Southeastern United States
Florida
Planning a first Florida trip from the UK: which airport to fly into, how to split theme parks, Gulf beaches and the Keys, real drive times, and why you'll want a hire car.
In short
Florida at a glance
Florida is the one US state most UK families do as a single trip: fly direct into Orlando for the theme parks, then add a Gulf beach, the Florida Keys or Miami. Orlando to Miami is about 3h30 down the turnpike, Miami to Key West another 3h30 down the Overseas Highway, so a two-week trip can comfortably pair Disney with a beach and a drive south. You'll want a hire car everywhere except inside the Orlando parks — Florida is built for driving — and the weather splits the year hard: hot, wet, hurricane-prone summers and warm, dry, busy winters. Allow 10–14 days to do parks plus a beach without rushing.
For most British visitors Florida means Orlando, and Orlando means the theme parks — but the state quietly hands you three or four very different holidays bolted together, and the trip lands best when you treat it as a road trip rather than a single resort. Fly direct into Orlando for Disney and Universal, then point the hire car somewhere: west to the Gulf for the calm, warm beaches families actually swim at; south to Miami’s Art Deco and Cuban food; or further south still down the Overseas Highway to the Keys. The distances look alarming on a map and aren’t in practice — Orlando to Miami is a single afternoon’s drive — but the mistake is trying to fit all of it in, parks and Gulf and Atlantic and Keys, and spending the fortnight on the turnpike instead of on a beach.
The other thing first-timers underestimate is the calendar and the small print. Winter is the good weather and exactly why it’s the dear, busy season; summer is cheaper because it’s sticky, stormy and inside the hurricane season, with thunderstorms you can almost set your watch by every afternoon. And the car is non-negotiable away from the parks: there’s no real public transport between Florida’s towns, the Turnpike and Miami’s expressways are electronic-toll only, and a UK driver should know the petrol pumps often want a ZIP code you don’t have, so pay inside. Get those two things right — when you go and how you’ll get around — and the rest of Florida is as easy a long-haul as the UK has.
Towns & places in Florida
The route
A relaxed two-week loop that pairs the Orlando parks with a Gulf beach, Miami and a run down to the Keys without backtracking. Drive times are interstate and turnpike estimates in normal traffic; allow extra around Orlando and Miami at rush hour.
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Days 1–5
Orlando theme parks
Land at MCO and base near the parks. Give Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando a full day each at minimum and book park tickets and any restaurant reservations before you fly. You don't need the car inside the resorts — they run their own shuttles — but you'll want it for everything else, so pick it up at the airport.
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Days 6–8
Gulf coast beaches
Drive about 1h30 west to the Tampa–Clearwater–St Pete stretch for the white-sand Gulf beaches, calmer and warmer water than the Atlantic side. Clearwater Beach and St Pete Beach are the easy family bases; Sarasota's Siesta Key is quieter and about 2h15 from Orlando.
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Days 9–11
Miami & the Everglades
Cross the state to Miami, roughly 3h30 to 4h from Orlando down Florida's Turnpike. Do South Beach, Little Havana and Wynwood, and slot in an Everglades airboat tour (about 45 min west of the city) for the alligators. Miami is the one place a car becomes a mild liability — parking is dear and metered.
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Days 12–14
The Florida Keys
Drive the Overseas Highway from Miami to Key West, about 3h30 across 42 bridges and the Seven Mile Bridge. Break the journey at Islamorada or Marathon, snorkel at Bahia Honda or John Pennekamp, and end at Key West for sunset at Mallory Square before flying home from Miami.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Orlando (Lake Buena Vista / International Drive)
££ mid-rangeThe practical theme-park base: hotels, restaurants and shuttle links to Disney and Universal, with International Drive the budget end and the Disney/Universal on-site hotels the convenient but pricier option. Charmless as a place but unbeatable for park access — rent a car to escape it on a beach day.
Best for: Families doing Disney and Universal
Clearwater Beach / St Pete Beach (Gulf coast)
££ mid-rangeThe easiest Gulf beach base from Orlando — wide white sand, warm calm water and a string of family resorts about 1h30 to 2h west. St Pete Beach is slightly quieter and better value than Clearwater's busy main strip; both beat the Atlantic side for swimming with small children.
Best for: Gulf beach days, families, calm water
Miami (South Beach / Brickell)
£££ premiumSouth Beach for the Art Deco strip, the beach and the nightlife; Brickell for a more modern, walkable downtown base. A real city stay rather than a resort strip — book ahead in winter when Miami is at its priciest, and factor in metered parking everywhere.
Best for: City break, nightlife, Keys launch point
Getting around Florida
Hire a car — Florida is a driving state and there's almost no useful public transport between towns. Pick the car up at the airport, drop it back before you fly, and remember you're driving on the right, that many petrol pumps want a US ZIP code (so pay inside), and that Florida's Turnpike and several Miami expressways are electronic-toll only, with no cash booths — your hire car will have a transponder, but check whether the company charges a daily admin fee on top of the tolls, which can add up fast. Inside Walt Disney World and Universal you don't need the car at all; the resorts run their own buses, monorails and boats. Miami is the one city where a car becomes a mild liability thanks to expensive metered parking, so consider rideshare there. Brightline trains now link Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando if you'd rather skip the drive between those two.
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