Holidays in Florida
Florida is an amazingly popular destination for families from the UK. With the dollar hovering around 2 for the pound it is also great value (when you get there). Do not be fooled though, a holiday in Florida will run into the thousands as the costs soon mount up.
Florida is not just about theme parks and burger bars. Many areas of Florida are beautiful and peaceful, on the Gulf Coast and the Florida Keys there are miles and miles of beautiful sandy and quiet beaches. The weather is good all year around and I personally experienced temperatures of 80 degrees at the end of November.
Driving in Florida is easy, the traffic is slow (compared to the UK), the roads are wide and nearly all the hire cars are autos.
There are a few different ways to holiday in Florida -
Fly drive
This is where you book a package that includes a pre-booked car on arrival. Accommodation arrangements are left to you. This is a good way to visit Florida as it affords you total flexibility, you can travel around the State and stay where you wish. This may not be an option if you have very young children as finding accommodation can be time consuming and difficult depending on the time of year. These packages can be booked through any main travel company.
Multi Centre Holiday
This is a holiday where you spend the first 7 nights in Orlando experiencing the theme parks and the following 7 nights in another location. This would more normally be the Gulf coast or Miami. This is a good compromise holiday as not all the family want to see the Theme parks and not all the family want to relax by the pool. You will be required to drive yourself to your second chosen destination. You may be able to book a multi-centre holiday where you fly into one destination and leave from another.
Single Centre Holidays
As this suggests your holiday will consist of accommodation in your one chosen location.
Tour Arranged Holidays
Some operators have organised tours where your accommodation is booked in each location, you will drive to each location at your pace enjoying the sites on route and spending a set amount of time at each place. This is a good way to explore if you wish for someone else to arrange your itinerary.
For any holiday in Florida car hire is a must. Be aware that all travel companies offer car hire with free insurance but you will always be recommended to upgrade your insurance, this will cost around £20.00 per day. Also be aware that you will be encouraged to upgrade your car on arrival at the car hire centre, this is always tempting but can add a lot to your bill.
Park Tickets There are so many parks to visit in Florida and all offer excellent days out. The most famous is probably Disney World, you will need probably 3 days to see and experience this park properly. Expect big queues for the major rides but this isn't such a big deal when the weather is nice and warm. Some of the other major attractions include Universal studios, Seaworld, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, Adventure Island and Aquatica.
Tickets for the theme parks may be purchased when you book your holiday through your tour operator or they may be purchased when you reach your destination. It is very easy to get tickets when in Florida so do not be afraid to wait until you get there to decide what you want to do. As an example of ticket prices booked through a tour operator I found these on the web -
5 day ticket to Disney World £178 for an adult and £156 for a child over 3. These tickets allow access to some other Disney parks.
To give an idea of costs, on a family of 4 for a 2 week fly drive in August will cost in the region of £4,000 for flights and car hire only.
Florida does have a hurricane season that runs from the 1st of June to November 30th and you will more than likely experience heavy rainfall sometime in your 2 week stay.
I have been twice and visited the Theme parks, Gulf coast, Miami and the Florida Keys and would recommend all of them.
My top Florida holiday tips -
- Don't order starters in restaurants as main meals are huge
- Take an empty bag to bring your bargain shopping home in
- Try and resist the car upgrade option unless you will be travelling many miles
- Try and travel out of season as parks will be much, much quieter
- Pick up a local magazine and look out for restaurant deals on certain days
- Visit the outlet stores as many have great bargains
- Have a great time
What do you think?
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