Where to stay in Florida?

[R.Youden]

A few questions for everyone the other side of the pond. My girlfriend and myself are visiting America in October. We aim to spend about 10 days in Florida. My questions are:

1. What will the weather be like in early October?

2. Does anyone know any little 'gem' hotels in Orlando and Miami? In Orlando we are looking at the Disney World area (south of the city I think). For Miami, again we are looking at the south of the city.

3. If we want to hire a car, which I guess we will want to do, what sort of prices will we be looking at?

I am sure I will have plenty more questions soon, thanks.

 

[Queso]

I went to Florida in late September once and they had tornadoes

Car hire was cheap though

 

[Sounds Good]

Are you going to Disney World? If so, staying at a Disney hotel has its perks (like free bus shuttles from your hotel to DW and back).

 

[iBlue]

Weather could be unpredictable. It will be warm and there could be spontaneous thunderstorms. It'll be awesome.

If you hire a car, consider taking a drive down to the keys. I drove from Tampa to Miami to Key Largo and Key West and it was one of the best times I've ever had. The Keys are really incredible to explore. Afterwards I drove back up going through the Everglades, which is very surreal. It was a bit like Jumanji. Massive bugs, swamps, houses on stilts with scary locals and alligators. Totally interesting place to pass through though.

 

[Conversion]

I know you mentioned Orlando and Miami, but last December I went in Florida with my family. I stayed in Fort Lauderdale and that's highly recommended. It's a beautiful city with a very nice beach. You can have a great meal and see lots of things. We went out to sail on the canals two of the days. It's not to far from Miami and The Keys. One of the days we went to Key Largo where we swam with some dolphins and then further down to Key West though it took nearly 4 hours to get there. I love Fort Lauderdale and would definatley like to visit it again some day.
But that's just my $.02

 

[benthewraith]

A few questions for everyone the other side of the pond. My girlfriend and myself are visiting America in October. We aim to spend about 10 days in Florida. My questions are:

1. What will the weather be like in early October?

2. Does anyone know any little 'gem' hotels in Orlando and Miami? In Orlando we are looking at the Disney World area (south of the city I think). For Miami, again we are looking at the south of the city.

3. If we want to hire a car, which I guess we will want to do, what sort of prices will we be looking at?

I am sure I will have plenty more questions soon, thanks.

Despite my hatred of the place I was born in, you should visit Jacksonville. Amelia Island to the North and St. Augustine to the South. St. Augustine is a nice place to visit if you're into historic places. And besides, you can play golf at the World Golf Village. A nice place to stay would be near the St. John's Town Centre or the Jacksonville Beaches.

Tampa is meh, its a nice, fun place to live. But that leans more towards living there. They do have Bush Gardens and the largest mall in the state.

Fort Lauderdale is awesome. The beaches are nice, the water should be plenty clear. It's also a port city, so you can watch cruise ships leave, and its a quick drive from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. If you go to Miami, you should visit the Coral Castle. The guy who made was totally tripping balls on something, but a fun idea and a nice place to visit nonetheless. And of course, who can't forget grabbing a nice dinner/lunch on Lincoln Road! Among other things (such as clubbing).

Key West, because its sheer awesome.

Personal advice, stay off I-95 wherever you can. Take the turnpike, and check to see if the rental place has a Florida Sunpass. The turnpike will go from Orlando down to Homestead.

 

[furcalchick]

A few questions for everyone the other side of the pond. My girlfriend and myself are visiting America in October. We aim to spend about 10 days in Florida. My questions are:

1. What will the weather be like in early October?

2. Does anyone know any little 'gem' hotels in Orlando and Miami? In Orlando we are looking at the Disney World area (south of the city I think). For Miami, again we are looking at the south of the city.

3. If we want to hire a car, which I guess we will want to do, what sort of prices will we be looking at?

I am sure I will have plenty more questions soon, thanks.

1. it's still pretty hot in october, not as bad as it's going to be now through september, but i wouldn't pack any long coats or anything.

2. south of miami city proper, there's key biscane, but that's crazy expensive, and coral gables. but in terms of attractions and hotels, there's not that much south of miami; it's mostly residential (that's partly due to hurricane andrew back in 1992 wiping out a bunch of southern suburbs). i would look in broward county (ft. lauderdale) as some have said or even palm beach county, but that may be a bit too far north for you.

make sure you go to one of the many everglades parks in south florida (there's more than just the national park, but that's the biggest one). you'll love it.

and one more thing, you should have a plan b in case a hurricane warning comes in part of the state. some people think october is the end of hurricane season, but it's not. wilma in 2005 hit in late october and left the southern part of the state (both coasts) a mess through the rest of the month and the early parts of november. although i doubt a hurricane would hit both miami and orlando at the same time, i would have 2-3 other cities on the list to hit in case you have to leave the area (i suggest tampa bay as one of them). also, monroe county (the keys) will kick out tourists if a hurricane is predicted to come to the area.

 

[quagmire]

Avoid Daytona Beach. It is a hell hole. The general consensus which I agree with 100%, the more south you go in Florida the nicer it gets. Northern Florida sucks for the most part. I will be getting the hell out of Daytona as soon as I am done with college.

And have fun at Disney World if you go. Definitely a good memory there. I loved that Lagoon place where it had a wave generator. I couldn't body surf if my life depended on it. I forgot the name, but there is this place that operates at night only where it had a virtual roller coaster ride. I made a killer track which made my dad sick. Also have the try the Magic Kingdom at night too.

 

[furcalchick]

Avoid Daytona Beach. It is a hell hole. The general consensus which I agree with 100%, the more south you go in Florida the nicer it gets. Northern Florida sucks for the most part.

st. augustine is nice, first city in america. besides that, not much else in daytona (unless you're into nascar) and points north in florida, it turns into the traditional south at that point with jacksonville (which is known as very boring) and georgia (although savannah is nice this time of year).

avoid port st. lucie and ft. pierce (about halfway between miami and orlando), it's not that great. the treasure coast in general isn't really a hip tourist spot (generally considered north of palm beach and south of the space coast), since it's mostly small towns. only go if there's something you plan on seeing something specific.

talking about the space coast, that's another area you may want to hit while you're up in orlando, since it's not too far from there. decent beaches there as well as the home for nasa and space shuttle launches.

i don't know that much about the west coast of florida though, but it's generally quieter than south florida.

 

[michael.lauden]

A few questions for everyone the other side of the pond. My girlfriend and myself are visiting America in October. We aim to spend about 10 days in Florida. My questions are:

1. What will the weather be like in early October?

2. Does anyone know any little 'gem' hotels in Orlando and Miami? In Orlando we are looking at the Disney World area (south of the city I think). For Miami, again we are looking at the south of the city.

3. If we want to hire a car, which I guess we will want to do, what sort of prices will we be looking at?

I am sure I will have plenty more questions soon, thanks.

i've lived in FL for 18 years. in October the nights will be humid - but won't be 95 degrees all day everyday. most likely around 88-90 degrees. you can find accurate stats on some weather sites. most of the hotels have buses that go around to disney + other fun places so you won't be in trouble there.

and don't worry about tornados - i have never seen one, and the ones i've heard on the news lasted for like 10 seconds and had no damage. just make sure you aren't going down when a hurricane is coming


the best hotels in Orlando are on one main road 'Space Coast' is it's nickname.

look for The Liki Tiki (nice rooms, good kitchens, whirlpool tubs and water park outside for the kids + nice restaurant/bar)

https://mymotels.com/propertyimages/275076/liki_tiki_village_outdoorpool.jpg

or the Radisson there in Orlando - they have one heated pool, one hot tub with a waterfall into it, and one GIANT pool with a big slide (that i have gone down since i was 3 years old)

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/5362103.jpg


if i had to pick - it'd be the Radisson Celebration resort. was at liki tiki last month, and Radisson last year. google Radisson Orlando + Liki Tiki Resort

 

[theITGuy]

Florida Keys, Miami/Biscayne, Naples on the SW side, St. Pete's has some nice beaches too...

Cheers.

-J.-

 

[colourfastt]

Do me a favour and don't come to FL at all. I have to put up with too many bleeding tourists as it is. They can't drive and are ruder than hell. They seem to think that visiting the RAT make them royalty.

 

[flpatriot]

colourfastt, I'm a native of Florida myself (just moved up to Fargo a couple months ago). I know *exactly* what you mean about nutty tourists. That being said, the OP seems like a nice enough fellow, and it would do us all well to treat non-nutty tourists politely.

As far as the weather goes, max temperatures are about 25°-30° celsius, and it's generally quite humid. Don't worry too much about being rained on at that time of year, though you should keep an eye on the weather report to see if any big weather systems are moving through.

Tampa has professional football (American, naturally), baseball, and hockey teams, if you're interested in such. The Ringling Brothers Circus Museum, Art Museum, & Historic Mansion are on the riverfront in Sarasota, which is about an hour and a half south of Tampa on the interstate. If you're looking to hit the beach, it's hard to beat Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg.

Enjoy the Sunshine State!

 

[iBlue]

Do me a favour and don't come to FL at all. I have to put up with too many bleeding tourists as it is. They can't drive and are ruder than hell. They seem to think that visiting the RAT make them royalty.

As a proud but relocated California native, I can't say I am all that impressed with the way the florida locals drove, even the ones with shotgun racks in their truck windows. And I wouldn't knock tourism if I were you, it keeps your local economy ticking over.

 

[robindahlia789]

FL resident right here!
the weather up in orlando by disney world in october is pretty nice. the sun really gets up there but the humidity is down and you get a cool breeze all day.
hotels connected to disney world are pretty boss. and prices vary for car rentals. just look up car rentals in orlando and you'll get a ton of results

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=orlando+car+rental&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[robindahlia789]

As a proud but relocated California native, I can't say I am all that impressed with the way the florida locals drove, even the ones with shotgun racks in their truck windows. And I wouldn't knock tourism if I were you, it keeps your local economy ticking over.

yeah... florida drivers aren't the best

 

[jecapaga]

Definitely consider driving down to Key West. I took a trip to FL one year and that was very fun. Ditch the car at the hotel and rent one of the many scooters around town and the two of you can tool around the island like kids on motorbikes. You'll probably want to hit the sunset, drink a few mojitos and the obligatory key lime pie.

 

[Sounds Good]

I agree that Key West is a great spot. In fact I was there on Saturday.

But be aware that it's a decent drive from Miami (takes longer to get there than it might seems).

 

[jaw04005]

If you're going to stay on Disney property, I can't recommend the Polynesian Resort enough. It's one of their premium locations (so $$$$), but its location to the monorail system is fantastic, and it's just close enough to everything you would want to do. Beautiful resort too.

 

[pb1300]

I lived in Ft Lauderdale for 20 years, and a lot of people dont know how to drive there, whether it be tourists or locals. The summer stunk were I was at cause it was hot and the humidity was so high. Towards September on, its starts getting better. The winter in South Florida are great. Good weather, and not that much humidity.

 

[furcalchick]

key west is about a 3-4 hour drive from miami, and if a hurricane watch is headed towards that direction, just pass it up.

btw, when you say south of miami, what towns are you thinking about? i already mentioned key biscane and coral gables just south of miami (very expensive). next reasonable stop would be homestead/florida city, which is 30 minutes south of miami and the last town before the florida keys and close to the everglades national park. between those two areas, not much in terms for tourists.

the bad driving is due to the northern transplants/old people that can't drive, or at least that's what i think.

 

[furcalchick]

it's been nearly a week since the original poster posted (and the thread is off the first page), so i just wanted to ask if he had any more questions given the new material.

 

[R.Youden]

Thanks everyone, I have been so busy I haven't had chance to look through all the posts, but I will soon and get back to you all. Thanks

 

[Sounds Good]

it's been nearly a week since the original poster posted...

He decided to visit a different state.

 

[furcalchick]

i still wonder if R.Youden is coming to florida...