Cheap Motels Florida

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Cheap Motels Florida: A Pitstop on Your Travels or Home For a Week.

What do you think of when you think of the cheap motels Florida might offer? An American version of ‘Crossroads’ complete with Meg Richardson, Benny and Miss Diane? Think again!

What do you think of when you think of the cheap motels Florida might offer? Cockroaches, broken fixtures and saggy beds? An American version of ‘Crossroads’ complete with Meg Richardson, Shughie McFee, Benny and Miss Diane – with Dolly Parton accents? Well think again!

The fact that you are considering what CHEAP motels Florida might have available should not automatically make you think you are considering NASTY motels in Florida. Some of the lowest priced motels you can stay in are really nice places.

We have been constantly delighted with the variety of cheap motels Florida has presented us with.

There are big ones, small ones (some as big as your head!); some are right next to the highways, others are tucked away in corners of small towns; some are perfect for one-night layovers and some are great places to settle in for a few days or a couple of weeks.

As with most aspects of flydrive holidays, motels are more flexible than your credit card! Motels are, in fact our accommodation of choice throughout the States. Why is that?

– Because they can be really economical

– Because they are so flexible

– Because you can drive your car right to the door and rarely have to haul your bags up flights of stairs.

– Because they are free and easy in attitude – no stuffy managers or the like!

– Because in over 20 years we have only had ONE noisy neighbour.

– Because if you choose carefully, you can find swimming pools and other facilities at much less than the cost of similar facilities in a hotel.

Fall out of the car and into bed!

Surely there are some disadvantages to the cheap motels Florida has?
Well that depends on what you want.

– Most have no room service – but we travel with a few crisps, biscuits and a few cans of something to drink (practically all motels have free ice machines) in case we get an attack of the midnight munchies. Mostly though, the meals you have in restaurants are so huge you don’t want to look at food for days after one!

– Most have no dry cleaning or laundry service – but many do have washing machines and dryers to cover you for emergencies. And all will point you in the direction of a local laundry service if you need something special.

– Most have no fancy landscaping or similar – but we only go there to sleep after a hard day sightseeing.

Our tips on Cheap Motels Florida

Beware of motels that advertise an hourly rate! These are the worst, most ramshackle hotels in the dodgiest areas so you probably won’t even come across them. However, if you do see that “Hourly Rates Available” sign, GET OUT OF THERE! You don’t want to sleep in those sheets!

Cheap Motels Florida: How much are they going to cost?

The cheaper ones start at about the same price as the cheaper hotels – around $30.00 to $35.00. However, I don’t remember ever finding one that charged more than $100.00 – and that was for a King Size suite with a Jacuzzi!

Most range from about $30.00 to $60.00 a night for a room with two double beds.

Occasionally they will charge a small supplement for full occupancy but this is practically never more than an extra $5.00 and is often waived during the week or in low season.

Are there any hidden extras?

Generally speaking, the price you are quoted is the price you pay in a motel. Bear in mind that the price they quote in adverts is excluding tax though. In Florida, State Sales Tax is fixed at 6.5%. However, Orange County (which includes the Disney area) adds another 6% Occupancy Tax as well.

Go here to find out more about Sales Tax in Florida. (coming soon)

One other thing you may run into is the Friday and Saturday night rate. Obviously, Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular nights for hotels so there is a small premium for rooms on those nights. But I have never seen more than a $10.00 increase for these nights and it is often much nearer $5.00 or $6.00.

Deposits

Give your plastic a break – it needs a holiday too. Usually, if you pay with a credit card, there is no need to leave a room deposit. If you burn the place down or pinch the towels or paint the room with assorted graffiti, they’ll just charge your card!

However, if you pay with cash you may be asked to leave either credit card details or a cash deposit in case of damages. This deposit can vary between $25.00 and $80.00. There seems to be no fixed rule here. Don’t worry though – as long as you leave the room in a reasonable condition, you will always get your cash back in the morning.

What is included in the price

I have never been in a Florida Motel – not even a cheap one – where there was no air conditioning. Air Con is a MUST in a Florida summer and they all have them.

Some basic type of breakfast is usually included in the price. This can vary quite a lot. We have been in motels that have no more than coffee in plastic cups and a supply of doughnuts to be taken back to your room.

In other places, we have had tea, coffee, fruit juice or milk; a selection of breakfast cereals; waffles

Florida Holiday Accommodation

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Florida Holiday Accommodation: Hotel or Motel? Villa or Condo? What’s the Difference and What to Choose.

Hotel or Motel? Villa or Condo? Which would suit you best and how do you find out what is available? We’ll give you some hints and tips on the options in Florida holiday accommodation.

Florida holiday accommodation is a bit different from what we are used to in Britain so you need to think a bit differently to explore it openly.

In Britain, when you travel, the cheap choices are a bit more limited. We can choose a cheap hotel (that isn’t all that cheap!), a cheap and cheerful (or cheap and nasty!) B&B, a holiday cottage (as long as you are going for a week)…..and that’s about it unless you like camping or caravanning. But with our weather…need I say more?

America offers a few more options and some terms we use have different meanings over there.

• Hotels – You get a room with various optional in-house services available. Rooms are inside a large building usually accessed from the hotel reception – just as they are at home. That is to say, the doors are on the inside!

Go Here to find out more about Cheap Hotels in Florida

• Motels – You usually just get the room but it often has a basic kitchen too. Rooms are accessed directly from the car park. Most times you can park right outside your own room. Or in other words, the doors are on the outside!
Go here to find out more about Cheap Motels in Florida.

• Resorts and Resort Hotels – Large, luxury complexes that include various leisure facilities like golf, swimming pools, tennis courts etc. (Check the individual resort for full details of what’s on offer.) This is the very top of the tree in Florida holiday accommodation and sometimes the prices are top of the tree too.

Go here to find out more about the cheapest options for Resort hotels in Florida.

• Bed and Breakfast – This is nothing like what you think of in Britain! An American B&B is usually a high-priced luxury establishment. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of this as a budget option – it definitely isn’t.

Go here for more information about the best B&Bs we have found in Florida.

• Villas – A villa is essentially an American house. They vary greatly so choose with care. Some are small and a bit tired but many are clean, airy and well-equipped. They may the cheapest Florida accommodation option for groups of six or more.

Go here to learn about renting a Florida villa.

• Condos – Condos (condominiums) are mainly, but not exclusively, found in coastal areas. They are ‘posh flats’ as Del Boy would say, often with excellent sea views and lots of facilities for self-catering holidays.

Go here to learn more about a Florida condo holiday.

Attractions in St Augustine Florida

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Attractions in St Augustine Florida

There are dozens of attractions in St Augustine Florida. The problem is in deciding which ones you can afford to leave out.

There are dozens of attractions in St Augustine Florida. The problem is in deciding which ones you can afford to leave out.

On our page, St Augustine, we highlighted a combo tour and a ghost tour. We stand by our recommendations on that page.

However, there is so much more to St Augustine that we have added this page to show you another way to approach your visit to this astonishing old town on your Florida holiday.

To REALLY get the best out of the many attractions in St Augustine Florida, plan to spend at least three full days there. This plan also makes a trip to St Augustine excellent value for money since the Red Train offers a ticket for $19.00 (pick up a coupon locally to get $1.00 off per person) that gives you unlimited “jump on, jump off” privileges for three consecutive days (8:30am to 5pm) and free parking at any of their designated parking spaces.

Not only that, but the price includes admission to the Old Florida Museum and, especially if you are traveling with kids, that visit alone could provide hours of fun!

They also sell combo tickets that include reduced cost admission to various attractions in St Augustine, Florida.

Which attractions in St Augustine Florida are Worth a Visit? Practically all of them! But if you rely on leaflets and advertising, you will end up VERY confused! Here’s what we did on our most recent trip.

Diary of a Visit to the Attractions in St Augustine Florida

We drove up the coastal road (A1A) from Daytona Beach and arrived late on a Saturday evening. We never book accommodation in advance so our first priority was to eat then find somewhere to stay.

We ate at Applebees but there were plenty of other places we could have chosen. Remember that many restaurants in America close at 9pm so make sure you get fed and watered early!

We went to the Sleep Inn on Anastasia Boulevard. The time was pressing on (we arrived around 9:30pm) and the receptionist quoted me $99.00 for a double room. I pulled out my American Airlines Advantage card and politely asked for a discount. The price dropped to $65.00 for the same room inclusive of a very substantial “continental” breakfast.

The rooms were very nice – spacious, clean, well decorated – all round, very nice. Also, one of my party (who shall remain nameless) left her watch and a valuable ring on the breakfast table (Grrr!). We later went back to the hotel and it had been found and handed in by staff in the restaurant – BIG BONUS POINTS FOR THE SLEEP INN!

However, for the CHEAPEST, BEST VALUE motel in St Augustine, we would have to recommend the Anastasia Inn just along the street from the Sleep Inn. Again, it was clean and comfortable (we moved there the next day) but it was almost HALF the price! Yes, it was a mere $39.95 a night for a double room.

Castillo de San Marcos (Or “The Fort”)

On Sunday morning we went on the Red Train to ‘The Fort’ and were just in time (11:30 am) to see one of their many cannons being fired by men in 17th Century Spanish Colonial Uniform from about 1740. It was a spectacle you shouldn’t miss!

This experience wins all the prizes for being the loudest of all the attractions in St Augustine Florida!

Wanna hear it for yourself? Well I think that can be arranged….try this page!

A little later in the day we found ourselves in a Florida summer storm. It lasted about 40 minutes then cleared up as quickly as it had come. BUT since the weather had been so hot, the ground turned the rain into steam almost instantly and we found ourselves enjoying (?!) a nice “walk-around-sauna”! When one of these storms hits, get yourself into air-conditioning fast!!

Other attractions we visited over the next couple of days (all of them at stops on the Red Bus Tour) were:

The Old School House

The oldest surviving wooden school house in the States is where we talked about how nice it would have been to have had kids with us so that we could have tortured them with stories about “when I was at school……”.

Tell me more about The Oldest Wooden School House – I feel like torturing the kids for a while!

The Fountain of Youth

Just after you ride the train past St Augustine’s oldest living resident, “The Senator” (a 600 year old oak tree so named because “it is old, shady and crooked”!) and have traveled down Magnolia Avenue, the most photographed street in America (a tree-canopied spectacular of Spanish Moss), you will turn into the next of the many attractions in St Augustine Florida; “The Fountain of Youth”.

Your tour guide will tell you all sorts of history about Ponce de Leon and Pedro Menendez here.

Fascinating But Useless
Florida Flydrive Fact:

Ponce De Leon was a giant in his time! At 4′11″ and the tallest many on his ship. The average height of the crew was 4′8″, which means most of them were too short to ride the big rides at Disney!!

The Fountain of Youth itself is all about archaeology and peacocks (including a rare white one that we couldn’t find).

You can also pick up a little bottle of water from the Fountain of Youth (it’s a sulphur spring so don’t expect it to smell or taste nice) to take home for your mother-in-law….or someone else you love.

The Old Florida Museum

From the moment you walk into the Old Florida Museum, you know it is no ordinary, boring museum. This must be one of the best hidden treasures among the attractions in St Augustine Florida.

We had a pile of fun at The Old Florida Museum and would recommend it to anyone.

Religious Attractions in St Augustine Florida

St Augustine is the site of the first Roman Catholic mass ever held on Florida soil held when Pedro Memendez landed here.

The site is now marked by a 208ft cross and is regarded as one of the holiest Roman Catholic sites in America.

Other Christian churches have attractions in St Augustine Florida too though.

The Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church is famous for having been built in just one year although you’d never think it to look at it.

Want to read the full story of St Augustine’s religious attractions? We’ve got it all here!

Flagler College

What is now Flagler Business College was originally built as an opulent resort for extremely wealthy guests. You had to be on the New York Social Register just to be allowed to have a room there.

Every suite was different and each was utterly unique – and most were designed by Tiffany (the famous glass man, nothing to do with Eastenders!).

More information about Flagler College over here – including the estimated value of all that Tiffany glass. How much do you think it’s worth? I bet you guessed too low! But you’ll have to go over here to find out.

Other Attractions in St Augustine Florida

There are so many attractions in St Augustine Florida that I simply can’t describe all of them in detail here. But a few of the other highlights include:

The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind

This is where Ray Charles learned to play the piano. It now has an outstanding academic record with about 80% of graduates going on to college (university).

This is the heart of St Augustine’s historical district. It is a pedestrianized area where you can shop for souvenirs (there are some really reasonably prices original paintings if you are interested), eat or just enjoy the ‘olde worlde’ atmosphere of St Augustine.

The Old Jail is really popular although we just didn’t have time on this trip – maybe next time.

Think of Olsen’s Store in Little House on the Prairie and you’re starting to get close to the feeling of this great attraction.

See how pills and potions were made, what was prescribed for what illness and how early prescriptions were filled in the 1700s.

The main ingredients seem to have been water, grain alcohol and OPIUM – they may not have cured you but they DEFINITELY felt better for a while!

That was all the sightseeing we could manage in our three day stop visiting the attractions in St Augustine Florida. It was tiring but it was fun.

A couple of final tips

1. Use plenty of sun cream – you think you won’t get burned because you are inside or under cover all the time, but when the burn time is about 10 minutes on a summer’s day, you CAN get burned. My left knee was got this trip so watch out!
2. These trains are all open-sided so you can see out and take photos. However, being exposed to the air for so long will make you dehydrate more quickly than usual, so make sure you and the kids keep on drinking water – NOT ice cream and fizzy drinks – plain water is by far the best thing to keep you healthy in the heat.
3. Enjoy as many attractions in St Augustine Florida as you can but hold something in reserve for your next trip because you WILL want to go back again!
4. Because you are on a Florida Flydrive holiday, you will almost certainly have a car with you in St Augustine. We strongly recommend that you leave it behind at your hotel as often as you can! Parking is a nightmare in the town itself. If you do want to park, do it at one of the Red Train Tour’s depots where there is free parking and you can easily hop onto the train without having to walk miles in the heat.

Late Flight Deals

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Late Flight Deals to Florida: Dead and Gone or Alive and Hiding?

Some say that late flight deals to Florida are a thing of the past. But that’s not the whole story. Check here to find out more.

There are those who will tell you that late flight deals to Florida are a thing of the past. Certainly, they are not as easy to find as they used to be on the whole. But that’s not the whole story. You just need to be a bit more informed to find them nowadays.

In the late 1980s and throughout most of the 1990s, late holiday deals of all sorts could be found for a fraction of the normal cost. I remember a few of my own:

• In 1995 I had 2 weeks in Kos for £39.00.

• In 1996 I went to the Algarve on an all-inclusive deal for £139.00)

I thought the days of the stupidly cheap holiday were over!

BUT THEN:

• In 2006 I went to Turkey for 2 weeks for £79.00 in a HUGE apartment on the seafront at Antalya.

I know these are not Florida examples, which are always going to cost a bit more than that, but I recently found a couple of late flight deals to Florida that had me fairly impressed.

• One flydrive to Orlando for £488.00 for 2 weeks FOR TWO PEOPLE, NOT EACH!
• And one Miami Flydrive for two adults for £910.00 (total, not each!) including flights on the BEST airline across the Atlantic and an SUV instead of a basic car.

When I found these, I knew that great late flight deals to Florida are not dead, they are just a little shy! If you know where and when to look, you can still find them.

Where should I look?

There are a few places you might find a really great deal hiding out.
Internet ‘Travel Agents’ – companies who either offer or search for cheap flights, holidays, hotels and/or car hire are definitely the place to start.
Try these ones:

1. Ebookers.com – often has some unexpectedly great deal hiding among all it’s ordinary good deals! I have never found Ebookers to be overpriced. It’s just that some days there are are cheaper than others.

2. Travelbag – Part of ebookers, but not always the same as eBookers! Travelbag tends to have one or two really good deals in among their range of suggested offerings.

3. Expedia.com – In my recent experience, Expedia have been doing better and better on their flight prices. I usually start with Expedia then try to beat their prices – I sometimes manage it!

4. Opodo.co.uk – This UK based travel service is a great place to get a realistic quotation for a personally tailored holiday where you want flexibility without the high price tag.

5. Before you book any of the above flights,
check here for a BRILLIANT travel company that has found me flights and car hire at a consistently low price for years.

They have an online quotation service but if you call them you will better see just how helpful and flexible they are – and VERY friendly and helpful too!

As always, I recommend you get quotations from all the above then go with the one that suits you best.

Alternatively, you could try our own brand new BEAT THAT QUOTE service.

BEAT THAT QUOTE!

If you want to find out whether you have found the best deal available (and gloat at me!) or if you just don’t have the time to trawl around the internet and would rather let me do the work for you, click here and see whether I can beat your current best quote.

This service is ABSOLUTELY FREE if I can’t come up with something better than you have already found.

In the unlikely event that you don’t own a computer and use a high street travel agent for your holiday quotation, I have one other word of advice:

USE THE BEAT THIS QUOTE UTILITY AND I CAN ALMOST PROMISE YOU THAT YOU’LL SAVE ENOUGH TO BUY A BRAND NEW COMPUTER OF YOUR OWN – AND HAVE CHANGE!!

Go over here for full details.

That’s a bit about “where” to get late flight deals to Florida. But there is a “when” as well if you want to get the real bargains.

When to Book

I wish I could give you definitive information about the dates and times when really good deals are available on the internet. Unfortunately, it is all a bit less scientific than that.

What I can do is tell you when I have found to be the best (or luckiest?) times for finding late flight deals to Florida.

1. For Package Holidays and Tour Operated Charter Flights

If you are travelling during the school holidays there are two good times:

• Months in advance when you can take advantage of early booking offers OR

• Between 1 and 2 weeks before the date of travel. Most companies seem to drop their prices during this period but they often go back up again as soon as availability is reduced so don’t wait too long!

If you are travelling outside of school holidays:

• Usually within a few days of travelling, but not usually more than a week or 10 days.

2. For Scheduled Flights

• Three weeks before the date of travel seems to be about the optimum period for flight discounts. If you wait too long, business passengers will start taking up seats with last minute business trips – and business people often don’t mind paying full price.

3. For any Internet Booking

• If you can keep your eyes open, do your surfing between 12 midnight and 3am. Many travel companies update or re-set their computer systems during this period.

This means you might be the first to get a new set of bargains OR you might be able to take advantage of a computer glitch. These are random and infrequent – but a few great late flight deals to Florida have been had by night owls!

Good luck with your search for late flight deals to Florida – we hope we have helped you get the very best deal available.

Best Airline Seats

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

The Best Airline Seats and How to Get Them

When you are flying you will want to get the best airline seats available. In order to do that you will have to think about a few things. This page tells you what to look for.

When you are flying you will want to get the best airline seats available. In order to do that you will have to think about a few things.

First – Choosing the Right Airlines

Every airline has its own type of aircraft and its own booking systems; some airlines offer chartered flights and some offer scheduled flights; some airlines operate a “no seat allocation policy”, which means you need to be at the front of the boarding queue if you are going to get the seat of your choice.
That also means that the ‘best airline seat’ will be different on each airline.

Make enquiries by email or phone before you settle on a particular airline. If their booking system tells you little or nothing about the planes you will be flying on, this will be a bit harder. But someone somewhere knows which plane is assigned to that route and you can find out if you do a bit of digging.

It is important to be informed of the implications of each of these factors if you are to get the best airline seats.
Second – Choosing the Right Aircraft

A site like seatguru.com will give you lots of information about the specific planes particular airlines use and which are the best and worst seats on each type of plane.

That’s great information but before you can make much use of it you need to know which type of plane you will be flying on. Most airlines have that information available on their booking sites but if you are using a travel agent or booking through a travel company online you might need to call or e-mail to find out which plane you will be flying on.

Third – Booking Your Seat Well in Advance When Possible

Believe me, if you have never traveled first class, those really are the BEST airline seats available!

If you don’t manage to get upgraded at check-in, don’t take it too badly. But be aware that someone else might have been upgraded and they MIGHT have left some better seats available in cabin class. If you go to the member of the airline’s staff at the gate, there is another chance to get those better seats that have become available.

Your last chance to improve your seat is on the plane itself. If you see the attendants closing the doors of the aircraft and there are still some empty seats that are better than those you are in. People get lost, drunk or plain terrified of flying in the terminal and never actually make it on to the plane. If this happens, ask a flight attendant if you can change seats.

Some Tips About Getting the Best Airline Seats for You

• Don’t choose your flight ONLY by the price.

When flying to Florida from London, I always choose American Airlines if I can. This is a personal preference based on 23 years of regular flying. In all that time I have NEVER had a bad experience with American Airlines. I wish I could say the same for other airlines.

But American Airlines are rarely the cheapest possible option. On a recent booking to Miami it cost me a full $23.00 more than the cheapest available ticket! Now, for the sake of $23.00 I am getting:

– a wider seat

– more legroom
– a better entertainment selection
– a newer aircraft
– free non-alcoholic drinks throughout the flight in full cans!(unlike a chartered flight)
– a better meal selection (and, based on past experience, a better quality of meals)
– another selection of air miles to allow me to get free tickets or free upgrades on future flights.

All that for less than $700.00 for a round trip ticket to Miami in August!

• Confirm your seat allocation about 5 to 7 days before you fly.

If you call the airline at this time, you might be able to get a different and better seat. People cancel seats for all sorts of reasons and you might be able to move into their seats at this time.

• Make use of online check-in facilities if they are available on your airline.

Bulkhead seats are often reserved until the day of flying in case there are bookings from disabled people or people who have some other medical reason for needing extra space. If you check-in online on the day of your flight, you might find that these seats have become available. If you like or need extra legroom, these are probably the best airline seats for you.

I hope you have found some of these hints and tips helpful. We’d love to hear your stories about how you managed to get the best airline seats for your flight so we can pass on your comments to help others.

Because more and more airlines are offering pre-bookable seats, people are choosing their seats a long time in advance. This means that if you are booking a late or last minute ticket, your plane may have had all its best seats booked already.

If possible, get in early and choose the seat you want. If early booking is not possible, you can still do a bit of negotiating at the airport!

Fourth – Asking for Upgrades or Changes

When you arrive at the check-in desk, the first thing you should do is ask whether there are any available upgrades. When seats in economy or cabin class have been filled or, even better, overbooked, you have a chance of being upgraded to business or first class where seats may still be available. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this!

It helps if you are a member of the airline’s loyalty program at this point too. Just go to the website of the airline and look for their “loyalty program”,”frequent flyer club” or “advantage club”. Each airline calls it something different but they all have one!

If you have a membership card, tuck it inside the pocket of your passport cover to make it subtly clear that you are in fact a member. I admit I have only been successful at this about half a dozen times in my life – but those 1st class trips definitely made it worth asking on the few occasions I was not successful.

Flights to Florida

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Flights to Florida: What the Travel Agents and Airlines Never Tell You.

Information on how to get the best deals on flights to Florida along with general information about flying, airlines, packing and ways to make flying a less stressful experience.

Flights to Florida are advertised all over the internet. What is not usually included on most of these pages is information about the quality of the flying experience you are about to pay good money for.

You wouldn’t pay hundreds of pounds for anything else you couldn’t check out first so why do it with a flight?

We’ll let you know:
- How to get the best seats on your flight

- Where you can find some of the best late flight deals on the internet

- Some ideas about how to keep the kids happy on a flight

- Whether you should go for a chartered or a scheduled flight

- Whether or not you should take advantage of Airport Parking to catch your plane.

- And more…………..

We are not travel Agents and we don’t sell flights or holidays. As a result, we are not trying to make a particular airline look good or bad. What we do want to do is to make sure you have relevant, clear information about the flight you are considering. This also means that we are always interested in your own opinions, comments and feedback about your experiences of flying to Florida.

– Did you get a seat that wouldn’t recline and have a plate of something nasty given to you disguised as a meal?

– Did you meet the kindest air hostess ever who went beyond the call of duty to make you comfortable?

– Did an airline charge a fortune for drinks?

Tell us about your flying experiences – personal experience is the best (or worst!) recommendation.

Cheap Villa in Florida

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Practically any villa works out to be a cheap villa in Florida – when the cost for a week is less than the cost of a couple of nights in a hotel that is!

Lots of people spend lots of time looking for a cheap villa in Florida.

In truth, that time is wasted time in many cases.

Prices for villas are much of a muchness in each specific area. Kissimee is cheaper; Naples is more expensive.

There is very little available for under £400.00 a week and what is available is not always very appealing.

Questions do need to be asked, but you need to make sure they are the right questions. What do I mean by that? Keep reading and you’ll find out!

Questions about occupancy

Your starter for ten: ‘If a cheap villa in Florida advert (it’s nearly always the cheap ones!) says, “Maximum Occupancy = 10 persons”, how many beds should that villa have?’

No, it’s not a trick question; it’s a question that will save you from getting tricked!

Before you book a cheap villa in Florida, please ensure that it has enough beds for everybody. Some villa owners and agents seem to expect people to sleep on sofas, sunbeds or the floor!

Questions about price

Check for hidden extras whenever you look at a quoted price. Some owners and agents charge extra for:

• Towels for the bathroom
• Towels for the pool
• Cleaning (especially if you’re not staying for a full week)
• Bed Linen
• Air Conditioning (You NEED this at certain times of the year in Florida)
• Use of communal facilities in the neighborhood (pools, parks, sports fields or courts etc.)
• Grocery shopping (This might be helpful to you but it often comes at a high premium so think carefully about ordering it)

If you are being careful about how much you spend on your cheap villa in Florida, you might be tempted to hunt for the absolutely cheapest possible option. That’s understandable. But make sure the cheapest really is the cheapest when all the extras are added.

If there are lots of extras, please do yourself a favour and go elsewhere.

As I have already said, the prices of villas are fairly similar across the board (usually £400 to £600 for a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom villa).

The question you should be asking is NOT, “Where can I get a really cheap villa in Florida?”

What you SHOULD be asking is, “What do I get for the money I spend?”

Having said that, we have contacts that can offer you some of the very cheapest prices possible for cheap villas in Florida. Click here to ask us for a quotation. Just tell us your dates, how many people are in your group and which area or attractions you want to be close to.

We will get back to you ASAP – but always within 48 hours at the most. If you haven’t heard from us in that time, please re-send your request.

Questions about Geography

The owners of villas in Florida sometimes have a very distorted understanding of ‘near’ and ‘far’!

Just because a villa owner says his or her villa is “in Orlando”, don’t assume it is near Disney!. Orlando is a big city with roadworks, traffic jams, occasional bad signposting and lots of people. You don’t want to spend half your holiday stuck on the turnpike!

This one’s near; that one is Far away! Check the villa’s location carefully on a map and make SURE it is near Disney or whatever else you want to be close to.

Also make sure it has good access to major highways if you plan to travel out of the area.

Go to Google Maps for road maps, satellite pictures and hybrids (satellite pictures with the road map laid over it) to check a precise location.

Questions of Legality

Get it rubber-stamped before you book. Certain areas of Florida are designated as “Residents Only” areas. That means that people are not allowed to rent their properties in that area for periods under 3 or 6 months.

If you turn up at a villa in one of these areas, you can legally be barred from entering. What a great start to your holiday that would be!

Make sure your cheap villa in Florida is in an area where short-term renting is allowed.

Check for Testimonials

Before you book a cheap villa in Florida (or even a not so cheap one), ask whether the owners have a guest book or testimonials you can view online or on paper. If people have complaints, ask what the owner has done to address those complaints. If you’re not completely satisfied, go elsewhere.

Recommendations

We are currently building a small but growing list of villas in Florida that we can recommend. We have done the checking and asked the questions so you don’t have to worry about it. (Although our owners will be more than happy to reassure you if you want them to!)

None of the villas we have listed are available from the big letting agents (so none of them hike their prices to cover the agents’ fees) and all of them are offered with confidence and pride by the owners themselves.

Click on a link below to see a villa that will set the standard for your search.

Remember to bookmark us though. That way, after you have spent hours looking at other villas, you will be able to find us again – we know you’ll want one of these!

You’ve seen the rest, now book the best.

Villa Diane:

Sleeps 8; 4 bedrooms/2 Bathrooms; Pool; Orlando – Close to Golf Courses and Disney; Child safe.

You may have started on this page looking for a cheap villa in Florida but I hope we have shown you that ‘cheap’ is not always the same as ‘good value’ where villas are concerned.

Look at it this way:

• A 4 bedroom villa costs on average £500 for a week.
• That’s about £70.00 a night.
• If 8 people stay in the villa, that’s about £9.00 per person per night.
• For that you get your own pool, as much privacy as you want, a kitchen if you want to cook, all the comfort and convenience of a modern home and a comfortable and relaxing place to come home to after a hard day’s sightseeing.

I don’t know if you think that constitutes a “cheap villa in Florida” or not – but it is DEFINITELY great value!

Cheap Hotels Florida has thousands of them!

Posted by admin on February 6th, 2010

Cheap Hotels Florida has thousands of them!

Looking for cheap hotels Florida? We’ll tell you what to look for and what to avoid.

If you’re looking for cheap hotels Florida should definitely be at the top of your list. There are hundreds of them!

But before I give you any information about cheap hotels specifically, I should just let you know that, if you are looking for the cheapest accommodation possible, hotels are not necessarily the only thing to consider. For other really cheap deals, look at our motels page.

What sort of amenities can you expect to find in a Florida hotel?

A mid-price Florida Hotel

Well, a midsize, mid-price hotel in Florida will be likely to have all of the following:

Room Service (often with limited hours of operation);
A dry cleaning service;
Data port or Wireless Internet connections in room;
A Non-smoking room option;
Dining facilities of some kind;
Wheel chair access is very common;
Free parking;
A Swimming pool (often fairly small)

Larger hotels may add any or all of the following to their list of services:

External features like waterfalls, fountains, and tropical landscaping;
Complimentary daily transportation to all four Walt Disney World Theme Parks and other attractions;
Multiple swimming pools and kids’ pools;
Tennis courts;
Fitness centers;
Spa services;
Basketball and volleyball courts;
Miniature golf courses;
Video arcades;
Larger restaurants and bars;
Refrigerators with ice maker;
Cable TV;
Hairdryer;
In-room safe;
Screened furnished private patio or balcony;
Business center;
And other unique features depending on the hotel.

Don’t be misled by the length of this list though – some of the best cheap hotels Florida has to offer have very similar lists of amenities to the larger, more expensive ones.

So let’s look at some of the sorts of cheap hotels Florida has to offer you.

In order to give you an indication of how much a hotel will cost you, I have created a standard scenario for the most expensive hotel conditions possible. Please remember this is ONLY an indication and actual prices vary substantially depending on what you want.

I selected the most expensive week of the summer – August 10th to August 17th 2007 – and assumed there would be 2 adults and 2 children (ages 8 and 12) staying in one room in a hotel on or near International Drive.

This thing goes DING!What I found is that there is no average price for a hotel! The average nightly cost of a room varies from $37.33 (Best Western Plaza, International Drive) per night up to a whopping $657.99 per night (Disney’s Polynesian Resort)! Clearly that means you could stay at the Best Western Plaza for two weeks for less than the price of one night at the Polynesian resort. In fact, you could stay there for 17 days and still be quids in!

As I’ve already said, when you are looking for cheap hotels Florida will certainly have the right thing for you – it’s just a case of tracking it down.

This company might also be useful if you are looking for a reasonably priced hotel in Florida or elsewhere.

Some things you ought to consider when you are choosing a cheap hotel in Florida
1. Decide what sort of budget you want to give to your hotel accommodation and find a hotel that fits in with that budget.

2. Once you have found a few hotels that fit the budget, narrow them down to the facilities they offer for the money they charge. Remember, you only need what YOU need. A hotel with an olympic size swimming pool might be necessary if you have an olympic (or olympic-sized?!) swimmer in the family but isn’t much good if you’re hydrophobic.

3. Don’t get carried away with the hotel’s sales pitch. You know what you need so stick to it.

The point is, because of the huge range of cheap hotels Florida has available, YOU get to decide how much you want to spend and you can actually stick to it!

Being Aware of Hidden Extras and Avoiding a Nasty Shock at the End of the Week!

One more thing to remember when you are looking through the cheap hotels Florida offers is that hotels CAN get expensive if you use a lot of their extra services. If you don’t mind paying for services, they can make your stay more convenient and more enjoyable – IF that’s what you want.

On the other hand, you might just end up being presented with a nasty bill at the end of your stay if you are not aware of potential hidden extras.

What sorts of ‘Hidden Extras’?

You can get charged for anything from parking your car to eating the peanuts in the mini-bar! I have never had this problem but it pays to be aware of other peoples’ experience and I have talked to a LOT of people about this!

How Can You Avoid Hidden Extras?

The simple answer is to ASK BEFORE YOU BOOK! It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And it is too.

Trouble is, as soon as we have to ask lots of questions about money, that Great British reserve kicks in and we get horribly emarrassed.

Get over it! If you don’t, you’ll pay the price – literally!

Remember: when you’re hunting through the cheap hotels Florida offers, there are plenty to choose from – so you can afford to be a bit picky!

Before you book a hotel, ask about whether the hotel charges extra for any of the following services or facilities:

– Parking (If they charge for this, go elsewhere!)

– Room Service

– Maid Service/dry cleaning/laundry service

– Use of Telephones (get local, long distance and International rates)

– Use of Internet (plug-in and wireless access prices may differ)

– Safes/Safety Deposit Boxes

– Facilities like pools, gyms, saunas etc.

– Drinks and Snacks from the Mini-Bar in your room

– Early Arrival or Late Departure Fees (and what are the times?)

– Cancellation Fees if you cancel your booking.

– Any other fees or charges you ought to know about.

I’ll say it again: when you’re hunting through the cheap hotels Florida offers, there are plenty to choose from – so you can afford to be a bit picky! If you don’t like one hotel’s policies on extra charges, just go somewhere else.

Our tips on Cheap hotels Florida

When you’re searching for the best cheap deals in Florida, Get quotations for a flydrive WITH accommodation and a flydrive WITHOUT accommodation. It’s often cheaper to book your own accommodation separately.

Incidentally, just to check my advice (above) about booking a fly-drive and your hotel separately, I ran the numbers with a well-known online (red and white) travel company. Here are the results:

Flydrive WITH the hotel (including all supplements and surcharges)

Flydrive WITH the hotel
(including all supplements and surcharges)
£3538.00
Flydrive WITHOUT the hotel
(including all supplements and surcharges)
£2957.35
The same hotel BOUGHT SEPARATELY online

(in a slightly better room)
£370.96
Total
(when Flydrive and hotel are booked separately)
£3328.31

That’s a saving of
£209.69

And you can buy a lot of ice-cream, hotdogs and cotton candy with almost £210!

I know that there are a lot of cheap deals in Florida to choose from, but when it comes to the really cheap hotels FLORIDA DOES THEM BEST!

Florida Things To Do

Posted by admin on February 5th, 2010

Florida Things To Do

There are so many Florida Things To Do! Here we give you our favourite picks in every direction from Orlando.

Actually, saying “Florida Things to Do” is a bit misleading. It makes it sound as if you’ll be scratching around to find things to keep you occupied. Once you get to Florida, you’ll realise that the question is not really, “What can I do in Florida?” so much as “Which of the millions of items on my ‘Florida Things To Do’ list can I afford to miss?”

The thing is that there are just so MANY things to do in Florida.

Over 70% of all British and European visitors to Florida fly into one of Orlando’s two major airports; Orlando International (on the Southern end of Orlando) or Sanford (On the Northern end). For this reason, I have started our Florida guide with destinations fairly close to Orlando. Keep an eye out for further guides that will take you ever further away from Orlando.
The guides below vary in content depending on the area but all of them will help you decide which “things” you actually want to do and which you can live without.

Orlando

Our Top Ten Attractions

North East From Orlando

Attractions in St Augustine

Ghost Tours and Combo Tickets

Map of St Augustine

Daytona Beach and NASCAR

East From Orlando

Titusville, The Space Coast and Cocoa Beach

South East From Orlando

South East from Orlando (Melbourne)

South from Orlando

South West from Orlando (Tampa)

West From Orlando (Crystal River and Gulf Coast)

North West from Orlando (Ocala National Forest) Take your time going through the links above and you’ll get a good feel for the types of things you might choose to do during your holiday. Write down or bookmark the ones that interest you and then start trying to figure out how you can squeeze them all into your 2 weeks.

Now that you are armed with your “Florida Things To Do List”, all that remains is for you to have a GREAT time.

What Should I do IF …

Posted by admin on February 5th, 2010

What Should I do IF ….

What Should I do IF…… There’s always something to worry about when you are driving in another country. We’ll give you a few bits of advice on what to do about them.

We are often asked, “What should I do IF …..”

— My car breaks down?

— I get stopped by a law enforcement officer?

— I am passing an accident or other incident on the road?

— I’ve had a few drinks?

There are potentially hundreds of questions to be answered about driving on America’s roads.

If you have a “What Should I do IF….” question, please contact us about it. We’ll put the question and answer on the site and you will have helped some people by asking.


What Should I do IF … My Car Breaks Down?

Florida driving tips – breakdowns In this situation, you should obviously call the car hire company and have them arrange rescue, repair, and replacement as appropriate.

But in the immediate situation, you need to make sure you and your car are safe and not causing an obstruction to anyone.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) offers this advice:

• Signal, slow down gradually, and carefully pull off the road on to the shoulder.

• Switch on emergency/safety flashers.

• Raise vehicle hood

• Never stand behind or directly in front of your vehicle.

• Remain in your vehicle unless you think your vehicle may be struck from behind.

• Call or wait for assistance.

If you find yourself in this situation you will probably be very glad to have packed some drinks. I always travel with an unopened bottle of water in the boot of the car just in case.

What Should I do IF … I get stopped by a law enforcement officer?

Florida driving tips – stopped by FHP The officers of the Florida Highway Patrol are always extremely polite and usually very understanding of small errors made by non-American drivers.

However, it is their job to make sure you don’t make the same mistake again so they will often pull you over and give you a bit of advice in that polite but official tone they teach them at the academy!

Don’t be fooled though. These guys carry guns and they are trained to use them if they have to. You don’t want to find yourself in a difficult spot so, if you do happen to be pulled over, remember these simple guidelines.

1. Pull slowly and carefully off the road or to the closest shoulder of the road.

2. Turn off the engine.

3. Place your hands on the steering wheel where they are clearly visible.

4. At night, turn on your interior light or, if possible, stop in a well lit area.

5. Remain in your vehicle unless asked to do otherwise.

And whatever you do, remember that you MUST CARRY YOUR CAR HIRE DOCUMENTS AND DRIVING LICENSE WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. If you don’t have these documents and you are stopped, you can be fined on the spot or even arrested.

That’s NOT the sort of amusing holiday story you want to tell your friends when you get back home!

What Should I do IF … I am passing an accident or other incident on the road?

Since May 1st 2002 there has been something known as the “MOVE OVER ACT” in Florida.

This law requires you to slow down and move over wherever possible when you see an accident, other incident or even a police officer who has pulled a motorist over on any highway or road.

You should slow down to a speed that is 20mph LESS than the posted speed limit or to 5mph if the limit is 20mph or less

The law is designed to keep you, other road-users, emergency vehicle crews and police officers safe.

During the five-year period from 1996 to 2000, motorists in Florida crashed into working law enforcement vehicles that were stopped/parked along Florida roadways 1,793 times, resulting in five deaths and 419 injuries.

Slow down and keep everybody safe.

What Should I do IF … I’ve had a few drinks?

DON’T DRIVE!

The Florida Highway Patrol has no mercy for drunk drivers at all. Just simply don’t take that chance.

Personally, I tend to drink ice tea or soft drinks while I’m out and then have a few beers when I get back to the hotel if I want them.

Now you know the answers to a few “What should I do if…” questions, put your thinking cap on and ask us about any situations you can think of where you needed a bit of advice.

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