Hotel Miami Area

The eastern shore of the Florida peninsula looks out towards Africa with nothing but the Atlantic Ocean in between. The untouched sanctuary of the Canaveral National Seashore sits happily cheek by jowl with the Kennedy Space Center. Simply put there's space for everyone. The beaches along the Canaveral National Seashore are as far from the fabricated realities back in Buena Vista Town as you're likely to get. For outdoor types and wildlife enthusiasts it has a bounty of habitats and animal life. And the beaches, Playalinda, Apollo and Klondike, are fabulous - real paradise stretches of peerless white dunes alongside cool, blue ocean ideal for windsurfing, surf fishing and bathing - a luxury in the long Florida summers when temperatures can top 33?C (91?F).

The rest of the park is a naturalist's dream made up of mangrove lagoons, salt marshes and tropical woodland and home to sea turtles, manatees, Florida Scrub Jays, pink shrimp, alligators, Turkey Vultures, blue crabs and thousands of other species including 14 that are endangered. In June and July it's possible to participate in a Turtle Watch Program at Playalinda Beach. This is the nesting season when female turtles make their tortuously slow trip from the sea up the beach to lay their eggs. The evening watches last up to three hours and you have to book your place in advance. Other attractions include a hundred Timucuan mounds - heaps of discarded shells that are some of the few remnants of the land's Indian inhabitants.