Looking for some info on holidaying in Florida from the UK. Any tips??

Question

We're on a budget - (Which probably ain't the best idea but hey!) Any tips or secrets would be appreciated... e.g On Car hire. Is it better to book on arrival or before leaving.??... Buying park tickets.... Good deals on hotels... etc etc

Staying between Kissimmee and St Pete Beach.

Thanks

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

we go to florida twice a year, we used to let a travel agent book everything for us until we decided one year to try and save money(leaving more to change for spending money) and book everything ourselves. First of all avoid orlando international airport it takes forever to get out of that place,very slow immigrations etc, secondly book a flight only or flydrive it works out cheaper in the long run, if you book flight only there is a transportation company called mears based at sanford international airport that do resort transfers very reasonable. book a hotel room through www.roomsnet.com you pay only for the room not for the amount of people staying in there( no under occupancy charges) you can save a fortune if you have time to hunt around for yourself. International drive is ideal as most things including universal studios,wet n wild and seaworld are only a short walk and with loads of restuarants,gift shops and all day and night entertainment u cant go wrong....buy your theme park tickets from england as the dollar is still weak you will get a better deal. kissimee is nice a lot quieter than i drive, mainly villas out there though. please feel free to e-mail me for further help as i also use a system that the travel agents use and will help for free as i do not agree with being ripped of by travel agents. hope this helps, if you dont need help have a wicked holiday ...you will love it over there and get the bug for it...

Answer 2

best tips is book everything as in advance as possible. flights especially. with your flights - also look outside orlando for flights too as u may find that is cheaper at certain times of the year. (tampa and sanford airport in particular).

as for the park tickets, you dont really find them cheap as such anywhere. the best thing to do, is if u are planning on visiting several parks, or several times, is look into the orlando flex ticket - which gets u into universal/seaworld/island of adv & optional busch gardens. there's also a similar disney park ticket that gets u unlimited into the parks. but u will need a little bit of planning before u decide what ticket suits u.

depending on how many of u are there, u may find it cheaper to hire a small villa. it worked out way cheaper for us, because there were 6 of us. also meant we ate at home a lot and could make a packed lunch to take, which again saved money. if there are only a small number going, you can get cheap motels (which are generally lower standards than hotels, but are still ok, considering u arent gonna be there a lot!) all u need to do is take a trip down international drive in kissimee, and theres tons of motels, who often have rooms available without a booking. prices start from around $45 per night.

best thing to do, is go off peak. florida is very busy around bonfire night, christmas, new years, easter and throughout the summer. perhaps october or february may be best? dont get me wrong, disney is always busy, but u may find cheaper flights/villa hire these times too.

have a great great time, i miss that place!

Source(s):

frequent visitor!

Answer 3

Perhaps you could rent someone's home - it's called vacation home rentals in the US. It's pretty much a do-it-yourself holiday but they're often cheaper than hotels.

If you rent a home on its own plot, you'll most likely get a private garden and probably your own swimming pool.

Large rental homes often have several bedrooms and bathrooms so there's plenty of room for the kids if you have them. They'll also have washer-dryer facilities which is useful and you might even get things like use of a boat, use of bikes, broadband connection etc.

You'll have to do your own cooking though - there's no room service!

Source(s):

http://www.more-4u.com/vacation-home-ren…

Answer 4

Booking an "off airport" rental car is the most economical option. Yes, you need a car when you are in Florida, especially if you don't stay near the Magic Kingdom/Epcot.

Europeans find it very economical in the US because of the rate of exchange, but also because it is a more reasonable cost of living in the States. My sister usually comes with empty suitcases and takes additional luggage home with her.

Motels like Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn serve a good breakfast with your room night. If you don't find that cheap enough, then check out vacation rental homes on Craig's List or any of the other condo "dumping grounds' that are available. Unless you know someone who works at Disney or a resident of Florida, there are really no other bargains other than spending time (1 1/2 hours) with timeshare sellers (who will give you 2 tickets to Disney or whatever they are peddling that day).

Answer 5

For gods sake don't use Travel city direct as your tour operator and you might enjoy the expierience. Get the cheapest all inclusive car hire from the ceefax pages on the TV ( you will probobly be upgraded anyway so pick a small car ) and despite what you might have heard the best deals can be found in florida not the uk. Go to tourist info and pick up a hotel voucher book and get real discounts on a room. Shop about, dont accept the first offer of a room, try and get one cheaper and always haggle to get it cheaper. It works, ive stayed in £80 a night hotel rooms for £30. You should be able to get a room below £15 if you are not fussy.

Answer 6

Book everything online. Not sure where in the UK you are, but whenever I go , I use Flyglobespan. No frills, but hey it gets you there. If you check out this website http://floridavillarental2.mysite.orange… and go to the last page, you will get links for discount carhire and disney tickets. Dont be conned into upgrading your car!! Just book the small one and you will get an upgrade Free of charge. They dont have the small 2 door cars they advertise. Well, I have never got one anyway and thats all I usually book. You are looking at around £100 per week for your car. Best getting a villa. You can eat cheap - shop at walmart and with the cost its much cheaper in the longrun.
Have a fab time !

Answer 7

its a long way, 80 miles or so between kissimee and st petes beach so if you are half way between the two you will need to pick up the car at the airport so book it before you go its cheaper and when you pick it up dont take up the offer of an upgrade,it usually means they dont have your car you booked,and they will give you an upgrade anyway.if you've not booked an hotel or flight try Kenwood travel they have some good deals on packages and they are very cheap compared to others.just email them from there web site with all your details and they will respond.we found them cheaper than doing it ourselves.Buy your park tickets before you go its cheaper and you wont have to worry about the extra cost when you get there as you have already purchased them,one good site is theme park tickets direct. if you want to book an hotel type in your search engine budget hotels in Florida and it
list a great number of sites, holiday inns are usually good ones

http://www.themeparkticketsdirect.com/ti…

http://www.kenwoodtravel.com/

have a nice stay