Best way to transfer from Fort Lauderdale - Orlando after our Cruise

HI All,

Sorry, someone might of asked this before. Myself and my partner are going on our honeymoon next year and we are flying into Fort Lauderdale for our cruise but after the cruise finishes we will be needing to get to Orlando. We are both from New Zealand and are not to confident on driving on the right hand side of the road (we drive on the left in NZ) but I was wondering what is the best way to get to Orlando,

Fly ??

Transfer ??

What should I be looking at ?

Thank you for any help/advice you can give.

Tony

Just for your info even if you don't do the driving, Orlando is about a 3-3.5 hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale. so, your options would be limited. You could hire a car service, fly, or possibly take a train (Amtrak).

Just for your info even if you don't do the driving, Orlando is about a 3-3.5 hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale. so, your options would be limited. You could hire a car service, fly, or possibly take a train (Amtrak).

Not entirely true. Lauderdale to Orlando via the turnpike easily done in 2 hours 45 min.

If you are driving turnpike would be your best bet. It's a pay road like $14 but it is only two lanes going to Orlando - you will not be near opposite traffic at all as they are on the otherside of the road with their own two lanes. Along the turnpike you can easily merge off into the center to stop for a rest, bathrooms, gas, food and then merge back on. 90% of driving would be on Turnpike so you would not have to worry about right side / left side of road as much as you might think you would.

There is a cheapy airline that flies FLL to MCO called Spirit. http://www.spirit.com its normally around $30-40 for the flight ticket.. Where they catch you is bag fees. If you have alot of bags it might be a problem. Cost is $30 per checked bag up to 40 pounds. Would not recommend a carryon as it's more expensive then a checked bag. Makes more sense to get a second checked bag then a carry on cause you can bring more stuff.

So if you each have a 1 checked bag only you would be looking at around $60 to 70 each to fly the direct 45 minute flight from FLL to MCO

I would go with the Amtrak train, #98 the Silver Meteor. It leaves about 9AM and arrives just after 1PM. You can get two reserved seats, with two pieces of checked luggage each for less than $80 USD. If you are planning on staying at Disney World, the Kissimmee station is closer than the Orlando station. There will be taxi cabs waiting at the train station.

If staying at Disney, when you check in, be sure to let them know you are on your honeymoon.

Congratulations, and thank you for spending your money in the US!

There is a cheapy airline that flies FLL to MCO called Spirit. www.spirit.com its normally around $30-40 for the flight ticket.. Where they catch you is bag fees. If you have alot of bags it might be a problem. Cost is $30 per checked bag up to 40 pounds. Would not recommend a carryon as it's more expensive then a checked bag. Makes more sense to get a second checked bag then a carry on cause you can bring more stuff.

 

So if you each have a 1 checked bag only you would be looking at around $60 to 70 each to fly the direct 45 minute flight from FLL to MCO

I would not recommend Spirit to any international guest in our country. Spirit Airlines is the most complained about airline in the U.S. http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/11/pf/airline-complaints/index.html

Another alternative is a bus. Red Coach goes from the FLL airport (very close to the cruise port) to International Drive hotels and Lake Buena Vista hotels in Orlando. http://www.redcoachusa.com/stops/

I would not recommend Spirit to any international guest in our country. Spirit Airlines is the most complained about airline in the U.S. http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/11/pf/airline-complaints/index.html

 

Another alternative is a bus. Red Coach goes from the FLL airport (very close to the cruise port) to International Drive hotels and Lake Buena Vista hotels in Orlando. http://www.redcoachusa.com/stops/

To each their own we use Spirit several times a year for many years now and never had any complaints.

Silver Airways also flies that route. They too will charge a baggage fee that is near the cost of the ticket itself, but it is another option.

http://www.silverairways.com

Thank you all very much for the advice !!