Florida Road Trip

Tiger431 · 16 Jun 19, 03:15 PM

Hi All,

Been absent for a while after doing Orlando for a few years, and are now considering returning in June 2020.

Our general plan is for nearly 3 weeks ish. We are 2 adults plus taking 20 year old son.

We have no plans to do any theme parks at all and therefore considered a bit of a road trip. Did look at California but the accommodation bamboozled me as don't want to spend all that time in one hotel room with son and 2 rooms is very expensive! Thus my thoughts have returned to Orlando / Florida.

The things we have done before and enjoyed greatly include:

St Pete's Beach area
Swimming down Crystal river from KP Hole / Rainbow springs
De Leon springs etc

Also spent two weeks at Naples (found a bit boring).

Just wondered if anyone has any experience of this and indeed any advice on a route?≈

My only plan so so is 4-5 days at KP Hole area (Dunnellon), same at St Pete's area then open to suggestions.

Accommodation wise my plan is to look into Airbnb etc to get 2 bedroom places etc.

Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions

ManCity · 17 Jun 19, 12:44 AM

I have done a lot of USA road trips over many years, as I enjoy the travelling and am liable to get bored if staying in one place too long. There is no right or wrong way to do it - just tailor it to your own interests - that's the advantage, you can do anything you like.

If you are staying 4/5 nights in each place, I would call it a 'multi-centre'. A 'road trip' would focus more on the road with 1/2 nights at each stop. Either is valid. Depends on how much you want to live out of a suitcase without unpacking properly. Choose stops where there are places you want to see or things to do, and adjust the time there to suit, and use them for day trips to places nearby. I wouldn't aim to do more than 200 miles or 4 hrs per day between hotels, then if you are travelling from say 9am to 6pm, you have plenty of time to do things en route too.

A lot of the US tour operators have 'self-drive tours' with set itineraries and pre-arranged hotels. You can use them as a guide to what is feasible, then arrange it DIY. A standard route southwards is to go down one coast, to Key West, then back up the other. Going north, you might consider St Augustine, and could carry on out of Florida up to Savannah and Charleston.

17 Jun 19, 12:44 AM	#2
	17 Jun 19, 12:44 AM ManCity Helping Minnie
ManCity Helping Minnie Join Date: Jun 19	I have done a lot of USA road trips over many years, as I enjoy the travelling and am liable to get bored if staying in one place too long. There is no right or wrong way to do it - just tailor it to your own interests - that's the advantage, you can do anything you like. If you are staying 4/5 nights in each place, I would call it a 'multi-centre'. A 'road trip' would focus more on the road with 1/2 nights at each stop. Either is valid. Depends on how much you want to live out of a suitcase without unpacking properly. Choose stops where there are places you want to see or things to do, and adjust the time there to suit, and use them for day trips to places nearby. I wouldn't aim to do more than 200 miles or 4 hrs per day between hotels, then if you are travelling from say 9am to 6pm, you have plenty of time to do things en route too. A lot of the US tour operators have 'self-drive tours' with set itineraries and pre-arranged hotels. You can use them as a guide to what is feasible, then arrange it DIY. A standard route southwards is to go down one coast, to Key West, then back up the other. Going north, you might consider St Augustine, and could carry on out of Florida up to Savannah and Charleston.