Getting to Florida

Every Day there are many, many Flights to Orlando and other parts of Florida. Some are charter airlines while others are Scheduled flights by UK & US airlines. The average flying time from the UK with non stop airlines is around 9 hrs. The return trip is normally much quicker taking around 8 hrs. The quickest time I have done it is 6hrs 50minutes. This is due to the high tail winds produced by the Jet Stream that flow predominately from West to East. Normally the US Airlines don’t fly non stop to Florida. They use hubs in other eastern states, for example, Delta airlines fly into Atlanta GA. Continental fly to Newark NJ. Where all passengers change planes and head off to different locations. Consequently the traveling time on a US Airline flight is longer but may be cheaper. One thing to remember is that all these airlines tend to overbook thier flights as they expect 10% of passengers not to show up for the flight. It's not so much of a problem now with Virgin Atlantic since they put on an extra flight from Gatwick. I have however seen it on the Manchester route. They generally offer to fly you home via a different route but where possible still on Virgin from say Miami or Newark or even JFK. The compensation is a free round trip ticket anywhere Virgin Flies. Which is handy if you are looking to go again next year.

Before you book anything we have negotiated special preferential rates so contact Grant for a no obligation quote. They deal with all the major airlines, scheduled and charter and are fully ABTA Bonded. They also have a personal Virgin Atlantic allocation. Please note to get these special rates please quote: FVPF when you call or complete the enquiry form.

BA & Virgin Atlantic both fly non stop to Orlando International Airport (MCO) whereas charter flights such as Monarch Airlines, Thompson Fly, First Choice, My Travel & Globespan all arrive at Sanford (SFB) situated some 40 minutes drive from Orlando. Some people don’t mind arriving at Sanford while others, myself included, prefer to arrive at MCO. Charter flights tend to cram more people in at the expense of leg room. Although this is not always the case. Some will upgrade you to more legroom for a fee.

Drinks, Meals and other incidentals such as headphones can be charged for on charters. Most do have seat back entertainment although not all. On Virgin Atlantic, headphones are free as is everything else onboard apart from duty free goods. There are seat back TV’s with three variations on the entertainment system all featuring several film channels along with general entertainment channels, Flight Map and a kids channel. On some there are a games section and on the latest ones (V-Port) you can stop, start and rewind your movies whenever you want. All kids get a rucksack when they board, full of goodies. It all boils down to choice really, as the difference in price, more often than not, is negligible. I booked for this year (2006) in January for October for £340 + taxes. If I had gone out in November it would have been £289. So there are bargains to be had at certain times of the year.

Arriving and Picking Up your Car

On arrival at Orlando Intl. You must first go through immigration, where you show your green Visa Waiver form. Here, you have your index finger scanned and your picture taken. The people working in immigration can be quite strict and do have a lot of power. They can refuse you entry if they so desire. This has been pointed out to the US that these people can make you feel unwelcome and apparently they have been told to lighten up a bit. We have seen where visitors have not filled in the form correctly, they are sent to the back of the queue to complete a new form. So if in doubt check with the airline cabin crew before you leave the aircraft. Once through immigration you collect your luggage from the carousel and take it over to customs at the other side of the hall, taking with you the white customs declaration you completed on the aircraft. This is not so bad, they take a few at random to go through the x-ray machines. You are not allowed to take any animal products or fruit or vegetables into the US. Once you have gone through Customs you then place your bags on yet another conveyor belt and head up to arrivals. Once there you go through further security checks after this you then head to the monorail which takes you to the main terminal building where you pick up your luggage once again. Finally you are free to go down to the car hire garages and collect your car if you are having one. Or alternatively meet your airport transfer to get you to your accommodation. Some say that immigration and car hire collection is quicker at Sanford than at OIA. Orlando Airport is a massive airport and is very busy and Sanford is a smaller airport with much less traffic. Once through immigration there you just exit the terminal and cross the road to the car hire desks and pick up your car. One thing to remember is that the Airports are totally non smoking as are any public place in the State of Florida.

For details of Car Hire and pick up see Orlando Car Hire page.

More info can be found on the Perfect Florida Villas forums orThe Perfect Florida Guide