
Once upon a time, the area was inhabited by Native Americans before two Spanish conquistadors, Panfilo de Narvaez and Hernando de Soto, began the conquest of all of Florida. Fort De Soto Parkįort De Soto Park has had quite an unusual history. To get to Caladesi Island from Tampa, it takes 40 minutes by car. The day trip from Tampa to Caladesi Island is definitely worth the effort. Do a little kayaking, prepare a beachfront picnic, go for a relaxing swim, or tackle a blood-pumping hike. While there, you can simply enjoy the inviting turquoise water and pristine white sand. It’s only accessible by boat, so you really feel as if you’re being transported to an island paradise.

The Hogwarts Express is located just outside of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios and at the entrance of Hogsmeade at Island’s of Adventure. You’ll need to have a valid park to park ticket to travel between the parks in this way (you’ll also need one to enter both parks if you plan to walk between the two).

My personal favourite way to travel between Universal Studios and Island’s of Adventure is on the Hogwarts Express.
#Hidden islands easy to get to free
Of course, this leaves you at the entrance of Island’s of Adventure, so you’re free to navigate to where you want to go within the park from there. We’ve found the busiest time at the entrance of both parks is during the first three hours of opening (it usually quietens down around 11am). Depending on the time you arrive at the park you may have to wait up to twenty minutes to scan your ticket and enter the park. Island’s of Adventure is located at the other side of CityWalk. This will take around 10 minutes depending on how fast you walk and how busy it is. Once you’ve got to the entrance you’ll be able to exit the park from here you’ll want to cut across CityWalk the entertainment shopping district which connects the two parks. There’s only one main entrance and exit at Universal Studios Orlando, so depending on where you’re located within the park, walking back to the entrance may take at least ten minutes.

Walking from Universal Studios Orlando to Island’s of Adventure may seem like the easiest way to get from one park to another but that isn’t always the case.
