The Guide to Florida – the Sights, the Beaches, the Wildlife, the Hotels, the Spas, the Massage, the Food and the Travel (Orlando Convention Center aka OCCC, Clearwater Beach, Naples, Key Largo and Vero Beach) from Pearl Escapes 2013

Before I got the chance to go to a convention I had no intention of ever setting foot in Florida. Why? Sharks, crocs AND gators, swamps… it seemed everyone in Florida was either an old age pensioner in a sun hat or a family of four on their way to Disneyland. I was wrong. So wrong, super wrong and all I could think of when I got to Clearwater Beach was… this is a beach. (And it just kept getting better.)



Yes, there are crocs, and gators and sharks and I've seen a fair few, but there are also turtles and dolphins and manatees (and flying fish and bioluminescence and horseshoe crabs) who have given me some of the best days of my life.



I used to get extremely burned out in my old job and couldn't handle researching and booking a hotel and flight or finding what to do when I did take time off. So, I thought "wouldn't it be awesome if someone would write a guide that just gave you one perfect escape; the perfect hotel, spa, flight and restaurant."



So that's what I did.