Orlando & Florida - Questions & Answers (Part 1) *CLOSED*

BlueVinney

I've used yescarhire.com for US car hire and found them very economical. The company is based in the UK and you pay up front in £. They sent a voucher for an Alamo car to collect at the airport. Certainly recomend the the Gold option (all CDW+ additional insurances, tank of petrol and additional drivers). Worked out well for us.

MisterT2

I always book Dollar cars through http://www.airline-network.co.uk/.

The nice lady at Dollar said that they can't match their prices - they get the best rates as they do a lot of business with them.

Although there are a couple of garages just before Sanford, its worth looking at the fuel tank upgrade.

Frugal_Moose

https://www.fastcarhire.co.uk they are usually there or there abouts on price, you certainly aren't being scammed and they email the voucher to you. Generally they use Alamo in USA and I havent had a bad rental for 3 years.
Give em a try they can only be pricey cos' after that the service is fab. (no i dont work for them nor even know them ;D)

System

any ideas of a good hotel/spa resort in florida (kissimee), for a wedding night stay, around january time 2005.

any help would be great

payless

http://www.starwood.com/sheraton/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=5608

is at Lake Buena Vista
they are mainly apartments than rooms

Believe the bigger  apartments  have a jacuzzi- ours did
see

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g34515-d115389-Reviews-Sheraton_s_Vistana_Resort_Lake_Buena_Vista-Orlando_Florida.html

or sister Resort

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34515-d209308-r2289092-Sheraton_s_Vistana_Villages_International_Drive-Orlando_Florida.html

we stayed there 3 yrs ago and was great
although the writes up are the usual love/hate that all holiday sites seem to get

System

keith prowse offering 14 days to the 2 universal parks for the cost of 3 days (£69 for 14 days) - and the 5 park flexi ticket is £127 for adults (which includes tpt to Busch Gdns)

funkmaster_2

Put simply I want to go to Orlando with the family next summer. It is out of budget if we simply pay brochure prices with Virgin.

If I wanted to shave money off the cost I could save money on the flights, the accomodation and theme park tickets by booking while the dollar is weak.

What's the best way to benefit from the exchange rate - I presume there are big savings to be made by booking direct rather than through Virgin (who would benefit from the exchange rate because their brochure prices have already been set).

Can I book flights through a US airline and pay in dollars? How do I go about booking direct with hotels. Is it best to use Expedia? Anyone with any tips? (also anyone with a villa they rent out????)

I want to find out if the £5k holiday can be turned into a £3k holiday - if it can be then we're off!!!

glenburg1

i dont know what deals they have now but we booked in sep to go in april.
booked direct with virgin online and got 2 adults 2 children stay in disney with all passes for 2 weeks (plus transfers) for 2600 . ;D
maybe if you change your dates about you will get a better deal .
you maybe able to get it cheaper by booking seperatly but for us we thought it was a great price and so easy (no messing about).
what ever you do dont book through the travel agents if going with virgin as they wanted to charge us 3860. and tried to tell us you couldnt get it cheaper .

andywilson460

Hi

I am travelling to Florida on Friday (yippee) and have hired a convertible, with the insurance topped up to CDW (collision damage waiver) but I've heard horror stories about people collecting vehicles and being charged massive amounts for insurance that they don't need. Anyone got any top tips for what I should get (or not). ???

All help really appreciated.

Cheers
Andy

Baz_Bee_2

As well as CDW,or LDW as it is also sometimes known,you should also get SLI. SLI will cover you for injuries, etc to third parties. A minimum of $1m should be obtained. Although you get top up insurances you also need to be wary of the applicaple excess. On a convertible you may well find that you are still reponsible for first $1000?

You will also be offered Personal Protection Insurance. If you have taken out adequaute travel insurance you will not need this.

If you have hired the car through a UK broker or agent then I am surprised that you do not have a deal that includes all the usual “extras” that you will require so that the US hire agent does not hit you for big additional costs. You will have to pay all local and state taxes as well as potentially airport facility and access fees if picking up on airport. I was in the US last week and many hire companies are also now charging security fees at airport locations typically $3 - $5 per day. Also need to watch the fuel situation and any additional drivers to be included on hire agreement. Suggest pay for a tank of fuel before you go if you are still able or otherwise when you pick the car up rtaher than having to return full which is always a pain if in a hurry. Also any extra drivers should be added before you leave as it is usually a lot cheaper than at the hire desk.

All in all my recommendation to anyone hiring a car is to do so via a UK agent/broker before travelling and make sure you get an all in deal that covers everything that you need. Otherwise the agent at the hire desk will try and sell you as much as possible as they earn commission on sales. I am sure you do not need reminding to shop around for best prices. All I can say is that the big names are rarely the cheapest and Holiday Autos are often at least 25 - 50% more expensive than you can get elsewhere with a bit of surfing!