Florida is surprisingly compact, and
easy to get around by car: crossing
between the east and west coasts
takes a couple of hours, and one of
the longest trips - between the
western extremity of the Panhandle
and Miami - can be done in a day.
Public
transportation , on the other
hand, requires adroit advance
planning. Greyhound buses link all
major towns and cities, with both
Miami and Orlando well served; but
many rural areas and some of the
most enjoyable sections of the coast
are not covered.
Florida's railroads were
built to service boomtowns in the
Twenties, and consequently some
rural nooks are well-linked. Amtrak
runs west from Jacksonville
via New Orleans all the way to LA,
while connections with New York are
good. However, in some areas Amtrak
buses have replaced the trains;
these can be very expensive, so
check in advance. Passengers with
cars can use the daily Auto Train
from Lorton, Virginia (just south of
Washington, DC), to Sanford, north
of Orlando. The southeast coast
boasts an elevated TriRail
system that ferries commuters
between Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca
Raton and Palm Beach.
Although inadvisable in the
cities, cycling is a great
way to see large parts of Florida -
miles of cycle paths follow the
coast, and long-distance bike trails
cross the state's interior. Forget hitching
: always dangerous (especially for
women), it's illegal in Miami (where
you'd be lucky to live to regret it)
and on the outskirts of many other
cities.
