Tips on a holiday to Florida

jonneymendoza

Hi all.

i am looking to go to Florida for 2 weeks for the first time with my wife and looking for some useful tips.

I am planning to stay a week in orlando and a week in miami

Here are a few questions i would like to ask:

1. What places would you recommend i go visit in orlando/miami?
2. How far/long does it take to drive from orlando to miami?
3. whats the best place to book my holiday?
4. Can anyone recommend good shopping malls in orlando/miami?

On Saturday i popped round virgin holidays and had a long chat with a travel agent who specced me this holiday for 2k for only 6 days!(3 in orlando, 3 in miami + car rental and flights).

i then went on to lastminute.com and quickly speced it individually myself and for a 2 week break, it comes up at around 1.7/1.8k! And thats for two weeks instead of just shy less then a week for the virgin all added together.

I guess its alot cheaper to spec it individually on your own! Also, how come the hotels in miami are more expensive? 7 nights in a typical 3 start hotel in orlando is around £200 for me and my wife whilst in miami its £350

Anyways the kind of places i want to go are scenary places, a bit of disney world/amusement parks(just to say yeah! i been their) and a couple of cool museums(i heard there is some kind of space shuttle museum in orlando) as well as the usual relaxing and chilling in a beach.

My plan is to go all out first week in orlando, going to as many places i can and then once in miami, got to a few places but just chill and relax in the sun before coming back home.

Cheers in advance. looking to go around september so weather should still be nice?

edit: idealy want to fly from London heathrow

Oafley Jones

jonneymendoza wrote: »

Hi all.

i am looking to go to Florida for 2 weeks for the first time with my wife and looking for some useful tips.

I am planning to stay a week in orlando and a week in miami

Here are a few questions i would like to ask:

1. What places would you recommend i go visit in orlando/miami?
2. How far/long does it take to drive from orlando to miami?
3. whats the best place to book my holiday?
4. Can anyone recommend good shopping malls in orlando/miami?

On Saturday i popped round virgin holidays and had a long chat with a travel agent who specced me this holiday for 2k for only 6 days!(3 in orlando, 3 in miami + car rental and flights).

i then went on to lastminute.com and quickly speced it individually myself and for a 2 week break, it comes up at around 1.7/1.8k! And thats for two weeks instead of just shy less then a week for the virgin all added together.

I guess its alot cheaper to spec it individually on your own! Also, how come the hotels in miami are more expensive? 7 nights in a typical 3 start hotel in orlando is around £200 for me and my wife whilst in miami its £350

Anyways the kind of places i want to go are scenary places, a bit of disney world/amusement parks(just to say yeah! i been their) and a couple of cool museums(i heard there is some kind of space shuttle museum in orlando) as well as the usual relaxing and chilling in a beach.

My plan is to go all out first week in orlando, going to as many places i can and then once in miami, got to a few places but just chill and relax in the sun before coming back home.

Cheers in advance. looking to go around september so weather should still be nice?

edit: idealy want to fly from London heathrow

I'm curious why you've set so much time for Miami? Is there something you really want to see there? I'd rather spend the bulk of the holiday in Orlando (flying into) and maybe St. Petersburg if I wanted a few beach days and cut out Miami totally. It's years since we did it, but the drive down from Miami to Orlando was a balls.

Diddler1977

I would spend time in Key West over Miami. Only go to Miami if you are interested in clubbing in high priced overly stylish clubs. Though Miami Beach is nice!

On the way to KW you could check out the Everglades.

I am not a fan of Orlando so I can't comment on that.

btw, the forums on Tripadvisor.com are very good.

jonneymendoza

im open minded and may just do orlando instead if there is enough to do for 2 weeks their and have decent beaches

jonneymendoza

Diddler1977 wrote: »

I would spend time in Key West over Miami. Only go to Miami if you are interested in clubbing in high priced overly stylish clubs. Though Miami Beach is nice!

On the way to KW you could check out the Everglades.

I am not a fan of Orlando so I can't comment on that.

btw, the forums on Tripadvisor.com are very good.

Yea i was thinking of key west. have heard great things about that place but too far from orlando.

Oafley Jones

jonneymendoza wrote: »

im open minded and may just do orlando instead if there is enough to do for 2 weeks their and have decent beaches

Tons to do in Orlando, no beaches though.

jonneymendoza

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Tons to do in Orlando, no beaches though.

Any beaches outside of orlando?

Oafley Jones

jonneymendoza wrote: »

Any beaches outside of orlando?

East cost beaches are just over an hour away but aren't as nice as the Gulf coast side which is a two hour drive. As i said we stayed in St. Pete's - saw an article on TripAdvisor where they rated it the fifth best beach destination in the world!

jonneymendoza

2 hour drive is more then doable. you mean west side of florida?

Oafley Jones

jonneymendoza wrote: »

2 hour drive is more then doable. you mean west side of florida?

Yip, the Gulf Coast.

youcancallmeal

I agree with what others have said about Miami, I posted this recently on the 'Things to do in Miami' Thread:

Just got back from Miami (South Beach) where we spent 3 nights of our honeymoon while traveling around Florida. We both felt 3 nights in South Beach was 2 nights too many! Wasn't whole lot to do unless you were willing to shell out large sums of money in going to a nightclub/pool party. We basically just chilled on the beach during the day and then went to a restaurant and bar crawled at night. Sounds nice for a Honeymoon I suppose but we had just spent 3 nights in Key West where we did the same thing and it was a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Wish we had just stayed there for longer!

Driving in and out of Miami was a nightmare, 6 lane highways where everyone just randomly drifts in and out of lanes, even cop cars! Its very stressful and you've really got to be on your toes. Getting into the correct lane was also a nightmare, the sign for what lane your supposed to be in to go to your destination comes up about 15 seconds before otherwise you miss your chance and have to re-route, sometimes up to 10-20 miles!

Had no problems driving around Orlando, seems to be quieter and better signposted?

jonneymendoza

Whats it like driving outside of orlando to places like the golf coast etc?

Palmy

I live in Sarasota, florida and it takes me 1hour 45 min to drive to orlando.4 lanes wide and an easy drive.Tampa- St petersburg is about 1hour or a little more from Orlando.Siesta beach in Sarasota is the number one ranked and voted beach in the United States.:)

Ilovelucy

Driving is easy in Florida. If I can drive there anyone can. We did a two centre holiday on our first trip to Florida. Orlando and St Pete's. Do not underestimate your jet lag in your first week. If I was doing a two centre again I think I'd fly into Tampa and spend my first few nights relaxing there then go to Orlando.

Outside of the parks there isn't a heck of a lot to do in Orlando.

slave1

Palmy wrote: »

I live in Sarasota, florida and it takes me 1hour 45 min to drive to orlando.4 lanes wide and an easy drive.Tampa- St petersburg is about 1hour or a little more from Orlando.Siesta beach in Sarasota is the number one ranked and voted beach in the United States.:)

Wow, lovely looking alright, am heading over to Orlando in the summer and was thinking of heading to Clearwater for a day at the beach but your back yard looks lovely, what time will we call around?

jonneymendoza

slave1 wrote: »

Wow, lovely looking alright, am heading over to Orlando in the summer and was thinking of heading to Clearwater for a day at the beach but your back yard looks lovely, what time will we call around?

LOL where's my invite too! :P

Palmy

Clearwater is a good spot too.A younger crowd than in Sarasota.Take a cooler box to the beach as summer is super hot.:D

jonneymendoza

mate i have flown all the way to philippines which is double the distance to florida and 8 hours ahead and never felt jet lagged!

Palmy

I have to agree,never been jet laged flying to the States.If your flying to Florida they are only five hours behind Ireland.If you go to bed at the usual time locally you shouldn't have any problem.I even fly to NZ.and OZ and dont really get any jet lag.As long as you get some sleep on a long flight and go to bed at the local time you should be alright.:)

batista

Cool thread, im also planning on going to Florida with my partner for 2 weeks in early September. No real idea of what we want to do, just beach few bars and i want to go to Disneyland to see Goofy!!!

So thinking of flying into Orlando then rent a car and drive to the beaches which by the sound of things is west of the peninsula, ie clearwater or Saint Petersburg? Were both in our mid 20s so dont want to go anywhere to quiet but at the same time not full of drunken kids either!!

Palmy

Clearwater i think would be better than St Petes.The beaches and down town area in St Petes are nice but beware, afew blocks in is a differant story.Two police officers were shot dead there last year.Its like anywhere though if you stick to the main holiday areas you will be ok.Just dont go wondering around places you dont know.There is alot of wealth in Florida but also alot of poverty.Last year two British tourist also got murdered in Sarasota because they were wondering around the wrong place at 2am after a night out drinking.:eek:

RayCon

batista wrote: »

... at the same time not full of drunken kids either!!

Legal drinking age in the US is 21 and it's strictly enforced (ID checks) so you're unlikely to see drunken masses of kids like you do on a med holiday.

jonneymendoza

batista wrote: »

Cool thread, im also planning on going to Florida with my partner for 2 weeks in early September. No real idea of what we want to do, just beach few bars and i want to go to Disneyland to see Goofy!!!

So thinking of flying into Orlando then rent a car and drive to the beaches which by the sound of things is west of the peninsula, ie clearwater or Saint Petersburg? Were both in our mid 20s so dont want to go anywhere to quiet but at the same time not full of drunken kids either!!

Yea mate same as me.

i am thinking of skipping miami if its just a beach/night life place? So there is no famous places in miami to see during the day?

Palmy wrote: »

Clearwater i think would be better than St Petes.The beaches and down town area in St Petes are nice but beware, afew blocks in is a differant story.Two police officers were shot dead there last year.Its like anywhere though if you stick to the main holiday areas you will be ok.Just dont go wondering around places you dont know.There is alot of wealth in Florida but also alot of poverty.Last year two British tourist also got murdered in Sarasota because they were wondering around the wrong place at 2am after a night out drinking.:eek:

are they both down the west coast? And yea i heard in the news a few months ago that two british guys got randomly killed

Bannerman7

I have been to all places mentioned so the following is my recomendation.
Clearwater Beach first week, second week Orlando.
Check out http://www.eastshoreresort.com/ for good cheap quality accomodation or if you want to be beside the beach then
http://www.palmpavilioninn.com/
You wont need a car in Clearwater so you could pick a car up on last day & drive to Orlando. On your way home drop car off at Orlando airport.
You could book flights yourself & fly to Tampa (TPA) for Clearwater & out of Orlando ( (MCO)
Or you could check out Trailfinders http://carhire.trailfinders.ie/Usa-Car-Hire/Rental to book flights & car as you would probably do better yourself booking accomadation.
As regard shopping in Orlando you wont go wrong with the following,
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=96 &

http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=139

ncmc

I would agree with the previous posts, I personally would not want to spend much time in Miami, it is full of trendy, poser type people! Unless you are interested in the nightlife, then there isn’t much else to it. The Art deco buildings are nice, but I genuinely can’t think of anything else it has to recommend it! As you have spotted already, the hotels are expensive and it’s pretty pricey to eat out and drink also.

If it were me, I would base myself in Orlando for the two weeks, there is loads to do and it is a good location for day trips without the hassle of changing hotels etc. Clearwater is a beautiful beach and very doable for a day trip, less than 90 mins drive. When you mention the space shuttle museum, are you talking about Kennedy Space Centre? It is about 40 mins from Orlando, I have never been as I am not into that kind of thing, but have heard it’s wonderful if you are into Space type stuff! You might also like to go on an airboat ride to see alligators, it’s a great way to spend a morning. We arranged it with this company www.airboatrides.com it was great, but I kept turning away just as the alligators would appear! I have heard St Augustine is nice if you fancy a bit of history, it is the oldest city in the states. It is about two hours drive from Orlando. So as you can see, there is tons to do in Orlando if you don’t fancy spending the full two weeks at the parks.

I have been in September twice, I think it is a nice time to go, it isn’t as hot as the height of the summer while still hot enough for sun bathing, the crowds are very light and hotel rooms are cheap. However, Sept and Oct are the height of hurricane season. Orlando doesn’t tend to get hit by hurricanes as it is inland, but it does tend to rain most days. It is normally a short, ferocious downpour in the afternoon, but we did get a couple of days were it rained all evening. Mornings are normally dry, so this is when we did our parks/sun bathing etc.

I would agree with you about it been cheaper to book it yourself. I always think Virgin in particular are very expensive. We got a good price with BA a few years back, but unfortunately the flight prices have sky rocketed since then

Rocky Bay

...try www.kayak.com. I use it every year when I am trying to hire a car in Shannon. It will also help with airline and hotel reservations. If you are looking for a quiet , clean beach on the east coast I would try Ormond Beach just north of Daytona. Even though it is well over 25 years since I have been there it was always safe, clean and quiet !!!

jonneymendoza

Cool thanks al. what worries me is the timing of going there in september if it just going to rain/be windy most days

ncmc

Hi Jonney, I can understand your concerns about going in September, people hear ‘hurricane season’ and panic, imagining hurricane Katrina type scenarios. Orlando doesn’t tend to get hurricanes as it is inland, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but it has been several years since it has been hit by a hurricane. Hurricane season runs from June to November, when the vast bulk of tourists visit Orlando, and how many times have you heard of someone’s summer holiday been ruined by hurricane? I’m guessing never! So try not to worry too much about hurricanes. It more than likely won’t be windy while you are there.

However it will rain. There is no getting away with it. I would say on average it rains every second day or maybe 2 out of 3 days if you are lucky. That said the rain normally hits in the late afternoon/early evening. When we were there, we found the rain would start as we were thinking about heading in for a rest/shower etc and would be finished by the time we would be heading out for dinner. Some evening the rain would linger on all night, and that was pretty annoying when trying to get in and out of restaurants etc, but for the most part the rain didn’t bother us. There was only one day that I can think of where it rained all morning and really affected our day. I had done a lot of research first and was sort of prepared for it so I can’t say it affected our holiday too much, we still have amazing memories.

It’s up to you whether you want to risk it or not, for me the lower crowds, slightly less humid temperature and lower cost outweigh the odd rainy day. I pretty much guarantee you will have a fantastic time, rain or no rain!

jonneymendoza

plenty to do indoors just incase it does rain?

ncmc

Loads to do indoors.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/141840-things-do-indoors-orlando/

Not to mention shopping which is my favourite rainy evening activity! There are two outlet malls in addition to several regular malls, be prepared to hide the credit card statement for several months after you get home!

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17

Even the parks are grand in the rain, a lot of the attractions are indoors and a bonus with the rain is that the parks are normally pretty empty! You will see a lot of people braving the rain wearing waterproof ponchos, they can be purchased everywhere over there and are a good cheap way of keeping dry. September is becoming a popular month to go now for people without kids as people are cottoning on to the cheaper prices, more comfortable weather and lower crowds. For a lot of Orlando veterans, it’s their favourite time to go…. So don’t worry about it, just go and have a ball!

jonneymendoza

Hi all. nearly in the process of speccing everything out ready to bite the bullet.

the question is which is cheaper/better to stay for the two weeks?

hotel or a villa/rented appartment?

What are good reliable safe websites i can book a villa/appartment?

For hotels/villa's do you normaly pay upfront now or do u pay some kind of deposit to secure your booking and pay the rest after your full 2 week stay there at checkout?

Also, what site can i use to rent a car and pick it up directly from the orlando flordia international airport?

i am going to book it individually.

Flights first, then hotel/villa, and then car rental