We were after a last minute week away of winter sun end of October beginning of November
And Florida fitted the bill perfectly.
However, the holiday didn’t start off well.
As it was a last minute, cheap deal, the flight that we bought was indirect. This meant that we had to change in Detroit and then go on to Orlando. However we missed our connection due to the plane arriving late. We thought we might still have a chance if we rushed and ran through the airport after we had gone through passport control. The airport staff didn’t seem to understand our predicament and as they saw us running they pulled us over and went through our hand luggage with a fine tooth comb. Needless to say that we had no hope of catching our plane after that.
Anyway, fortunately we were put on another plane with only a couple of hours waiting. However it was not a good start to the holiday.
Once we arrived in Orlando we checked into the Days Inn motel that we had reserved before we had left. Days Inn is a good value for money chain of motels in the US and whenever I go to the US I look out for them. On our first full day we decided to head for the west coast and the town of Clearwater. We walked on the beach and saw lots of pelicans which was nice. It was such a contrast to the UK.
After a day in Clearwater we headed south first to Venice and then to Naples. Naples in particular was a really nice town – good shopping, restaurants and beach. We only stayed there one night but could have stayed much longer.
After Naples we headed for the Everglades. The Everglades was probably the highlight of our trip. We went kayaking on a swamp and it was just so peaceful and relaxing. We didn’t see any alligators while we were kayaking (which I was happy about) but we did see a very rare manatee. We were very lucky.
In case you don’t know, a manatee is likened to a swimming cow!
After the Everglades we went to oh so trendy Miami. Again we stayed in a Days Inn however due to the location it was about 3 times the price of most of the Days Inn that I stayed in. However, compared to other places to stay it was good value and was in a good location.
It was nice walking round the city ; seeing the art deco architecture; going to the Cuban district and watching old men play chess in the outdoors and going to the beach. However, I didn’t do much swimming as the water was a bit cold for my liking!
After Miami we headed back to Orlando for some Disney magic. Well, first it was Universal Studios magic, then we went to the Disney Animal Kingdom. Universal Studios was great fun – our rides favourite rides were the Men in black and the Mummy – however the Mummy was a bit scary for my husband!
When going to Disney world we had to decide on which one of the 4 parks (and 2 water parks to visit) As we would both like to go on a safari in the future we thought that we’d check the Disney version first.
This was my first time to a Disney theme park, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I found it cheesy feel good family entertainment. I had a great time and would love to go back again – especially to the water parks which looked like good fun.
So our week in Florida was much more than what we had come for-just winter sun.
It was a varied, exciting yet peaceful holiday that I would love to visit again.
For external reviews and to check rates on Florida hotels click here.
To see which budget airlines fly to Florida and from whcih locations click here.
To arrange excursions in Florida click here.
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