5 Secret Bargain Vacations of Florida

Florida isn't simply theme parks and beaches; it's a treasure trove of outdoor adventures, navigable waterways, wildlife, and even nudist colonies. Follow us to five of the state's more unusual, affordable experiences.

EVERGLADING Within your first day there, you'll probably see - as I recently did - five saltwater crocs, three water snakes, two little blue herons, a bunch of alligators, and ospreys everywhere. Everglades National Park is the ultimate Florida eco-experience. It can come as rugged as paddling the 100-mile Wilderness Waterway Trail and sleeping under thatched "chickees," or as relatively plush as staying at Flamingo Lodge, deep in crocodile country on Florida Bay. Flamingo Lodge offers a marina, restaurant, and snack bar; rentals of bikes, canoes, kayaks, fishing skiffs, and houseboats; fishing charters and both tour and private boats, as well as access to Everglades back-country canals, lakes, and rivers of grass. ...