From kayaking alongside alligators to magical nights at the ballet, there’s more to Orlando than its famous theme parks.

You can sometimes get a feel for a new holiday destination just by observing your fellow airline passengers, I reckon. And at the baggage collection carousel at Orlando International Airport, it’s clear that this US city, located right in the middle of Florida, is a magnet for theme park fans. Among the families kitted out in personalised ‘Disney squad’ t-shirts are exuberant groups wearing mouse ears and hoodies emblazoned with Marvel superheroes. And if I see one person hauling Hogwarts-themed luggage off the conveyor belt, I see a dozen. For once, my indistinct black suitcase is the one that’s standing out from the crowd. In 2022, Orlando welcomed 74 million visitors, making it the most visited US destination.

They can’t all be here for gravity-defying rollercoasters and cartoon character encounters, can they? While I love the adrenaline rush of theme parks and the escapism they offer, there’s no denying they’re exhausting. When I was a kid, it was entirely feasible to spend a day at a park and leave feeling satisfied you’d seen it all. Now, multi-day and multi-park passes are the norm, leaving little room to explore beyond the turnstiles. If, like me, you haven’t the stamina for that kind of sustained intensity, there is a calmer way to enjoy Orlando. Visit a theme park, yes, but balance it out with quieter days exploring natural wonders and cultural hotspots.

We’re staying at Universal’s Endless Summer Resort. Made up of two hotels that sit side-by-side outside the gates to Universal Orlando, it’s an excellent, affordable option for those taking in the parks and also venturing further afield. We’re in Surfside Inn & Suites, which has a fun surfer-dude vibe – outside, there’s a huge surfboard- shaped pool, plenty of sunloungers and a relaxed pool bar.Inside,you’llfindanon-siterestaurant,pizzadelivery service and a Starbucks in the lobby. The fresh, open feel of the hotel’s sprawling communal spaces carries through to the comfy rooms, with picture windows, coastal colours, fun surf motifs and all the mod cons.

Keen to make the most of the mild February weather, we head to nearby Wekiwa Springs State Park, a pleasant reminder that Orlando is surrounded by clear springs, swamps teeming with wildlife and winding rivers. We join guides Gina and Bill of Adventures in Florida for a three-hour kayak along a labyrinth of waterways, ducking low-hanging branches as we glide along waters as smooth and shiny as gelatine, getting close enough to admire the finer details of the turtles, herons and other wildlife that live here. It’s all so tranquil that it’s easy to forget these waters are also home to some frankly terrifying alligators. So it comes as a shock when we come face to face with a 12-foot alligator on a nearby bank. It doesn’t move a muscle, but just knowing it could, at any moment it chooses to, is enough to send us paddling off at pace. Having survived the alligators of Wekiwa, we decide to try another watery expedition the following day – urban paddleboarding on Lake Ivanhoe, north of downtown Orlando.

Most of our group have never set foot on a paddleboard, so it’s with more than a bit of trepidation that we launch ourselves out onto the vast lake. Our guides from Epic Paddle Adventures are encouraging and reassuring in equal measure and I soon find my rhythm. Meandering along the lake, you experience the city from a totally different perspective – we paddle directly beneath a multi-lane freeway overpass, the sound of traffic roaring right above us, where we pause to practise moving from standing to kneeling without falling in. I find the repetitiveness of paddling almost meditative, especially when the wind picks up and forces me to focus, balance and move in time with the rhythm of the water. It is at once thrilling and relaxing – and not one of us newbies falls in.

Breathing in lungfuls of fresh Floridian air while paddling the waterways is a surefire way to build an appetite, and there are plenty of options in Ivanhoe Village, where we disembark from our paddleboarding session. The Hall On The Yard, an upmarket food hall, satisfies everyone in the group. It’s full service, so you don’t have to worry about wandering from food stall to food stall while someone ‘minds the bags’. More casual but equally varied when it comes to food offerings is Boxi Park, an outdoor venue in the Lake Nona district, which is constructed entirely out of repurposed shipping containers. Here, we spend a lively afternoon listening to live music, sipping Flo’rita cocktails and eating butter-poached lobster rolls and imaginative sides from the cleverly named ‘Claw and Order’.

If sit-down restaurants are more your thing, try Maxine’s on Shine, a downtown neighbourhood restaurant with bags of personality. It’s known for its playful decor and generous dishes – I barely make a dent in a plate of ‘old school’ lobster ravioli with scallops, shrimp, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes in a sherry cream sauce. For something closer to Endless Summer Resort, take a 15-minute drive to International Drive – a 14-mile stretch of attractions, hotels, shops and restaurants – for homestyle Italian meals with an American twist at Mia’s Italian Kitchen. On the night we go, everyone’s ordering the restaurant’s signature starter – a gargantuan 500g beef meatball stuffed with mozzarella and served with marinara sauce, parmesan and garlic toasts – so we do the same. As I struggle to finish the chicken piccata that follows, I make yet another mental note to order less than I think I’ll need in any American restaurant.

We can’t think of a more all-American experience than taking in a live NBA basketball match, whether you’re a fan of the game or not. So one night is spent downtown watching Orlando Magic in action. We opt for a pre-game dinner at on-site restaurant Jernigan’s, which overlooks the court. Friendly staff serve ultra-fresh American classics – think cobb salad, shrimp boil and brisket – from small stations, and drinks are included in the price. When the match gets underway, we’re soon captivated by the athletic skill on display, mesmerised by the squeak of sneakers on polished boards and in thrall to the high-energy entertainment taking place between game play.

There’s singing, dancing, t-shirts being shot into the stands from cannons, awkward ‘kiss cam’ moments, mascots hyping up the crowd... even a courtside marriage proposal (she said yes!). On another evening, we decide on a trip to the ballet, watching Orlando Ballet’s performance of Moulin Rouge. In contrast to the hullaballoo of the basketball arena, it is intimate, moving and unforgettable – and that’s as much to do with the venue as it is the performance. Steinmetz Hall in the Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is an acoustically remarkable space where, thanks to its N1 sound rating (the lowest level at which humans can detect sound), you can literally hear a pin drop. By the end of the week, I’m ready to take on a theme park. Universal is a big attraction in every sense – as a fan of extreme rollercoasters and rides, it has more pull for me than the other Orlando parks. We’ve only got the one day and would rather spend it riding not queuing, so decide it’s worth shelling out for an express pass, which allows us to zip round the parks and jump the queues for some of the most popular attractions. With the wait time for some rides – like the 70-miles-per-hour Jurassic World VelociCoaster – running at two hours, it’s a decision I don’t regret.

Dashing through the parks at a cracking pace, jumping on white-knuckle rides with barely a pause between, is not for the faint-hearted. But it is fun! As an unexpected bonus, our trip coincides with the park’s Mardi Gras celebrations. We’d registered our interest ahead of time and managed to secure a place riding on one of the floats in a fantastic nighttime parade. Tossing colourful beads to the cheering crowds lining the route is an exhilarating way to end the day and our trip. On our final day, while waiting in the lobby for a ride to the airport, I watch a sunburnt man limping after his hyped-up kids with the shell-shocked, done-in look of someone who’s spent a hardcore week at a clutch of theme parks. By contrast, I feel invigorated. And more certain than ever that if you come to Orlando and just do the theme parks, you’ll miss out – or pass out.