Jacksonville to Lakeland FL drive: Distance, time & best stops
The best road trip stops on the Jacksonville to Lakeland FL drive are St Augustine, Daytona Beach and Orlando. The distance from Jacksonville to Lakeland FL is 195 miles, with a 3h5m driving time.
Planning a Jacksonville to Lakeland FL road trip itinerary
The Jacksonville to Lakeland drive takes you from north to central Florida.
Top Jacksonville experiences include Amelia Island kayak tours, guided art and architecture tours by electric bike and electric skateboard rides along Fernandina Beach.
For cultural attractions, head to the Cummer Museum, where the strength tends to be the rotating temporary exhibitions.
Lakeland is a somewhat overlooked Florida City which is, as the name suggests, based around a series of lakes. Of these, Lake Mirror is the most popular, with a promenade and amphitheatre. It also has Hollis Garden, an impressive botanical garden, at the southern end. For something less sculpted, the Circle B Bar Reserve is a former cattle ranch that is now a great place to see alligators.
The city is also home to Florida Southern University, which has the world’s largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.
Jacksonville to Lakeland FL distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Jacksonville to Lakeland FL is 195 miles. That makes for a driving time of around three hours and five minutes. The quickest route is along the I-95 and I-4.
The best stops to add to a Jacksonville to Lakeland road trip itinerary are St Augustine, Daytona Beach and Orlando.
For more suggestions, check out the guides to the Jacksonville to St Augustine drive and St Augustine to Daytona Beach drive.
Best stops between Jacksonville and Lakeland FL: St Augustine
St Augustine is the oldest continually inhabited city in the United States, and it has largely escaped heavy modernised development. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León.
In the compact, historic centre, there are several chintzy heritage attractions which are fun but not exactly brimming with centuries of authenticity.
The Spanish-built Castillo de San Marcos on the waterfront does pack that historic power, though. It should be sight number one before mooching around town.
Other St Augustine experiences include hop-on, hop-off trolley passes, sunset cruises and dolphin, manatee and sea turtle-viewing tours.
Jacksonville to Lakeland FL drive: Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach is one of the most attractive cities on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. To many, it is most obviously associated with NASCAR racing at the Daytona Speedway, but there’s way more to it than fast cars.
Enjoyable Daytona Beach experiences include small group sailing cruises, paddleboarding or kayaking with dolphins and manatees, wine bar tours and a Polynesian fire and dinner show.
You can also try a dive bar crawl, zipline adventures and beach Segway rides.
Jacksonville to Lakeland FL road trip attractions: Orlando
Orlando is known worldwide as the home of Disney World, but there’s far more to it than Mickey and Co. You can get crazy selfies at the Museum of Illusions or WonderWorks, learn how chocolate is made at Chocolate Kingdom and ride the Wheel at ICON Park or Orlando StarFlyer. Alternatively, visit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, play adventure golf at Pirates’ Cove and say hi to the stingrays at Sea Life.
In the evenings, there’s the Polynesian Fire Luau and Dinner Show, Cirque du Soleil’s Drawn To Life and the Outta Control magic comedy show.
Other Orlando experiences include glow-in-the-dark kayaking, foodie walking tours and kayaking through Cypress forest.
More Jacksonville road trips
Albany GA to Jacksonville | Atlanta to Jacksonville | Augusta to Jacksonville | Austin to Jacksonville | Jacksonville to Charleston SC | Jacksonville to Charlotte | Chicago to Jacksonville | Columbia SC to Jacksonville | Jacksonville to Daytona Beach | Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale | Gainesville to Jacksonville | Houston to Jacksonville | Macon GA to Jacksonville | Ocala to Jacksonville | Jacksonville to Orlando | Jacksonville to Palm Coast | Jacksonville to Panama City | Jacksonville to Pensacola | Savannah to Jacksonville | Jacksonville to St Augustine | Jacksonville to Tallahassee | Jacksonville to Tampa | Valdosta to Jacksonville.