A stay in Miami after Orlando

[Guest]

Hi guys

We have a week to spend in Orlando for October half term, and not only are the flights cheap going to Miami, but my teens are also excited to visit there. They think that 4 days will be plenty at Universal. I have some questions and I hope you can help!

• I've never driven anywhere abroad - will the drive terrify me?
  
• We plan on picking the car up on the Sunday after staying the night in an airport hotel, but on the way back plan on stopping on the Thursday. Would it be worth getting rid of the car then, and getting public transport around Miami? I'm thinking we will stay in The Confidante which is quite central isn't it? I understand parking is very expensive.
  
• Is there enough to do in Miami?!
  
• How much will I spend in fuel on the journeys?
  
• And in your opinion, would I be better flying into MCO and staying there (at the Aventura) the entire time, just doing other parks, shopping etc? The total cost is not that different but that doesn't include park tickets.

Thanks! Just to clarify we have done Universal and Disney parks, so not our first time, but the girls are very keen to do Universal again. I did consider Hollywood but understand the rides aren't as good!

[disney babe]

Originally Posted by Frizzbomb

Hi guys

We have a week to spend in Orlando for October half term, and not only are the flights cheap going to Miami, but my teens are also excited to visit there. They think that 4 days will be plenty at Universal. I have some questions and I hope you can help!

• I've never driven anywhere abroad - will the drive terrify me?
  
• We plan on picking the car up on the Sunday after staying the night in an airport hotel, but on the way back plan on stopping on the Thursday. Would it be worth getting rid of the car then, and getting public transport around Miami? I'm thinking we will stay in The Confidante which is quite central isn't it? I understand parking is very expensive.
  
• Is there enough to do in Miami?!
  
• How much will I spend in fuel on the journeys?
  
• And in your opinion, would I be better flying into MCO and staying there (at the Aventura) the entire time, just doing other parks, shopping etc? The total cost is not that different but that doesn't include park tickets.

Thanks! Just to clarify we have done Universal and Disney parks, so not our first time, but the girls are very keen to do Universal again. I did consider Hollywood but understand the rides aren't as good!

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the drive is fine honestly, its so easy in US, big wide roads, no roundabouts.
we are flying into miami as much cheaper & having 3 nights there, we are buying go orlando cards as they include miami and doing some of the stuff there then using the rest in orlando
we loved the west coast in 2016 and going back in oct this year, disney is a lot smaller but great rides & american adventure is fab, we did anaheim, grand canyon, las vegas, san fran, hollywood inc universal, santa monica. have been to orlando 9 times & this was our best holiday ever

[Guest]

Originally Posted by disney babe

the drive is fine honestly, its so easy in US, big wide roads, no roundabouts.
we are flying into miami as much cheaper & having 3 nights there, we are buying go orlando cards as they include miami and doing some of the stuff there then using the rest in orlando
we loved the west coast in 2016 and going back in oct this year, disney is a lot smaller but great rides & american adventure is fab, we did anaheim, grand canyon, las vegas, san fran, hollywood inc universal, santa monica. have been to orlando 9 times & this was our best holiday ever

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Oh gosh this sounds exciting! Maybe I'll reconsider!

[disney babe]

Originally Posted by Frizzbomb

Oh gosh this sounds exciting! Maybe I'll reconsider!

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msg me if you need any info, I researched for ages on the dibb and got loads of valuable info and decent hotels at great prices, also check out the west coast forum, that's where all my info came from

[Worgie]

We did Miami last year and are doing it again this year. We got some great deals by signing up to Groupon Miami so we did the adrenaline junkie boat ride (amazing), the millionaires boat cruise (lovely sunset cruise) & the hop on hop off bus tour. We got all of them much reduced.
Personally I liked Miami but didn't love it but DH & DS loved it & our other DS didn't come last year so wants to go. You can spend time on Miami Beach and there is plenty to do & see for a few days.
We stayed in a lovely little hotel called the Urbanica Meridian which was superb - we are staying there again this year. Some of the hotels on Miami Beach itself can be quite noisy so just read reviews on tripadvisor if you are like me and a light sleeper!

[letty]

We are returning this year to Miami for 3 nights (Cheap flights). This will be our 3 rd visit. We really like it and my teen sons 19 and 17 are really looking forward to going back. We've done HOHO bus tour, Pirate Duck tour ( Not piratey at all LOL), visited Little Havana, hired bikes on Ocean drive. Hoping to visit Wynwood walls this year.
We have never used our hire car IN Miami, just to get in and out of it. There is a public bus that does a loop which is very cheap ( can't remember name just now) and lots of stuff to do on foot.

[Guest]

Thanks all for your encouragement. My girls have said they definitely want to do Miami, so it looks like a very brief stayover in an airport hotel before driving to Universal, and then return to Miami Thursday to Saturday. The Urbanica doesn't seem available right now for October.

I did explore the option of getting a bus from Miami and back again, but I'm not finding much positive about them!

[Worgie]

Originally Posted by Frizzbomb

Thanks all for your encouragement. My girls have said they definitely want to do Miami, so it looks like a very brief stayover in an airport hotel before driving to Universal, and then return to Miami Thursday to Saturday. The Urbanica doesn't seem available right now for October.

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You could try contacting the hotel direct for prices. We booked it about 6 weeks ago for the end of August so maybe they only release dates so far in advance

[COL41]

Done Miami twice and left the car at the airport and used Uber and taxis to get to South Beach and back to the airport. Our kids loved it there. Big Pink diner does really good food with massive portions. We spent time on the beach, visited Little Havana, the Holocaust memorial, Lincoln Mall, botanical gardens, Wynwood and hired bikes to cycle along South Beach. Any questions, please ask. My kids were 16 and 13 when we went last summer and would love to return

[COL41]

We stayed at The Savoy and The Pestana. Both clean, safe feeling hotels in a good location