10 Things to Do in Orlando in July

Orlando is a city in the state of Florida known for being the mecca of theme parks, with more than a dozen of them. It is also home to a wide range of outdoor activities, museums, shows, natural spaces and more. That's why, even if you visit in one of the hottest and rainiest months of the year, you won't be short of options for fun.

If you decide to travel in July, you can celebrate Independence Day in the United States, watch the summer sunset from the big Ferris wheel in Icon Park, and take advantage of the sales in the shopping malls. You'll also have the opportunity to take a trip to Wekiva Island to go kayaking and get in touch with nature, among other of the best things to do in Orlando.

Celebrating America's Independence Day is a must-do activity during your stay in Orlando in July. During the first week of July, you'll find a celebratory atmosphere throughout the city. You will enjoy special shows at the various attractions and amazing fireworks.

To celebrate the 4th of July in Orlando you will have several options, some of them being the following:

• Lake Eola: where you'll enjoy musical performances, food courts, a pleasant natural setting and about 30 minutes of fireworks at dusk. Also, if you are looking for things to do in Orlando with kids on this day, they will enjoy the playground.
• Cranes Roost Park, with music, food, drinks and fireworks until 23:00.
• Universal CityWal mall. There, at night, you can watch the fireworks display from the balcony of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

You can also purchase combined tickets to Universal Studios Orlando, Isle of Adventure and Universal Orlando. This way, you will spend an unforgettable Independence Day amidst rides, animated shows and the mind-blowing pyrotechnics that will light up the city's sky.

During your trip of at least 3 days in Orlando, you can take advantage of the July sales to do some shopping. This month coincides with the summer holidays all over the United States and, because of this, shops usually offer good prices for all tourists and locals.

This is one of the best activities in Orlando for shopping enthusiasts. If this is your case, then you should dedicate a whole day of your itinerary to explore the city's major shopping malls. Some of them include:

• The Premium Outlets Orlando Vineland; this is a mall with exclusive shops.
• The Orlando Outlet Marketplace, where you'll find about 40 shops with designer fashions and other products.
• Disney Springs Mall, with about 100 shops and approximately 60 restaurants. In fact, during this visit you could buy tickets for Drawn to Life Cirque du Soleil in Orlando and enjoy the show at this mall.

Orlando in July brings with it at least 15 days of rain, which could coincide with your trip. Therefore, it is important that you do some indoor activities. In this sense, visiting Andretti Indoor Karting is a good alternative. You can have fun testing your driving skills.

When you arrive at this entertainment centre you will find several karting tracks with different levels of complexity. You can select the one that suits you best according to your experience and age.

In addition to putting your foot on the accelerator, with tickets for the Andretti Indoor Karting attraction in Orlando, you will have access to play and entertainment areas such as the following:

• The dark ride & laser tag, which is an infrared shooting match where you will defeat zombies and giant reptiles in 3D.
• The classic arcade with popular titles such as Temple Run, where you will be chased by monkeys; Fruit Ninja, where you will make your way through fruits; Doodle Jump, with a cute alien, etc.
• Virtual reality games, with state-of-the-art technology.
• A bowling lane, inspired by the world of racing cars.

Useful information

• Price: around €32 per person.
• Opening hours: from 11:00 am to 11:00 am.

Whether you're in Orlando for 1-5 days or more, you'll want to incorporate a visit to the Icon Park Ferris Wheel into your July itinerary. Take advantage of this month's clear skies and watch an authentic summer sunset, characterised by warm, vibrant colours that gradually tint the landscape.

You can do this experience on your own. You only need to drive about 15 minutes from the city centre to the entertainment complex. There, you can buy tickets for the Ferris wheel at Icon Park in Orlando and climb into an air-conditioned cabin, which will take you up to 122 metres.

You'll get a 360º view of the city, the forested area of Florida and even Cape Canaveral, and you can take amazing pictures as the sun sinks below the horizon. You will also have an iPad in the cabin with information about the city and each of the places you can see from the Ferris wheel.

Useful information

• Price: the entrance fee is around €28 per person.
• Opening hours: every day from 10:00 to 22:00.

Withstanding the July heat in Orlando could be a real challenge for you. That's why cooling off in the city' s water parks is a must-do activity during your trip. You will have the opportunity to enjoy slides, pools and many more attractions to make a splash.

There are several options when it comes to the best Orlando theme parks with water activities. Some of them are:

• Volcano Bay water park, with extreme slides just over 60 metres high.
• Disney's Typhoon Lagoon park, where you will find pools with waves to surf, slides, artificial rivers, etc.
• Island H2O water park in Orlando, which stands out for having a theme inspired by the different social networks. There, you'll enjoy raft rides, tube slides, swimming pools and wave pools for surfing enthusiasts, among other areas.

Any time of year is a good time to stroll through Orlando's Church Street district and discover its architecture, shops and entertainment venues. However, July is the best time to do this tour, as most tourists and locals are in the theme parks during the high season.

You can walk down Church Street without fear of crowds and take one of Orlando's best tours on your own. You'll find shops, boutiques and cinemas, small in comparison to the city's big chain stores.

You'll see the 19th century Victorian-style building facades, distinctive balconies and wrought-iron details as you pass by. And, if you're worried about walking in the June summer sun, you can do the tour at sunset. You'll enjoy the cooler weather and get a better perspective of the streets bathed in the last rays of the sun.

Church Street is also home to a number of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Ideal if you want to discover the lively atmosphere of Orlando at night. In fact, if you want to explore this district and its surroundings in more detail, you can connect with a guided tour of Orlando.

July's high temperatures don't have to limit outdoor activities like kayaking. On the contrary, once you get into the canoe and it comes into contact with the water, you'll immediately feel less hot. Take advantage of this to explore Orlando from a different perspective.

The city has several rivers and natural areas where you can kayak safely. For example, you can take a trip down the historic Venetian Canal in the Winter Park district. As you paddle through this area, you'll be surrounded by lush vegetation: palm trees, subtropical flowers, ferns and more.

You can also take a kayaking tour on the Econlockhatchee River in Orlando. This is a wooded area with native wildlife such as crocodiles, cranes, turtles, fish, ospreys and more for an unforgettable adventure.

Your Orlando travel itinerary of 1 to 7 days or more won't be complete in July if you don't explore some of the city's natural spaces. You'll be able to escape the overwhelming heat and tourist crowds that characterise this summer month. Visit Kelly Park and enjoy all the activities it has to offer.

This park is also known as Rock Springs because it is located within the boundaries of Rock Springs Run State Reserve. It's only a 30-minute drive from the city centre. When you arrive, you'll feel like you're in a fairy tale: the spring with its blue waters, contrasting with the lush vegetation.

You can walk or cycle along the park' s long trails. You also have the option of taking a walk along the spring or perhaps a dip in the pleasant waters, which maintain a temperature of approximately 20ºC. You will swim freely and refresh yourself.

Useful information

• Price: approximately 3€ per car with up to two persons, about 5€ for cars with 3 to 8 passengers and people with a bicycle or without a car pay about 1€.
• Opening hours: from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

If you are a nature lover and want to disconnect for a few hours from the city's theme parks, shopping malls and other attractions, which are usually crowded in July, you should go to the Harry P. Leu Gardens. In this beautiful botanical garden you will breathe fresh air, relax and observe the rose bushes that bloom in this month.

This natural lung of approximately 200,000 square metres is located very close to the city centre, about 11 minutes by car and about 60 minutes by public transport, so you will have no inconvenience to get there. When you get there, you will find a pleasant atmosphere with a dreamlike landscape design.

You will walk along a series of paths lined with beautiful palm trees and oak trees up to 200 years old. You will see some landscaped lakes, camellia plantations, rose bushes with a picturesque scene and a fragrant scent, among other floral species. The botanical garden also features an orchard and the Leu House Museum.

Useful information

• Price: Admission is about 10 ¤ (adults), about 5 ¤ (children under 17) and free for children under 3.
• Opening hours: daily from 9:00 to 17:00.

If you're a surfing enthusiast and you're in Orlando in July, you can't miss out on the great waves this month and the warm waters of the local beaches, which reach around 26ºC. You'll have a fun and different day out in the so-called theme park capital.

There are several surfing beaches in Orlando , located at least 60 minutes' drive from the city centre. Such is the case of Melbourne Beach and New Smyrna Beach.

There is also Cocoa Beach, popularly known as the surfing capital. This is because its blue waters have witnessed the birth of great surfing legends such as Kelly Slater, among many others.

Also, very close to the beach, about a six-minute drive away, is the Ron Jon Surf Shop, where you can buy a variety of surfing products. In addition, approximately 12 minutes away by car, you will find the Surf Museum with the history of this exciting sport.

Temperatures in Orlando during July range from a high of 33ºC to a low of 25ºC. This is the hottest month of the year. Precipitation is 270 millimetres, which corresponds to about 15 rainy days.

July days have 11.5 hours of sunlight, which is longer than other months; the sky remains mostly cloudy during the day (about 66%). In addition, the sea water is of high enough quality for swimming at Orlando's best beaches, with an average temperature of 28ºC.

July is the hottest month of the year in Orlando and July is also part of the hurricane season, which means that the rains are sure to come. Therefore, during your visit to the city you should consider some alternative plans to protect yourself from UV rays and rainfall.

For example:

• Take a bottle of water with you that you can constantly refill in the parks or places you visit. This will keep you hydrated and save you money.
• Don't forget your mackintosh or umbrella. Remember that July is a rainy month and you don't want to have to stop your daily fun because of unexpected precipitation.
• Incorporate some indoors into your itinerary, at the time of day when the weather forecast predicts rain or very high temperatures are most likely. This way, you can reduce the hours of exposure to the sun and rain in July. For example, you could join an escape room in Orlando, visit a mall to do some shopping, enjoy an NBA game in Orlando, among others.