Visitors from the UK (and indeed from Europe, North America and Canada) have a choice of airports for their Florida vacation.  There are many smaller airports which are suitable for shorter journeys, or as the final leg of an indirect flight), but there are 4 main options for visitors to Florida.

Each of them has its own advantages – this article is intended to outline some of the features, and will hopefully help visitors choose a suitable arrival airport

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

This is the nearest to the attractions area and the majority of the private villas featured on this site.  It is served by the two main scheduled airlines from the UK – Virgin Atlantic and British Airways, who offer daily flights from London Gatwick – Virgin also fly daily from Manchester, and less frequently from Glasgow.  It is a large airport, and as a result queues at security, immigration and the car hire desks can occasionally be a bit lengthy.

There is a variety of shops and restaurants – with on-site car hire offered by the main hire companies.  One less attractive feature is the need to double handle luggage (collecting from the carousel, and placing it on another conveyor belt to collect by the car hire desks) – although there is the option to struggle through with suitcases on the escalators…..

Tampa International (TPA)

A quieter airport than Orlando, which often results in shorter queuing times.  Whilst the journey to the attractions area is a little longer (around 45 minutes longer), this is typically saved through the time savings at the actual airport.

With direct flights from Gatwick most days with British Airways, this is becoming a popular alternative – Tampa is also suitable for indirect flights.  This airport is the closest International Airport for the Gulf Coast

There is less choice for car hire companies (although many more are just off the airport)

Orlando Sanford (SFB)

Sanford airport handles fewer flights than Orlando and Tampa, and as a result tends to be quicker passing through immigration and security.  This time saving often compensates for the longer journey time travelling to the attractions area.  Sanford is used by charter companies, which occasionally provides regional departures from the UK

Miami (MIA)

Miami is a major airport, but around 3-4 hours drive to the attractions area – an overnight stay is recommended before tackling the journey!  Miami is ideal for starting holidays on the Florida Keys, the southern Gulf Coast resorts, or Miami itself.

With many airlines there is no need to depart from the same arrival airport – which works well for two centre holidays.  Most car hire companies do not charge additional fees for returning a car to another airport within Florida

I found Bob’s Balloons on the internet and got us booked in, we were to meet him at 6am at Championsgate. Once there we met Bob and the other couple who were taking the ride, we had absolutely no idea what to expect and we’re both a bit afraid of heights!

We were all taken in Bobs van to a ranch on the other side of US27 where several other companies were already getting set up. We were lucky as the conditions were favourable, it had been too windy for the ballons to go up over the past few days. It was fascinating to watch the whole process of getting these balloons inflated and off the ground. We actually stood inside the balloon as it inflated. The basket was smaller than I expected and we nervously climbed in, we were given instructions for landing and then we gently floated up and joined all the other balloons above the swampland.

We had to go with the direction of the wind which took us parallel to US27 but not over our villa where our neighbours were waiting to wave. The height was no problem at all, it was marvellous to be able to see for miles and miles and it was a beautiful sunrise. I had no idea there was so much swampland at the back of our house.

After about an hour we landed in a field at the side of the highway, we helped to pack the balloon away then we were taken to a fruit stand where we had a champagne brunch on a dock overlooking the lake. It cost $350 for the 2 of us but it was an experience not to be missed.

At the end of our summer holiday in 2007 we were due to fly from Orlando to Manchester via New York (JFK) but our flight was delayed several hours due to bad weather.

Many outbound flights from JFK had also been delayed. We arrived at the terminal in the early hours of the morning so we were expecting some problems in the airport. Understatement of the year.

If you can picture the crowds at a theme park on a very busy day and they had all just suddenly decided to go to the arrivals / departure lounge at JFK then all stop and either stand, sit or lay down you will get the idea. People had set up camp on every available area of floor space in the departure lounge and adjoining corridors. We had to physically step over dozens of people to reach the Delta information desk.

When we arrived at the desk there were in excess of 300 people all in one line. It took nearly 3 hours to reach the front of the queue and be informed that our connecting flight had departed so we had to rebook our flight for the following day. The representative also informed us that we could retrieve our suitcases but it would probably take another 2 – 3 hours to find them. We didn’t take her up on her offer.

By the time we left the desk the queue had grown to an even longer length than when we joined it.

It was difficult to estimate the number of people in the departure lounge but we guessed it to be around 3,000.

We decided to try and book into a hotel. All the hotels we contacted or managed to get through to were fully booked (due the airport problems). We decided the solution was to take a taxi back to the hotel we had stayed in when we began our holiday.

So here we were in New York, under the shadow of the Empire State building in the not so early hours of the morning, no luggage (that would be of any use to us) arriving in the same hotel we left 2 weeks previously.

To say we felt strange about the whole experience doesn’t really describe how we were both feeling.

The following day we were exhausted but we did a quick shop for essential items and had an excellent and unexpected day in New York.

We went back to the airport with some trepidation not knowing if their would be seats for us on the plane.

It was clear when we arrived that the flight was over full. Some passengers from the previous day had just turned up expecting to board the flight. They were disappointed.

Boarding of the plane was about to begin when we herd our name called over the PA system. Thinking the worst we checked with the Delta agent only to be pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to 1st class. I can honestly say that we saw very little of the actual flight. We had our silver service meal then we both slept (with our noise reducing earphones on) until we were 45 minutes from our arrival at Manchester airport.

Our flight home had been one of the longest and most eventful we have ever had and most defiantly one to remember.

Our flights home at the end of our 25th wedding anniversary holiday consisted of a hop from Orlando international airport, via New York JFK then onto Manchester airport.

The first sign that it would not be a straight forward journey was a 3 hour delay to the departure time from Orlando due to bad weather in New York. Once we were airborne all went well until we were 20 minutes from landing. The pilot announced that due to bad weather we were to maintain a holding pattern just outside the New York area. As we circled the airport we could see the bad weather. A huge rain storm cloud had settled itself over New York and refused to move. The lighting from the cloud was unbelievable. Lighting seemed to be constantly leaving the cloud in all directions including upwards. It was a lighting storm to compete with any we had seen in Florida.

As we circled we noticed that we were not the only plane in a similar holding pattern. If you have see the film Die hard 2 were numerous planes circled the airport trying to land you will get the idea. It was now dark and all that could be seen were the lights from all these planes, very un-nerving.

The pilot announced that he and most of the other planes needed to refuel and as a result we were diverting to Norfolk Virginia. The only problem was the airport we were to fly into was closed. We arrived at Norfolk Virginia and after waiting 2 hours on the tarmac a fuel lorry arrived to refuel the plane. Shortly after refuelling commenced the passengers in front of us noticed a liquid pooling on the tarmac beneath the plane. It was brought to the attention of a stewardess who tried to convince us it was condensation. A statement that was brought into doubt when a few minutes later 2 fire trucks and patrol car approached and stopped at the pool of liquid. It would be safe to say that by now most of the passengers were now aware of the problem and a number had started to panic. This wasn’t helped when the fire crews started to deploy absorbent booms around the liquid and our plane was coupled up to a tug ready to be moved from the immediate area.

The tension on the plane as we were moved was incredible with many passengers wanting to open the emergency exits and leave the plane.

We eventual left North Virginia and arrived in JFK.

We were expecting a delay and some problems at JFK but we weren’t even close.

(See our unexpected New York stop over)

Brian Pearson

We boarded the plane and were sat a few rows from the front. After a short while we noticed a young woman in the front row leaning over the aisle to attend to an older man and at the same time a passenger in another seat was alerting the stewardess to the to the now clearly unwell passenger.

It turned out he was her father who’s name was Sam (Samuel)

Sam had the appearance of continually fainting and she was attempting to keep him awake.

After a period of a few minutes the stewardess announced that due to his condition she would not be continuing with the drinks service until she had attended to him.

It was at this point that everyone on the plane became aware of the total lack of conversation and apart from engine noise total silence.

This activity had taken place in less than 10 minutes.

Over the PA system the stewardess asked ‘THE’ question ‘was their a doctor or a nurse on board’.

It seamed no one on the aircraft moved for a long time; in fact it can only have been a few seconds.

The stewardess stood to the side of Sam with her back to the rest of the passengers.

I told Carol that I would check with the stewardess if there were anything I could do to help. As my offer of help (and the fact that I was a Firefighter from the UK) left my lips I could sense and see the relief on the stewardess face.

Almost instantaneously I found myself in front of Sam medical Oxygen in one hand a first aid kit in the other administering first aid.

I spent most of the remainder of the flight which seemed to last forever in a cold sweat. At one point the stewardess asked me if I thought the pilot needed to divert the plane and my cold sweat turned into a hot sweat.

Sam remained conscious for the remainder of the flight. It turned out he had several medical conditions resulting from a previous heart attack and was taking numerous medicines and drugs to compensate and regulate his condition. As we landed Sam improved and it was suspected that the pressurised interior of the aircraft was the cause of the problem.

We landed in Toronto and I spent the first 2 hours of our visit to Canada filling in medical forms for the paramedics.

We spent the remainder of our time in the airport almost in silence and both Carol and I heaved a huge sigh of relief as we left the airport. We needed a holiday.

 On the tips of the wings are cameras and still photos or a DVD can be purchased after your flight. They are of a superb quality and you also get the negatives if you want to have them enlarged. A 15 minute flight costs $240 but the actual time is about 1/2 hour that you are in the plane, from taxeing to take off and landing. Of course If you are very brave then why not go for the 30 - 60 minute aerobatics flight where you can actually control the plane to do loops and rolls. What a great photo that would be, upside down at the controls with an aerial view of Kissimmee above you. Awesome !!! The “pilots shop”  is always worth a visit. They have shirts, hats and lots of memorabilia there. You can even buy “Warbird bucks” $100 to give as a present towards that special persons dream flight.

Warbird Adventures used to be known as “Flying Tigers” but in 2004 Hurricane Charley came along and put paid to that and Kissimmee Air museum was formed in its place. Opening times are from 9.00 to 17.00, 6-7 days a week but it does depend on the season so check before you go. You can just turn up but it is “First come, first served” Telephone number 407-870-7366.

My husband and I have watched these planes flying over our villa for the last few years and he has been mesmerised by them so guess what I have bought him for his 60th next year. Boy will he be thrilled.

The first thing that hit us when we stepped off the plane was the heat.

The East coast was having a heat wave it was 100f (35c).

During our stay the weather never changed. Even at night the temperature remained in the high 70’s aided by the heat given off by the buildings after standing in the sun all day.

The second thing to hit us was the airport. It felt as though thousands of people had just arrived in JFK airport and assembled in the arrival lounge at the same moment we had.

Definitely not for the feint hearted.

We picked up our luggage and joined what seemed a never-ending queue for a taxi. We didn’t have to wait long it just felt like we did.

We hadn’t been in the taxi long when we both experienced a feeling of Déjà vu. It was one of those occasions when you see something you know you recognise and seems very familiar. You momentarily think it’s in the wrong place, and it shouldn’t be here, yet you know you have never been anywhere near it before.

We were passing the observatory towers of the worlds fair held in New York in 1964 used in the film Men in Black and the ride in Universal.

What we hadn’t accounted for were the images (left from watching TV and films) that had been placed in our memory.

Just on that journey to our hotel we ‘remembered’ buildings, bridges and other structures we had never before seen in real life. Then the real challenge, naming the film, program or series we had seen them in.

It happened on many occasions during our visit, the giant floor piano in the toy shop (F.A.O. Schwartz) in the film ‘big’ with Tom Hanks, The fire station used as the headquarters in the film ghost busters and grand central station bombarded by asteroids in the film Armageddon to mention only a few.

We also had what we would describe as reality checks during our visit.

Seeing the sight of the twin towers, the damage to the surrounding buildings and the narrative given to tourists by an employee of one of the banks who witnessed the events as they unfolded on the day.  

Outside the Dakota building were John Lennon died and his Imagine memorial a short walk away in central park. All truly unforgettable experiences.

 New York is well named as the city that never sleeps. It feels as though every building is illuminated. Even the police station in Times Square is brightly lit with large neon lights letting you know it’s the NYPD.

 I could write pages on our experiences of our short visit. If you have never been New York I would very much recommend you include it as one of your must see places to visit.

Generally we book to fly from our local airport and return in to a London airport.  We find that this is usually the cheapest combination.  We then take the train home.  For the cheapest train tickets, book them 12 weeks in advance (or just less).  If you are taking the train in both directions, it is usually cheaper to get 2 x single journey tickets, rather than a return ticket.  Sometimes cheaper train tickets can also be obtained by splitting each journey down in to two parts (ie say from Leeds to Peterborough, and Peterborough to London Kings Cross, rather than Leeds to London) – it’s just trial and error if you have the time to do this.  Train tickets can be purchased at www.thetrainline.com  

With departing and returning to different airports, this will generally mean changing planes at an American airport.  We have found it costs no extra to leave the plane as it touches down in America, and catch the same plane a few days later.  We stopped over in New York for 3 nights at Christmas, with no extra flight costs by doing this.

We have also booked different returning flights to England, to the flights we booked to Orlando.  Recently we flew to Las Vegas for 4 nights (via New York), before flying down to Orlando (via Memphis).  We then returned to London via Memphis.  We were able to do this combination of flights by booking through www.expedia.co.uk and using the multiple-destination option.

We have also found cheap charter flights by booking the night before, although this option is usually outside of school holidays, and means set durations of 7, 14 or 21 days.  Also, when taking this option, it usually means that baggage is charged extra, but the upside is that these flights are usually direct flights, although in to Sanford Airport and not Orlando International Airport.

We have also found it to be an advantage to be a member of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, register at www.virginatlantic.com . We have acquired numerous airmiles both with Virgin and their network of partners, such as Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Dollar Car Rental.  These airmiles entitle members to reward flights (look out for the special offers) and for miles+money flights, which means reduced flight prices in exchange for 2000 of your acquired airmiles.  Airmiles do not expire as long as you earn or spend airmiles every three years.

We originally had the idea to chill out at our house and during our stay visit other parts of Florida.

After Carol had done her flight costing routine with the Internet she concluded that it would be cheaper for us to do a hop and stop than it would be to fly from Manchester direct to Orlando. It worked out £40 each cheaper.

When Carol had finished she presented me with the following itinerary.

Depart Manchester airport direct to JFK airport, New York. Stop over 3 nights.

We booked a room in the Metro hotel one block away from the empire State building.

Depart JFK, New York, direct to Toronto, Canada. Pick up hire car drive to Niagara Falls. Stop over 2 nights.

The Marriott hotel at Niagara Falls (16th floor) directly over looked the falls.

Depart Vancouver, direct to Miami, Florida, Stop over one night.

Pick up rental car drive to Islamorada Key, Florida. Stop over 2 nights.

Ragged edge resort motel, overlooking the Atlantic.

Drive to West coast stop over one night in Naples. The biggest bed we have ever slept in.

Drive to our house10 night’s chill out.

Fly home from Orlando airport direct to Manchester airport.

I briefly thought (for about 0.01 of a second) that I should point out that the additional costs we would have staying in the hotels ‘we’ had chosen would far our weigh any savings we would make on our flights. However I could see Carol was now in full flight making the arrangements so I thought if I wanted to reach our 26th wedding anniversary I had better keep my thoughts to myself. After she had finished making reservations at hotels, booking flights and renting cars we could barely contain ourselves. The thought of us visiting and seeing some of the ‘must see’s’ in life in one holiday was beyond belief.

When we made our plans, decided what we would do and were we would visit we anticipated that all might not go as planned and alterations to our itinerary may be encountered. It turned out fate had some additional items on our agenda which proved to be every bit as memorable for very different reasons.

I can highly recommend a hop and stop holiday. For us it was totally exhausting but the sights; experiences and memories will stay with us forever.

Brian Pearson