www.scenicboattours.com; daily, on the hour from 10am-4pm; $10/£5.30). These well-guided trips take you through a fascinating collection of lakes linked by narrow canals. You can spy on the waterfront mansions of the well-to-do local residents.

If you can get to Winter Park between 7am-1pm on a Saturday, you will find a farmers' market taking place at the corner of New York and New England Avenues.

BEYOND ORLANDO?

You're soon in the back of beyond. Much of Florida is covered in lakes, swamps and forest. Just south of Orlando, on the edge of Poinciana, lies the Disney Wilderness Preserve, whose 12,000 acres of pine and scrubby flatwoods, marshes and wetlands are protected by the Nature Conservancy (001 407 935 0002; www.nature.org/florida; $3/£1.60). By following one of the hiking trails, you may see bald eagles, Sherman's fox squirrels and sandhill cranes.

For wildlife delivered on a plate, head over to nearby West Lake Taho, to the offices of Boggy Creek Airboat Rides (001 407 344 9550; www.bcairboats.com). As you skim at up to 45mph over the surface of the shores of the lake, you're likely to spot alligators, raccoons, herons and ibises. A half-hour ride costs $22/£12.

SOMETHING MORE SEDATE?

Drive half-an-hour further south to Historic Bok Sanctuary (001 863 676 1408; www.boksanctuary.org; $10/£5.30), near Lake Wales. "Singing" carillon towers in the Netherlands inspired a Dutch immigrant, Edward W Bok, to build this dramatic 205ft pink and marble edifice, which stands on peninsular Florida's highest point - itself a modest 298ft above sea level.

The structure, erected in the 1920s, towers over great swathes of orange groves below. The landscaped woodland gardens around the tower are a lovely place for a stroll. Try to time your visit to coincide with one of the recorded carillon concerts, which take place at 1pm and 3pm daily.

For a place to stay, consider one of the quirky, antique-filled bedrooms nearby Chalet Suzanne (001 863 676 6011; www.chaletsuzanne.com; doubles from $169/£89 including breakfast). This family-run business, which has been operating since 1931, also has a gourmet restaurant, and famous soup cannery - the soups (for sale in the shop) were part of the supplies for the 1973 Apollo XVI mission.

ANY UNDISCOVERED PARTS OF THE STATE?

You will bump into few, if any, Brits in the Panhandle. The westernmost chunk of the Sunshine State, which stretches along the borders of Georgia and Alabama, has plenty to offer - and is also the location for the state capital, Tallahassee. Yet it does not even appear on the Florida maps in most UK tour operators' Florida brochures, let alone get in their programmes.

Inland, the atmosphere is more Deep South than Floridian. The sleepy town of Quincy in Gadsden County, for example, has oak trees dripping with mossy beards, and clapboard homes with wrap-around porches and overblown porticoes. It looks like a set from Gone With The Wind; more information from 001 866 841 4237; www.visitgadsden.com.

At the oyster-farming centre of Apalachicola, you could buy a dozen oysters for a dollar from the waterside huts where they are shucked, then stay in the antique-filled surroundings of the 100-year-old Coombs House Inn (001 850 653 9199; www.coombshouseinn.com; doubles from $96/£51 including breakfast).

ANY DECENT BEACHES?

The coast of the Panhandle is blessed with plenty of them, such as St Joseph Peninsula State Park's strand: awesomely long, with sand the consistency of fresh, crunchy snow - access $4/£2.20 per vehicle, www.floridastateparks.org/stjoseph.

Keep heading west, quickly passing tacky Panama City Beach, and you'll come to Seaside. The planned community of whimsical, pastel-coloured homes is every bit as surreal in real life as it did when it was used as the prime location for the film The Truman Show. The homes can be rented (001 850 231 2222; www.seasidefl.com), as can romantic Beachfront Cottages with giant outdoor whirlpool tubs (prices from $440/£232 per night, without breakfast). But the cheapest option is the Motorcourt, slick motel rooms start at $171/£90 a night, without breakfast.

AN ISLAND ESCAPE?

The place to head for is Cedar Key, just off probably the least-visited stretch of the state's littoral - the sparsely populated Big Bend, which makes a big arc from the Panhandle down towards Tampa. Cedar Key is now a sleepy island village of artists and fishermen. Yet back in the late-19th century, when its timber barons made a fortune logging cedar wood, it was a thriving port. Stay at the atmospheric Island Hotel (001 352 543 5111; www.islandhotel-cedarkey.com; doubles from $121/£64 including breakfast), which dates from 1859, and make boat trips out to the surrounding bird-rich islands, a dozen of which make up the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge ( www.fws.gov/cedarkeys).

Further down the Gulf Coast, the barrier islands from Clearwater to St Pete Beach have for the most part been spoilt by high-rise condominiums and hotels. But Caladesi Island State Park ( www.floridastateparks.org/caladesiisland) is protected against any development. Accessible only by boat, its three miles of pristine sands were judged to be the best in the continental US last year by America's leading authority on fine beaches, Dr Stephen Leatherman of Florida International University.

Continuing south, the islands near Fort Myers have also managed to avoid being over-developed. Most tourists head for the upmarket enclaves of Sanibel and Captiva, but if you want to get right off the beaten track, visit Cayo Costa State Park ( www.floridastateparks.org/cayocosta). Ferries depart from Pineland, on Pine Island - on the voyage, dolphins may gambol in the wake of your boat.

The park's nine miles of white-sand beaches are superb hunting grounds for shells, there are trails for hiking and cycling through hardwood forests (look out for tortoises and nesting ospreys), and you can stay in primitive cabins, or camp. More comfort is on offer on the nearby islet of Cabbage Key (001 239 283 2278; www.cabbagekey.com; doubles from $110/£57 without breakfast). Built on top of an Indian shell mound, the off-beat restaurant and inn comes into its own once the day-trippers have gone.

THE ATLANTIC COAST?

The crowds head for Kennedy Space Center. Instead, take Route 402 to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ( www.fws.gov/merrittisland) immediately north of the Nasa site. A vast array of wintering waterfowl, and manatees in the springtime, inhabit the 140,000-acre refuge - and you also get good views of the vast shuttle launch pads rising out of the watery vastness.

Twitchers should follow the Black Point Wildlife Drive, and come early in the morning or just before dusk. If all that sounds like too much hard work, find an empty spot on the adjacent Canaveral National Seashore, an awesome 24-mile-long strip of wild sandy beach, backed by dunes.

To the north, St Augustine makes a fair claim to be the oldest town in the US: it was founded by the Spaniards in 1565. Its quaint centre is best appreciated after the tour groups have left, so stay in one of the town's many homely B&Bs such as the Victorian Kenwood Inn (001 904 824 2116; www.thekenwoodinn.com; doubles from $105/£55, including breakfast).

ANY URBAN SECRETS?

Most visitors to Miami follow the example of Tony Blair and family: they stay in, and rarely venture out of, Miami Beach. Yet some of the city's less fashionable neighbourhoods deserve exploring too.

One-third of Greater Miami's population is Cuban. These days, many of those who have fled Castro's regime live in the city's affluent suburbs. But Little Havana, where the emigrants first settled, still represents their surrogate homeland. To get a flavour of the district, wander down Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street), from SW 11th Avenue to SW 17th Avenue. You'll pass cigar shops, botanicas (religious shops selling paraphernalia related to the Afro-Cuban Santeria cult), and hole-in-the-wall cafés where you can buy a glass of guarapo (sugar-cane juice) and thimblefuls of powerful black coffee. No one minds if you look in on tiny Maximo Gomez Park, which is invariably packed with dominoes players, but you're only allowed to stay and play if you're over 55.

A five-minute drive away, at 2319 NW 2nd Street at NW 23rd Avenue, you can find a piece of recent history. This is the modest house where Elian Gonzalez lived for several months. Elian was the little Cuban boy who, in 2000, was rescued from a Florida-bound raft, then obliged to return to Cuba. Now a museum, the house is full of dozens of Elian's toys, paintings of him in the company of saints and angels, and disturbing photos of his removal by the security forces. Entrance is free. There are no fixed opening hours: you just have to hope that Delfin, Elian's great-uncle, is around to open the place up.

Ponder Elian's plight over lunch at Versailles (3555 Calle Ocho; 001 305 444 0240). This wonderful 1970s throwback serves vast, inexpensive platefuls of classic Cuban dishes, such as roast pork with black beans and fried plantains.

HOW DO I FIX A TRIP TO SECRET FLORIDA?

The main airline from the UK to Florida is Virgin Atlantic (0870 574 7747; www.virgin-atlantic.com), which flies from London to Orlando and Miami, and from Manchester to Orlando: from £298 return for bookings by 23 January.

British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) flies from London to Orlando, Miami and Tampa - for bookings by 23 January, return fares from £329. If you plan on exploring more than one part of Florida, note that with either airline, you can fly into Orlando and back from Miami, or vice versa, at no extra cost, and that car-rental companies, such as Dollar (0808 234 7524; www.dollar.co.uk), don't charge extra for one-way drop-offs within the state.

It's a long drive to the Panhandle from much of the rest of Florida. So if you're headed there, you could use the free one-way car-hire drop-off arrangement to good effect by picking up a car at Miami or Orlando and dropping it off at Tallahassee or Pensacola. For an open-jaw itinerary like this, you may be best off using a US carrier such as Delta (0845 600 0950; www.delta.com) from Gatwick or Manchester via Atlanta, Cincinatti or New York. Or you could simply fly one-way on Delta to Orlando or Miami to connect with your flight home.

GOING WILD IN FLORIDA

Make for the Everglades National Park, easily accessible from Miami (001 305 242 7700; www.nps.gov/ever; entrance fee for cars $10/£5.20). The 40-mile-wide "river of grass", punctuated with domes of cypress trees and tropical hardwood hammocks, is a unique ecosystem. The Everglades are home to alligators, crocodiles, Florida panthers, deer and 350 species of bird.

To appreciate the wildlife, get out of the car. The Anhinga Trail (at Royal Palm), and the Eco Pond (near the Flamingo Visitor Center) are prime spots for viewing alligators and wading birds. At Flamingo, which is on the park's southernmost edge, you can also rent canoes to explore trails through mangrove creeks, ponds and lakes.

The park's single hotel, Flamingo Lodge, was seriously damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005, and is unlikely to reopen for at least three years. At the moment, the only way to stay within the park's boundaries is to camp - there are two drive-in campsites, plus numerous, less easily accessible "backcountry" sites.

The dry season, from November to April, is the best time to visit the Everglades: many species of birds winter here, the wildlife viewing is easier, and, equally importantly, the mosquitoes are much less aggravating than during the summer months.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

The excellent website www.visitflorida.com has links to local tourist boards throughout the state, while www.florida-inns.com has details of dozens of the state's most enticing inns and historic hotels.

DISNEY WORLD - THE INSIDE STORY

Disney conceals from view the cogs that make Walt Disney World tick. This is done, in Disneyspeak, to "preserve the magic" - to try to ensure the fantasy world Disney goes to such lengths to create is never shattered. Yet you can get a glimpse of the smoke-and-mirrors devices.

One of Walt Disney World's four theme parks, the Magic Kingdom, is built on nine acres of underground tunnels. These allow costumed characters to get to their appropriate part of the park without breaking any illusions (such as a cowboy cropping up in Tomorrowland). The Keys to the Kingdom Tour (001 407 939 8687; $60/£31, on top of the park's regular admission fee) includes a visit to the Utilidors,as the underground tunnels are called (their name is a contraction of "utility corridors"). On the half-day tour, you'll also learn about how "forced perspective" is used in the park (to make, for example, Cinderella's castle seem bigger), and look for "Hidden Mickeys" - subtly concealed images of the mouse's trademark head that act like signatures for the attractions' creators.

The tour guide is also likely to come up with revealing snippets about Disney: for example, male cast members (as Disney's theme-park staff are called) are not allowed to sport facial hair, unless the character they're playing demands it - Disney reckons the clean-shaven look is friendlier.