Stop off point food/leg stretch Miami-Orlando with kids

LawrenceFamily · 15 Feb 20, 09:46 AM

Hi all,

We are going Heathrow - Miami then driving up to Orlando to avoid insane direct flight prices in August.

Looking at the drive it's about 3.5hrs, we're looking for someone to stop roughly half way mainly for a short leg stretch and some food, and to break the journey up for DD11 & DD9.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Tinkermom · 15 Feb 20, 09:59 AM

What time does your flight land?

We�ve flown in to Miami a good few times with our kids and always stay the night at Deerfield Beach (it�s about an hour away from Miami then head up the following morning. We did the drive straight up once and got stuck in traffic, it took 6 hours to get to Orlando, we were exhausted and hardly able to keep our eyes open, very dangerous and vowed never again!

**BevS97** · 15 Feb 20, 10:04 AM

We also stayed in Miami. Made use of the jetlag and got up and on the road by 6am.
We stopped at a service station on the highway. We were in Orlando midmorning.

It�s not clear from your post if you intend to drive up after the flight but I wouldn�t recommend it.

Rac20 · 15 Feb 20, 10:05 AM

We are another doing this route. We have booked a hotel at Miami airport for the night we land and our stay comes with breakfast so probably won�t need to stop on the way up if it�s only a few hours. Might stop for a coffee/toilet break if the kids need one though. It was only about �100 when I booked.

**Floridarules** · 15 Feb 20, 10:16 AM

We stayed overnight in Miami too, subsequently went really like Miami now, especially the Sheraton hotel, next to the airport (wonderful breakfast)

archibald · 15 Feb 20, 10:38 AM

Are you driving up the turnpike or the 27? The Turnpike is slightly faster, but the 27 is a much nicer drive. We stopped at Clewiston (27) for a massive Sonny's BBQ lunch deal - we still had left overs for tea and lunch the next day! The turnpike is a grim concrete road of many miles. To properly stop you need to get off and away from the basic services - although if I remember correctly there are some Earl of Sandwich counters that Dibbers seem to like - I associate them with motorway/airport food and not a huge fan. Boca Raton is nice, and we've spent time on quite a few of the beaches between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach - showers and toilets at the busy bits.

However, we have the same flight as you at Easter (assuming landing 3pm?), and although we typically drive between 2000 - 3000 miles in a 16 night stay we're the same as the previous posters and don't intend to drive to Orlando on flight day. We don't have accommodation booked for the first night - if the flight is late & immigration or car hire is slow we'll stay somewhere close to Miami. If it's early/fast we may end up closer to Orlando. Personally I hope we get close to West Palm Beach and we can go snorkelling at Peanut Island in the morning - but we'll see what happens.

The first morning you'll be awake at silly o'clock - we always are, so will probably be in Orlando for breakfast anyway.

15 Feb 20, 09:59 AM	#2
	15 Feb 20, 09:59 AM Tinkermom Apprentice Imagineer
Tinkermom Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Aug 14	What time does your flight land? We�ve flown in to Miami a good few times with our kids and always stay the night at Deerfield Beach (it�s about an hour away from Miami then head up the following morning. We did the drive straight up once and got stuck in traffic, it took 6 hours to get to Orlando, we were exhausted and hardly able to keep our eyes open, very dangerous and vowed never again! __________________ Dreams are forever - Tinkerbell

15 Feb 20, 10:38 AM	#6
	15 Feb 20, 10:38 AM archibald Imagineer
archibald Imagineer Join Date: Mar 12	Are you driving up the turnpike or the 27? The Turnpike is slightly faster, but the 27 is a much nicer drive. We stopped at Clewiston (27) for a massive Sonny's BBQ lunch deal - we still had left overs for tea and lunch the next day! The turnpike is a grim concrete road of many miles. To properly stop you need to get off and away from the basic services - although if I remember correctly there are some Earl of Sandwich counters that Dibbers seem to like - I associate them with motorway/airport food and not a huge fan. Boca Raton is nice, and we've spent time on quite a few of the beaches between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach - showers and toilets at the busy bits. However, we have the same flight as you at Easter (assuming landing 3pm?), and although we typically drive between 2000 - 3000 miles in a 16 night stay we're the same as the previous posters and don't intend to drive to Orlando on flight day. We don't have accommodation booked for the first night - if the flight is late & immigration or car hire is slow we'll stay somewhere close to Miami. If it's early/fast we may end up closer to Orlando. Personally I hope we get close to West Palm Beach and we can go snorkelling at Peanut Island in the morning - but we'll see what happens. The first morning you'll be awake at silly o'clock - we always are, so will probably be in Orlando for breakfast anyway. Edited at 10:39 AM.