A must for any aquatic adventurer is a visit to the City of Mermaids at Weeki Wachee, which offers an enchanting live mermaid show that dates back to 1947. Love to explore the depths below? Flip on over to one of several springwater dive sites, like Devil’s Den, the Blue Grotto, and Manatee Springs, in northern Florida, or interact with an octopus, a prehistoric marine mammal, a pineapple, and other whimsical works of art at the Underwater Art Museum off the Gulf coast. 

Commune with other sea creatures at the 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef, where dozens of handmade marine-themed sculptures, mostly mermaids, are on a mission to rejuvenate the fading coral reef off Florida’s east coast. And under the waterfalls at the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, you can splash in the only swimming pool listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Weave through remnants of storied shipwrecks, like the USS Oriskany, a purposely sunk aircraft carrier off the coast of Pensacola, that’s now thriving as an artificial reef. The San Pablo, another ship sunk in a top-secret government operation, left boilers, coils, twisted metals, and other thingamabobs scattered along the seafloor.