Trip design for Florida and up to Charleston

[Lsbcal]

We would like to visit Florida and drive up the coast in March or April or even May. We were thinking broadly of doing this:

1) Fly SFO to Orlando and visit few Disney Attractions (DW is a kid at heart)
2) Maybe then rent car and see Kennedy Space Center
3) Drive up coast to Savanah, Ga and then to Charleston, SC
4) Drive down to Tampa/St Petersburg area to see Bush Gardens and Dali Museum
5) Fly home via Orlando->SFO

We have a few tour books for details plus TripAdvisor, etc. Probably we'd spend about 2 weeks or so.

Any thoughts on alternate routes or better ways of doing this?

 

[Silver]

I live in Orlando, and have just a couple of comments.

Avoid Disney around Easter, which is April 1 this year. And around spring break. The area is very crowded all the time, but is almost impossible those times. You may have difficulty booking hotels this late, unless you plan to stay off Disney property somewhere. And don't forget Universal...their parks are also good fun. Sea World is certainly also something to see, but because of all the bad press about their whale program, it's not doing as well as it did in years past. But still a very nice attraction.

Kennedy Space Center is great. Since you are driving north up the coast, include some time in St. Augustine which is right on the way. It is lovely.

Busch Gardens in Tampa is great fun, and I use my annual pass there more often than Disney. And the Dali museum is also great. Have been many times and always love it.

My only other comment is that this plan involves a lot of driving. Unless you have a really good chunk of time, you'll be driving more than site seeing. I would do the return flight from Charleston rather than Orlando.

Other than that...welcome to Florida. We love visitors (who keep the state revenue very healthy.)

 

[Lsbcal]

Silver, thanks. I guess we'll have to look into the best dates for Disney soon. Kind of looks (from the Web) that Spring Break is March through maybe early April.

Only Jet Blue seems to fly out of Charleston and it is a very long flight because of a 4 to 5 hour stop over. But it is a decent alternative. The drive time directly from Orlando to Charleston is 6 hours. So we'd take it in chunks going north and straight back going south.

St. Augustine sounds like a good addition.

 

[ivinsfan]

Yes, my idea is to watch for the drive out of Florida special on the websites of the major car rental companies.. You can rent a car for around 5 to 10 bucks a day, drive it out of Florida..to several other states, that varies depending on the rental company. You do not pay drop fees so you don't need to end back at your starting point and can save lots of miles, or drive the same miles but make more varied stops.

The drives out dates vary by year and are usually after Spring break and Easter, as the tourists leave Florida the companies need to reposition the rental cars.

 

[Moemg]

I would suggest fly into Charleston then drive to Savannah stay at Planter's Inn then drive to St. Augustine stay at a B&B drive to port Canaveral and check out Kennedy space center then drive to Orlando and overdose on Disney .Fly back from Orlando .

 

[Bamaman]

Around April, the big car rental operations in Florida rent cars for $5 to $7 a day as long as you are moving them out of Florida--up north.

We rented one and drove it to Daytona, Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Alexandria, VA. We took in D.C. travel sights before catching a budget flight home from Baltimore.

It is a good, cheap vacation.

 

[FlaGator]

I live in Orlando, and have just a couple of comments.

Avoid Disney around Easter, which is April 1 this year. And around spring break. The area is very crowded all the time, but is almost impossible those times. You may have difficulty booking hotels this late, unless you plan to stay off Disney property somewhere. And don't forget Universal...their parks are also good fun. Sea World is certainly also something to see, but because of all the bad press about their whale program, it's not doing as well as it did in years past. But still a very nice attraction.

Kennedy Space Center is great. Since you are driving north up the coast, include some time in St. Augustine which is right on the way. It is lovely.

Busch Gardens in Tampa is great fun, and I use my annual pass there more often than Disney. And the Dali museum is also great. Have been many times and always love it.

My only other comment is that this plan involves a lot of driving. Unless you have a really good chunk of time, you'll be driving more than site seeing. I would do the return flight from Charleston rather than Orlando.

Other than that...welcome to Florida. We love visitors (who keep the state revenue very healthy.)

Was a frequent visitor to WDW when we lived in SoFla (as much as 6-8x/year for 10 years). Second the idea of avoiding their Spring Break season. Looks like you already found their dates, hotel rates are higher during that period. Going as little as one week after their peak will result in an easier time in the parks if that fits your schedule, 2+ weeks would find it even less crowded.

As to Kennedy Space Center, figure the drive will take an 1.25 hours from WDW, and plan for the whole day. If you know anything about the Apollo program, make sure you take the trip out to the Saturn V building. Well worth the 3+ hours you could spend there. The Shuttle exhibit is good for 1+ hours. Having grown up in the 60's, I find it a very emotional place to visit. Try to help my teen kids understand that whole effort was done with less computing power than we have in our house today. The space program of that era is the greatest tribute to human ingenuity and commitment that I can think of. Well worth the time.

 

[FUEGO]

Around April, the big car rental operations in Florida rent cars for $5 to $7 a day as long as you are moving them out of Florida--up north.

We rented one and drove it to Daytona, Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Alexandria, VA. We took in D.C. travel sights before catching a budget flight home from Baltimore.

It is a good, cheap vacation.

+1 to 1 way car rental. Why not hit up the FL destinations then end your trip in Charleston or wherever you end up in the north (cheap flights to SFO from ATL, CLT, RDU??)

 

[DrRoy]

Sounds like a good plan. We enjoyed visiting Ft Sumpter and the aircraft carrier Yorktown in Charleston. KSC will be fantastic.

 

[painterbill]

Alaska Air also flies out of CHS to SFO. They added Charleston a few years ago.

 

[capjak]

Are you thinking of adding Hilton Head also?

We drove Savanna, Hilton Head, St Augustine, Orlando and it is a lot of driving.

 

[LRDave]

That's a lot of driving - especially that bit from Charleston to Tampa/St. Pete. It could be interesting if you took in some unusual, uncommon destinations that match your interests.

 

[FiveDriver]

Regarding Charleston, I offer the following information --

In May, the Spoleto Festival rules above all. From May 25 thru June 10 our Fair City produces a world class catalog of Music, Art, Dance, et al. If you're into that sort of thing, check their schedule online. Tickets sell out quickly.
If you're not into that sort of thing, be forewarned -- the Festival ties up every venue in town, and the Hotels raise their rates. Some locals jokingly say that Spoleto means "Supply and Demand Pricing" in Italian.

In April, the climate is very agreeable, with warm weather and clear nights. Carriage Rides or Walking Tours will fill your days and Fine Dining will complete your evenings. I believe there's a Restaurant Week in April providing a chance to sample top chefs and their offerings. The downtown Hotels may still be reasonably priced. Charleston will transport you back thru 300 years of the History of our Nation.

March weather can go either way -- Sunny and Mild, or Cold and Damp. The trees are exploding in pollen. By the end of March the smell of Gardenias and Pluff Mud blooms along the Ashley River. The St Paddy's Day Parade is legendary.

In my opinion, Charleston has more to offer than SAV and St Augustine. An extra day in the Holy City would be time well spent.

 

[Lsbcal]

Thanks for all the great comments. Maybe we should start our trip in mid-April from Orlando and end up in Charleston at the start of May as several suggested. Less car time and more feet on the ground. That would should give us plenty of time at all the great attractions with plenty of variety ... theme parks, science centers, art museums, beaches, etc.

We always try to plan for at least a 2 night stop at any destination. So some of the current roughing out thoughts are:

3 nights Orlando DW
3 nights St Peterburg/Sarasota
1 night around Kennedy Space Center
2 nights St. Augustine
3 nights Savanah
3 nights Charleston

 

[LiveBelowMeans]

The Ringling Museum is worth visiting in Sarasota. Jmho

 

[ivinsfan]

Thanks for all the great comments. Maybe we should start our trip in mid-April from Orlando and end up in Charleston at the start of May as several suggested. Less car time and more feet on the ground. That would should give us plenty of time at all the great attractions with plenty of variety ... theme parks, science centers, art museums, beaches, etc.

We always try to plan for at least a 2 night stop at any destination. So some of the current roughing out thoughts are:

3 nights Orlando DW
3 nights St Peterburg/Sarasota
1 night around Kennedy Space Center
2 nights St. Augustine
3 nights Savanah
3 nights Charleston

Start stalking the one way car rental drive out special sometimes those cars get booked pretty quickly . You'll want to lock in the car so you can buy plane tickets.

 

[Moemg]

Thanks for all the great comments. Maybe we should start our trip in mid-April from Orlando and end up in Charleston at the start of May as several suggested. Less car time and more feet on the ground. That would should give us plenty of time at all the great attractions with plenty of variety ... theme parks, science centers, art museums, beaches, etc.

We always try to plan for at least a 2 night stop at any destination. So some of the current roughing out thoughts are:

3 nights Orlando DW
3 nights St Peterburg/Sarasota
1 night around Kennedy Space Center
2 nights St. Augustine
3 nights Savanah
3 nights Charleston

This is seriously a lot of driving and with flying into Orlando you are backtracking to Sarasota /St. Pete . Plus Disney needs at least four days especially if you want to visit Universal .Sarasota is three and a half hours from Orlando in good traffic .In bad traffic it is forever plus you are on I-4 which is the worst highway ever.Orlando to Kennedy is an hour and an easy drive . Kennedy to St. Augustine is a few hours and to Savannah is another few hours and then up to Charleston.I would recommend skipping St. Pete /Sarasota unless you do a longer trip . If you do a longer trip I would suggest flying into Tampa and go from there .

 

[Silver]

This is seriously a lot of driving and with flying into Orlando you are backtracking to Sarasota /St. Pete . Plus Disney needs at least four days especially if you want to visit Universal .Sarasota is three and a half hours from Orlando in good traffic .In bad traffic it is forever plus you are on I-4 which is the worst highway ever.Orlando to Kennedy is an hour and an easy drive . Kennedy to St. Augustine is a few hours and to Savannah is another few hours and then up to Charleston.I would recommend skipping St. Pete /Sarasota unless you do a longer trip . If you do a longer trip I would suggest flying into Tampa and go from there .

Agree with everything Moemg says, except one thing; I-4 is not just the worst highway ever.....it's even slow for a parking lot, especially around Orlando. And because of the out-of-town and international guests....it's often dangerous. We got a dashboard cam specifically because of I-4, mostly in self-defense.

 

[Moemg]

Sorry to disagree but://www.everquote.com/10-most-dangerous-highways-usa/

 

[Silver]

Sorry Moemg...I was trying to say that I-4 is even worse than the worst highway ever when it goes from being a parking lot to a very dangerous place. I realize I wasn't clear.

Bottom line....be careful when using I-4.

 

[Lsbcal]

This is seriously a lot of driving and with flying into Orlando you are backtracking to Sarasota /St. Pete . Plus Disney needs at least four days especially if you want to visit Universal .Sarasota is three and a half hours from Orlando in good traffic .In bad traffic it is forever plus you are on I-4 which is the worst highway ever.Orlando to Kennedy is an hour and an easy drive . Kennedy to St. Augustine is a few hours and to Savannah is another few hours and then up to Charleston.I would recommend skipping St. Pete /Sarasota unless you do a longer trip . If you do a longer trip I would suggest flying into Tampa and go from there .

Flying into Orlando gives us an easy nonstop choice versus Tampa. In fact, flying both ways from Orlando gives us better flight arrangements. We have to consider the return drive from SFO to our house which can be bad if the timing is at rush hour.

Being in the west we have a lot of driving to do to get places. So kind of used to that. The thought is to go to Disney first but only spend a few days. One theme park and maybe Typhoon Lagoon water park? We really liked the water park but that was 30 years ago when our son was a little guy.

Then the drive (Google says) is 2 hours from Orlando to St Petersburg which we'd do in the morning and go to the Dali Museum. We'd use St. Petersburg as a base to visit Busch Gardens and Sarasota (1hr drive). Then 2 hours in the morning to get to the Kennedy Space Center.

The longest drive is 4.5 hours from St. Augustine to Charleston. Am I missing something here? Generally Google is pretty accurate. There would be some in-between days so not every day includes much driving. But I hear your concern and I'm not a fan of driving a lot. Maybe we'll throw in a few more relaxing non-drive days.

 

[Moemg]

There is no way you can get from Sarasota to Kennedy Space center in less than three and a half hours in decent traffic which does not happen around Disney .Why are you going to Sarasota ? You could do Orlando drive to Kennedy drive to Charleston (a full day of driving ) two or three days in Charleston , drive to Savannah spend two days , drive to St. Augustine spend two days then drive to Orlando for at least three days . The Animal Kingdom alone is a very full day and maybe add in Epcot forget Typhoon Lagoon most of the resorts have great pools . Then fly home from Orlando adding in Bush Gardens is insane . It is in an iffy area of Tampa .IMO not worth it for several hours of driving then driving back to Orlando .

 

[Lsbcal]

There is no way you can get from Sarasota to Kennedy Space center in less than three and a half hours in decent traffic which does not happen around Disney .Why are you going to Sarasota

We would be going to St. Petersburg which is 2 hours from Orlando. Then Sarasota would be a day trip from St. Petersburg (1hr drive). DW wanted to go to the Ringling Bros. Museum. Worth it?

The drive from St. Petersburg to Kennedy Space Center is 2hr 15min according to Google.

You could do Orlando drive to Kennedy drive to Charleston (a full day of driving ) two or three days in Charleston , drive to Savannah spend two days , drive to St. Augustine spend two days then drive to Orlando for at least three days . The Animal Kingdom alone is a very full day and maybe add in Epcot forget Typhoon Lagoon most of the resorts have great pools .

DW would probably like more time in the Disney area.

Then fly home from Orlando adding in Bush Gardens is insane . It is in an iffy area of Tampa .IMO not worth it for several hours of driving then driving back to Orlando .

You mean by "iffy" it is not so nice? We would only be driving to Busch Gardens from St. Petersburg. Not staying near Busch Gardens.

 

[Scuba]

I agree with others re too much driving. Traffic in Tampa/St.
Pete area is pretty bad and the drive times you’re getting from a Google aren’t consistent with my limited experience of FL. I’d stick with Orlando and points north of it and do the Gulf side of FL on another trip. Alternatively, extend your trip to 3 weeks and do Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota at the end. You could decompress and relax at Siesta Key or one of the other beautiful beaches in that area before you go home.

 

[Moemg]

I know what goggle is telling you but it just is not correct . That might be for when there is absolutely no traffic and no construction. All you would be doing is driving and not scenic driving . I agree with Scuba concentrate on the east coast and leave the west coast for another time or extend your trip .