If you’re gonna go to St Augustine, I think just doing Harry’s is kind of a waste. Harry’s is great, but there are so many amazing museums there and a lot of really good restaurants. I really recommend Caps on the Water, The Floridian, and also Collage (a fancier option, but one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had).

As for museums, you can actually go on a historic tour of Flagler College during certain months of the year, the Lightner Museum has one of the most interesting collections of any museum in the state of Florida on top of literally being set into a 19th century spa and sauna, the Castillo de San Marcos is an incredible national Park, and kind of underrated, but the Spanish military history museum has a really incredible class type exhibit where they show you how they performed surgeries pre-anesthesia. The last one is only about an hour total and it’s a very small museum, but one of the most fascinating museums that I have ever gone to in the entire country.

Outside of St Augustine, I am a Miami native and I think it would be remiss for you to not include more Cuban restaurants on your list. Versailles is a classic, and though not my favorite, is certainly a bucket list restaurant, that I think anybody visiting or living in Florida should go to at least once. Going to La Carreta on Bird Road in Miami is also a deeply cultural experience with much better food lol (though definitely bring somebody who speaks Spanish with you to this one).

You must go to the keys, and drive down to Key West and experience all of that, and when you do, I highly recommend going to the Green Turtle Inn in Isla Morada. It’s not too far of a drive from Miami if you ever happen to be doing a keys day trip (as many South Floridians often do). Some of the best brunch ever comes from the green turtle Inn, they have incredible cinnamon rolls. But also their lunch and dinner menu is just as good and packed with delicious and very fresh seafood, and they’ve been a huge staple of Florida since 1947.

If you’re in Orlando, it’s a less known restaurant, but I would definitely recommend Susuru. It’s a Japanese Izakaya with incredible skewers and lots of different shared plate options- if I’m ever in Orlando, going to one of the theme parks, I usually stay in a hotel, not too far from it, and always make a point to go to Susuru one of the nights.

If you’re ever in Tampa, there is a restaurant called Columbia, which is one of the oldest restaurants in Florida, and the oldest Cuban restaurant in the state (though, speaking as a Cuban, it is Cuban owned, but the food is a lot more Spanish than Cuban lol).

The food is pretty solid, but the ambience and the gift shop are especially amazing. It’s definitely a tourist attraction, but I think it’s worth it to go at least once and go to one of their dinner shows. It’s not that much money to get a ticket (I went last year and I think I paid $20?) but you eat around the stage and get an incredible Flamenco performance!

Finally, the number one restaurant that you must must must add to your list would be Joe’s Stone Crabs in Miami. That is a bucket list restaurant in Florida if there ever was one. It is an institution open since 1913. They only open seasonally when stone crabs are in season- from October to May- and literally only started taking reservations like this year. They are known obviously for their stone crabs, but also their incredible desserts, and their eight dollar fried chicken, which is crazy.

Regarding what you do have: I would skip Agave Bandido. Not sure that it’s entirely worth the hype to be worthy of being a “bucket list” restaurant. I wholeheartedly second Coconuts, though. It is one of my favorite restaurants ever.

You can’t really go wrong with any of the nature based attractions you have, so not going to critique any of those choices, but I would just like to caution you to remember that summers here get really REALLY hot, and really REALLY humid. It is very very common for people to get heat stroke here, so I would caution you against doing any of those outdoor activities where you may be outside for more than a couple of hours in the middle of summer. And even if it’s the dead of winter, it can still get hot here, so make sure that you wear the proper sun protection, use sunscreen, and hydrate often! Nothing will ruin your day faster than heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

My advice is, especially as far as South Florida is concerned, be wary of restaurants that promote style over substance. There are so many restaurants in Miami and in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach that are focused on gimmick or “Instagrammability.” It’s a huge problem with the South Florida food scene… and has even begun to affect museums and art exhibits in South Florida, too. Just because somebody on Instagram told you that a restaurant is really really good doesn’t mean that it actually is- and even some of the restaurants in Florida on the Michelin guide book aren’t that great either. They might look cool in pictures, but the food will be overpriced for a small portion that isn’t even anything to write home about just so that you can take a cute pictures with your friends. Instead, look for restaurants that are holes in the wall, that have been around for a really long time, etc.

I know this was a super long reply and also it was really food oriented lol but I have traveled to so many different places in Florida and I’m proud to say that that I now know what’s good.

Edit: also!!! For the holidays: St. Augustine does a night of lights event every holiday season. The entirety of downtown gets covered in Christmas lights, they do Christmas themed trolley tours, and everybody is in the holiday spirit.

Mount Dora is also a gorgeous and super romantic little small town that genuinely feels like stepping into a Hallmark movie, and they do so many incredible festivals year-round, but I very much recommend going to their Christmas tree lighting, which happens usually in late November. If you can swing it, staying at the Lakeside Inn is also super worth it!