Flight & hotel advice - 18 day trip travelling around...

Hi, can any one advise? We wish to fly out to Florida 6th July and stay till 22nd July for our Honeymoon. We only wish to book flights as once we are there we will be travelling around quite a bit, Orlando around the parks, Busch Gardens, Epcot, etc, then Daytona racetrack and hopefully lots of other places in Florida. What is the best way to manage this? Who does the best deals on flights at that time? Should we book hotels before we go or play it by ear once there? We will be hiring a car too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

xx

Flight %26amp; hotel advice - 18 day trip travelling around...

Not sure what the price will be like but we always go with Travel City and it is not that much to upgrade to the top deck of their admittedly rather old jumbo, or to their Sunshine1st class

downstairs which might be good if you are on honeymoon.

The fly drive prices we have always found very reasonable, we do usually about 5 weeks a year in total driving around Florida, there are lots of different areas depending on what your tastes are and there is so much more to Florida than Orlando.

Usually for a 3 week trip we have a few days in Orlando for shopping etc because we have done the parks to death in 20-odd visits, then we head up to the beach at St Augustine for a few days, lovely historic area and nice beach, then down the coast to Miami or last time Fort Lauderdale, Miami in particular is very lively, good dining, nightlife, shopping or just people watching.

You might consider the Keys, more laid back and good honeymoon destination, big contrast to Orlando.

On the west coast we stay at St Pete Beach, lovely area with lots of day trips to Sarasota, Bradenton beach and Anna Maria Island, up to Tarpon Springs(Greek area with lots of Greek restaurants etc). You could also consider staying in Sarasota or Naples, both lovely areas to stay at.

I would book my first few days before I go and I normally book the rest as I know where I want to stay. You are flying out 2 days after a big holiday on 4 July so hotels may still be busy and have higher prices, I would definintely book my first night(s) before I go in your circumstances. I always make sure I have the weekends booked too.

You don%26#39;t mention your budget but you can get hotel discount vouchers which you can use on a walk in basis, these are available in booklets you can get from McDonalds or on the internet, assuming rooms are available.

Flight %26amp; hotel advice - 18 day trip travelling around...

Thanks for that advise, all good! I have been on the Travel city direct website but it only seems to give you the option of a 14 day trip? We wish to go for longer than that. How do i get round this? I am also wondering which island woudl be best to fly to if we wished to spend the last 7 days of the holiday on a beach type holiday relaxing. I%26#39;ve heard the weather can be very tempramental as this time of the year. Does it very much between Barbados and the other islands with the rain and are these very expensive to get too?

Thank you

You might want to fly to Orlanda or Tampa, depending on price. I prefer Tampa. Traffic is bad in both cities but I think Orlando is worse.

From Orlando to Dayton Beach on the east coast is about 55-60 miles. From Orlando to Tampa is about 85 miles, but traffic is usually heavy between these two areas. Tampa to St. Pete on the west coast is 25 or so miles and Tampa to Sarasota is 60 miles. Any of the Sarasota area beaches are good.

If you want to go further south, Marco Island below Naples is lovely.

You might consider staying in the cities (Tampa/Orlando/Sarasoto) on the weekends because the rates often drop compared to weekdays. Stay at the beaches during the week - those rates often go up on the weekend.

I would advise spending your last 7 days on Siesta Key, an island off Sarasota.

The beaches are wonderful, many restaurants, and lots of natural beauty.

Shopping on St. Armand%26#39;s Circle is very pleasant with sidewalk cafes.

You will have a wonderful, relaxing time.

Why don%26#39;t you call Travelcity, as you say the website only does 2 week trips, if we are going for longer we just ring them and they sort it.

08709 904 545

Thank you for all your advice, we booked our flights yesterday with Virgin for the full 18 days(thankfully not Delta who were the cheapest as it looks like they%26#39;re going bust) and have a Grand Cherokee Jeep thrown in for good measure! Wasn%26#39;t the cheapest but i have heard they are a good airline.

Thanks for the advice on places to visit, these will come in very handy as we are planning our 18 days now and its already tight!! Nicki