Going to Florida for the first time in January, arriving in PBI and will be renting a car for a week before heading home. We are a couple in our mid-late 20s that are not into amusement parks nor night clubs, but enjoy nice restaurants, great scenery and shopping. As this is an award ticket I have the option of flying out either from FLL, MCO or TPA, so my question is simple:

If you were me, would you bother driving to either MCO or TPA to see more of the state, or would you rather just stay in South Florida and leave via FLL? Obviously going to northern parts of FL and then heading back south to FLL is not very practical.

Opinions and insight appreciated!

Hey there,

You need to keep in mind that once you get north of West Palm Beach, you enter a very different "culture" within the State of Florida. South Florida has some great things to do, but from a scenery standpoint...you can do a lot better...especially if you aren't into the entire South Beach type of scene.

There are some amazing sights along both the east and west coasts, but you'll just need to lay out what you really want to see. Orlando is going to take you about 3ish hours to get to. If the numbers work, it would seem a little counterproductive to drive up to Orlando or Tampa then drive back south if you can avoid it. Besides, gas is cheaper once you are out of South Florida.

Sure that you've seen it, but www.visitflorida.com has some great resources you might want to look at.

Hey, Ikura. (My grandparents were from Norway and I have lots of relatives there; really need to visit some time)! Anyway, if I were you with one week to spend, I would stay entirely in South Florida. You mentioned shopping and dining; if you are arriving at PBI you should most certainly shop Wirth Avenue in Palm Beach. After that, I'd head down to the Miami area to see South Beach and have dinner at Joe's Stone Crab--an iconic restaurant with good food and a lot of history. Finally, save a couple of days to visit the Keys; drive all the way down to Key West if you can (3-4 hours from Miami). The scenery along the Overseas Highway is spectacular and Key West itself is a lot of fun and very laid back. You can rent bikes and explore the island, or just walk around.

Certainly, there is much to see and do on the West Coast and the Panhandle as well, but you're looking at several hours of driving to get there. You will have more time to spend having fun if you stay in South Florida and the Keys, then leave from FLL (or MIA, unless that's not an option).

Have a great trip, and next time come and see all the Norweigans in Minnesota!

Bill.

You have chosen our worst month of winter weather, yes winter weather where it can get cold here even in South Florida.

That said the advice to stay West Palm or South is smart thinking. Weather aside, it is the tropical part of Florida. Most anything north is like Alabama or somewhere else in the Southern U.S. Also the suggestion for they Keys is a good one, even slightly better chance of warmer weather and a real laid back atmosphere!

Worldspan
Florida resident 27 years

I'd agree that there is nothing extra scenic or culturally important for an extra drive to Orlando or Tampa, unless the new Salvador Dali art museum in St. Petersburg (Tampa) is of great interest.

Yeah.... from PBI just stay on the I-95 corridor....and fly out of FLL, if possible....often there is no extra fee for dropping the rental car at another Florida airport.

The drive from Miami to Key West can be quite pleasant if you have plenty of good music in the car, and plan for a middle-of-the week trip (or sometime that does not have the heavy traffic of driving south on Fri-Sat, and north on Sunday along the Overseas Highway).

As was mentioned, the weather might be wonderful, or too cold for the beach, so plan for plenty of things to do on too-cold days, or days when it's warm enough for the beach only for a few hours in the afternoon.

For shopping, if you like outlet/low-price places, try Sawgrass Mills mall, in SUrnrise, FL, about 10 miles west of Ft. Lauderadle!
http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=1262

enjoy!

January is the perfect time to see the Everglades. Few bugs and warm (not oppressively hot and humid) temps.

Key West is a fun place and there are several historical things to see: the lighthouse, the Truman's Little Whitehouse, The Flagler Museum. All these can be seen in one day or even long afternoon. Key West is tiny.

The further south you go/stay the warmer the temps. Of course "cold weather" to someone who lives year round in Florida has a very different meaning to the rest of the world.....LOL

I agree with the previous posters (good advice^)........with one week available, on your first visit, there is plenty to do just in South Florida. I would only recommend traveling to the West Coast or Central Florida if there is something you really want to see/do. West Palm/Ft Lauderdale/Miami/Everglades/The Keys/ and Key West all offer many things to do in one week.

Here are a few exisiting threads with very good information on South Florida:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flori...rip-miami.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flori...es-advice.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flori...ter-temps.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flori...ano-beach.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flori...-must-dos.html

I would add Naples and Marco Island on the Southwest side. Very nice beaches and before the tourist season. Bring lots of quarters for the meters.

Tell the bugs that...they've been acting out here in Western Broward County for the last month.

If you're not into amusement parks, skip Orlando. Not that there isn't good restaurants, scenery, and shopping there, it's just not worth the drive for you. I'm also going to recommend driving to Key West. The drive itself is worth it just for the scenery, and Key West is one of the coolest towns in the US in my opinion.