Vacation your way. Florida all day.Orlando Travel Guide
Orlando is four major theme park resorts and a city that most visitors never see. If you only do the parks you will have a good holiday and an expensive one. Mix in the rest and it becomes a considerably better week for less money.
Where to stay and why it matters
Staying in Orlando proper puts you closest to Universal, International Drive and the airport. Kissimmee and Davenport put you closer to Disney and give you more house for the money. If you are doing parks every day with young children, minimise the drive. If you are mixing park days with pool days, take the bigger house further out.
Getting around
Orlando is built for driving and public transport will not serve a family holiday well. Your realistic options are a hire car, private transfers, or a mix. If you are doing parks most days, transfers plus park drop-offs often work out level with a hire car once you add daily parking at each park. If you want the coast, Tampa or a supermarket run whenever you like, hire the car.
When to visit
January and early February are the quietest and cheapest, with cool evenings. March to May is the sweet spot for weather and manageable crowds. June to August is hot, humid and busy, with afternoon thunderstorms that arrive on schedule and clear quickly. September and October are quieter and still warm, though it is peak hurricane season. Late November and December bring holiday decorations and very heavy crowds.
What a week actually costs
The rental and the flights are the fixed part. The variable part is park tickets, which will usually exceed your accommodation for a family of four, plus food. Cooking breakfast and a few dinners in the villa is the single biggest saving available — it is a large part of why the villa beats the hotel financially.
Beyond the parks
Winter Park for the boat tour and the museums. Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. The Kennedy Space Center as a day trip east. Airboats south towards Kissimmee. Golf almost everywhere. And several days of doing nothing by your own pool, which is what most families remember.
Where to stay in Orlando
Our Orlando homes sleep up to 16, come with private pools, and include the option of a fixed-price driver meeting you at the airport. Booking direct means no platform service fee.