COVID-19 has put all of our amazing vacations on hold. Most of your summer and holiday vacations have probably been canceled and the thought of getting on a plane and having to go through the airport probably scares many of you. However, if you’re like me, you’re growing restless not being able to vacation, explore, and get out of your hometown. I have a solution for you. Here are the best places to vacation in Florida during COVID.

THE KEYS

The Florida Keys is a great desination for a short vacation during this pandemic. It is one of the best places to simply get away and relax for a while. The amount of cases there is much lower than everywhere else in Florida making you feel a little safer. To avoid crowded areas I would suggest staying in a hotel that offers villas or condos so you can maintain a greater distance from the rest of the guests. My recommendation would be to stay at the Tranquility Bay Resort on Marathon Key. It is a beautiful resort with a rather private feel. Restaurants, bars, and tours are open but working at a limited capacity. This allows you to still be able to do fun activities and get great food while keeping yourself safe. Key West is open as well but since it is a tourist spot if you want to stay away from more crowded areas you should stick to staying on the more Northern Keys. The Keys is one of the best places to make a short getaway.

THEME PARKS

Most of the Orlando theme parks are operational now despite COVID. The best ones to go to would be Disney or Universal parks. They do have restrictions in place that they expect their guests to follow in order to prevent contamination. Face masks are required, there are designated waiting spots in lines, foot patterns to be followed in stores, and sanitation stations throughout the parks in order to ensure the safety of the guests. Unfortunately, there are no fast passes or character meet and greets at Disney but the parks have done a good job to still give their guests that magical experience. Universal does have meet and greets in their parks. Although there are a lot of annoying restrictions, there are benefits to them. You get a more private experience on the rides because you are not crammed in with other families. The lines are also very short so you no longer have to sit in the grueling long lines that everyone hates. The lines move rather quickly because of the limited capacity of the parks. This allows guests to experience even more rides in one day.

ST. AUGUSTINE

St. Augustine is a nice quaint little town near Tampa. It is a historic city with many fun and historic attractions to go see. The bars, shops, and hotels are open there and so are most of the attractions. The museums are open at a limited capacity. I suggest checking out the pirate museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. They are both entertaining family attractions that are very fun to see. The town is beautiful with its narrow streets lined with shops of all kinds from clothing to pizzerias to even a popsicle shop. Masks are required in the city, however. The restaurants here are also great and have amazing food. A favorite of many guests is Columbia Restaurant, which is actually a Cuban restaurant. Its extensive menu is sure to never disappoint. This is a great destination to visit during COVID if you want to explore a little bit of history and still have some fun on the side.