Orlando with no car?
 

Hi,

My wife and I, early 30s, are making a trip to Florida arriving just before the end of April and staying 2 weeks. We are probably staying around a week in Florida and then heading off down one of the coasts hanging around beaches for a week.

My question is - Can you get by in Orlando without a car? We are planning on doing some water parks and probably Universal and Sea World and wont be staying in a Universal or Disney hotel, probably aiming for the Hampton Inn level of hotels.

Thanks

Alistair

No, you'd spend an absolute fortune on cabs and public transportation is lousy in Orlando.

You could stay onsight at Disney or Universal and not need a car for that week or split the week between Disney and Universal staying onsite at both.

Then you could cab it to the airport and fly to Miami for another week on South Beach which you will not need a car.

You'd still be relying heavily on cabs.

Rentals in Florida are cheap. I'd just go ahead and spring for one.

Thanks.

A lot of the hotels say there are shuttle buses that take you to the parks - are these not much use?

We will definitely be getting a car for the second week. Still not sure where we will be going then, but I'll leave that for another thread.

I think GT is right. Public transportation is not that good in the Orlando area. the idea of splitting your time bet. Universal and Disney is also a good one or you might consider looking at area timeshare rentals that provide transportation to both Disney and Universal. Vistana resorts (owned by Sheraton) do this (transportation to Disney parks is free and Universal/Sea World a small fee is charged).
I've stayed at the Vistana property before and it is quite nice. Just thought it might give you an additional alternative.

Unless you're staying on Disney property or Universal I would rent a car. Disney's Magical Express is great.... I went last year with my daughter and we never needed a car. But, if we were leaving Disney property we would definitely rent a car.

Several years ago we stayed at a Comfort Inn and took the shuttle to Disney and we were at their mercy. Never again! Buses didn't come or we were packed in like sardines. A cab to Sea World and back was $40.00 and that was 10 years ago.

Two weeks in the Orlando without a car! No way. You will be able to get to the local attractions but little else. The wx will be warm enough in April and the beaches are oh so near, if you have transportation.

Florida without a ar is very difficult. In many places public transit is few and far between - so you're at the mercy of cabs. And since car rental is so inexpensive in FL it only makes sense.

The "shuttles" that hotels provide vary a lot by hotel. We stayed in the Hilton right across from Disney and found their shuttle close to useless. Didn't operate on schedule, often didn't leave hotel (to pick up people at Disney) if there were no passengers - and we had to wait so long twice we gave up and rented a car. (The hotel said the shuttle is an extra service - and they don;t guarantee schedule or frequency or night hours - or anything really.)

I did it, and it wasn't easy. We stayed in Kissemee, and used free shuttles into Disney property. The problem was, they didn't run very frequently. I learned a trick though. You could take Disney World transportation to the All Star Sports resort, and that was only a $7.- taxi ride to my motor inn. Anyway, if I did it again without a car, I'd stay on Disney property.

Thanks for your replies.

Any car hire company recommendations?

I am from the UK and have been told by a few people that it is generally cheaper to hire from companies here who have links with US car hire companies than do it direct with the likes of Alamo, Enterprise, Dollar, Hertz etc directly.

I can pretty easily compare the prices myself but another thing I have been warned about is that the price stated often doesnt include anywhere near all the insurance you would need.

Thanks

Alistair

I too would recommend having a car. Orlando is a very easy city to navigate. Googleearth and Mapquest are also very helpful in plotting routes to and from places.

Check out :
http://www.mousesavers.com/

You'll get coupons/ discount codes and might be able to save on your rental car.

I just got back from Orlando where I spent the Christmas week. Using an Avis coupon code I got on Mousesavers I was able to secure a minivan for 50% off the regular price.

Another good website is http://disboards.com/ for practically everything about Orlando.

I've stayed on International Drive twice, right over the shopping center Pointe Orlando. Without a car isn't always easy but it's ok in that neighbourhood. There's enough public transport but it stops a bit early and you can use bus passes for Lynx and the I-trolly. It is a lot cheaper than renting a car and if you plan well you don't need the cabs.

The problem with insurance is that US credit cards generally supply free car insurance up to a certain amount (often $30,000). And - we usually have our own car insurance. Coming from the UK neither applies to you - so you have to spend a lot on insurance that US drivers don;t have to.