Florida weather and hotel questions
 

Hello. I am going to fly to Florida soon and I had a couple questions maybe some of you could help me with :)

First, I am a photographer so I am trying to decide when the best time would be in terms of weather? I am thinking about going in mid-late Jan. or Feb. I haven't been for a long time so I was wondering how the weather should be at these times? I just don't want it to be too cold or rainy. Also in terms of locations I will be all around from Orlando, Tampa, and Miami.

Second, I was wondering if anyone knew of any cottages on the beaches? I don't mean for the whole trip and I would want this to be in either Tampa or Miami. If anyone has suggestions on regular hotels as well that would be great.

Third, is driving in Florida confusing? I am considering renting a car and just driving around but I am not sure. Maybe the train from the longer distance of Miami and Orlando? I just didn't want to spend a lot of time driving or on train but I can't find any cheap in state airlines.

Ok well thanks to everyone in advance for help. Take care and Happy Holidays.

We have found highways in Florida to be well marked and in decent shape. Main problem driving in Florida is other drivers - either being lost and making unsafe driving moves or, at the risk of being called age-ist, too elderly to be driving safely.

As far as weather - you are considering a wide range of geography. It can be coolish in Orlando, but expect 75 degrees, plus or minus 20 degrees in Miami at that time. Weather.com will give you average highs and lows for many cities.

I noticed this past Sept that they drive very fast on the highways and there are towns where some of the inhabitants drive veeerrry sloooowllly.

I have always found Florida driving to be extremely simple. Plenty of road signs; well-marked lanes. It may depend on what you're used to. Other than FL I've driven only in the Northeast.

If you want reliably nice weather, especially as far north as Tampa, later in the winter would be safer. Again, it depends what "TOO" cold or rainy means to you!

As for "cottage on beach", Tampa itself is not very near the ocean! You'd need to stay over in St. Pete or a nearby beach town. It's a commute if you have daily business in Tampa itself. In Miami, the beach is Miami Beach, which isn't a "cottage"-type place! Lots of fun hotels, though, especially in South Beach. If you post your preferences for type of hotel/location, posters can help.

Thanks for the comments :) I was just looking to get a beach cottage type place for 1 or 2 nights. I just thought one of the locations I am going to would have them. I am looking for that Jamiaca look without having to fly there.

Otherwise any decent hotels, 3 stars at least, will do. I am not picky in terms of the size of a room but I would like it to be nice and have a friendly atmosphere. I would be driving around so being close to things isn't of need either, though it doesn't hurt. Price wise I want to spend under 100 per night.

Winter, up to Easter, is high-season down here. Anything on the beaches (either coast) is going to be expensive.

Unless you stay at one of the inland chain hotels or use priceline-type res. centers, it's going to be hard to stay under $100 per.

Native Floridian here- FYI, February is usually rather wet, but not always. Don't worry too much about the cold though- we don't even sell heavy jackets here! :) (When it gets in the 50's, everyone starts shivering!) Orlando will be the coolest, mostly at night. Have a great trip!

You mentioned not finding cheap in-state flights, but have you checked Southwest? They fly from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale, which is about a 50-min. flight. From there you could rent a car to drive to Miami. It would definitely cut down on travel time between Tampa and Miami.

Orlando to Tampa is only about 1 1/2 hours, and Orlando to Miami is about 3 1/2 hours. I don't think I would bother with trains/planes, since you would probably spend as much time at the train station/airport as you would jumping in the car and driving there. The turnpike is a straight shot and the traffic isn't too bad... definitely the way to go. Good luck!

I'd drive the whole way, too. As a photographer, there will be lots of sites along the way, eg, the Everglades, the beachs around Naples, etc. (This is assuming you take Alligator Alley from Miami to Naples to hear north.)(The Fla Turnpike would be quicker, of course, but it's way dull.)

Caliguy, what you need to know about winters in Florida is that in the winter it will rain here for a day or so (usually only a day) just before a cold front comes in. So it can be rainy and blustery, followed by cooler weather the following day. Then it warms up and is typically sunny with bright cloud-free skies. This unfortunately is something that you will know only by coming here as it's hard to predict how dynamic a front will be. So if you have the luxury of scheduling your shooting day to day, you should be OK.

There are many cottages in Treasure Island which is on the Gulf coast just north of Saint Petersburg (www.recentpast.org/groups/treasure/images1.html). Also there are some in the Indian Rocks area. You can find some through vrbo.com, vacationrentals.com, and by searching for hotels or beach rentals in Treasure Island or Indian Rocks. Many rent by the day. Cottages are becoming a thing of the past in Florida, replaced by condos, so I'm not sure if they still exist on the more developed beaches, such as Long Boat Key, where I haven't been in awhile. I don't know of any cottages in Miami. I have a house at Treasure Island/Sunset Beach and the drive from there to downtown Tampa is 30 minutes in normal traffic, that's all.

As for a place that looks like Jamaica, you won't find the cocoanut palms here that you find there, although there are many many other lush palms and nobody seems to notice the difference. So there are many places that suggest Jamaica, in a less technical sense. If you wanted tropical-colored wood-frame buildings, check out some of the places on the internet in Indian Rocks, Redington Beach, Indian Shores, Treasure Island, Sunset Beach, Passe-A-Grille, St. Pete Beach. I could suggest a number of places that evoke the tropics and the history and age of the Caribbean in the St. Pete area -- the Swigwam (an original unpainted wooden shack/bar) for one, the fort at Fort De Soto for another. The fort is often used by photographers.

There are of course many hotels but I don't know what you'd be looking for. Will you want to photograph with the hotel as a backdrop? Either way the web site should give you some visual perspective of what's in the area. Beach cottages were the predominant beach architecture here before the growth of beach tourism in the 1950's and beyond.

The train is a sporadic event in Florida, most likely because people drive here. There is no demand for the train. Orlando to Tampa is a 1.5 hr. drive. Tampa to Miami is a 4 hour drive. But when there is a lot of snowbird traffic it can be much longer, even double that. The key is to drive in the evenings.

As far as roads in South Florida are concerned, do everything you can to stay off I-95 between Palm Beach and Miami. It resembles a parking lot more than an interstate.

Lauderdale By The Sea has very quaint beachfront vacation accommodations but they aren't cottages. My favorite is The Seaward #877-311-4141 but they do not have a website. You can check out Lauderdale By The Sea at www.LBTS.com.