Orlando without a car?

[oneofakind]

Due to a set of circumstances I am going on holiday with my friend in Feb 2026. She has fixed dates (around 12-13 nights) and is set on long haul but a budget of around £1.4k. She ideally wants a beach break as she was due to go to a tropical place and was really looking forward to it but this has had to be cancelled.

The only place I can find within budget is Orlando, Florida. The weather would be good , flights not too long and the hotels look ok but, although I drive and have been to Florida before, I don’t want to hire a car. I just don’t feel comfortable driving abroad any longer and wouldn’t want to do this in the US. Having been before (but Disney/Universal then) a car seemed to be quite essential.

Ideally we’d want a beach holiday somewhere warm but places are either too expensive (Caribbean, Mexico) or the flights are too long for a 12 night break (Thailand).

I suppose I feel a bit of pressure as she’s been through a hard time but doesn’t want Canaries/Egypt/Cape Verde and it’ll be her first time long haul. She’s saved for a long time for this trip.

Any advice please?

Apparently the next BA sale will be around Christmas.

I think you should reconsider Thailand- if you can get flights that land in the evening, you won’t have jetlag on arrival, you’ll be extremely tired but go straight to bed and wake up ready to start your holiday.
The make sure you get a daytime flight home. Again you’ll land late and be tired but go to bed and wake up on the right time zone.

To me your budget sounds extremely tight but you will get much more for your money in Thailand and things like eating out/getting taxis around will be much much cheaper.

Just back from Koh Samui and a taxi from the resort to the main town was £2, we could get a 2 course dinner for 2 with a couple of beers and soft drinks for well under £20 sometimes under £15 and street food is even cheaper.

Can’t particularly recommend either as I haven’t been , but I was browsing Gambia snd Tanzania last week. There seemed to be some good deals.

Well, the hotels on international drive are room only because of where it is - being (sort of) halfway between Universal and Disney and next to a massive convention centre. People either stay there as a base for the theme parks or because they’re attending a convention/conference. It’s a long way from the coast and there isn’t enough on international drive itself to keep you entertained for that long. Eating out at Icon Park or The Pointe is pretty expensive as well.

Orlando without a car is a no go for me. Also it's now hideously expensive when you get there so I wouldn't bet on it still being in budget by the end of the holiday. I'd give it a huge miss.

you can do it without a car but theres no beaches close by

also i think the dates youre looking at is our half term so prices will be higher

we went to thailand with a 4month old and 3 year old last year - (we had a month so a bit longer than you)

but we were over the jetlag in a day - we arrived 9pm thai time and we went straight to bed and woke up at 6am straight on the right time zone

Thanks, I think I’ll knock Florida on the head as we had a great family holiday travelling around a long time ago and this just wouldn’t be the same experience by the sound of it.

Reconsidering Thailand although ideally I’d have liked to have had a longer holiday with my dh there and get further afield. Also friends have said the whole sex tourism thing is really visible everywhere. Direct flights are around £800 return.
Will also look into Sri Lanka or Goa - think that might work too.
To answer a previous poster, I’m happy to go but friend isn’t a ‘traveller’ and usually holidays in Spain, all inclusive. The holiday she had planned was AI in the Caribbean so a DIY holiday will be a bit different (plus I’m having to lead on it as she doesn’t have the time or experience to look). That’s why I was thinking a fly cruise might be the best option.

but doesn’t want Canaries/Egypt/Cape Verde

Why? If it's a relaxing beach holiday you're after why are these places being ruled out? That might help people offering suggestions.

How about Mexico? Tui have an All inclusive for 11 nights from Friday 20th Feb for £1492 at the Cancun Bay Resorts.Or, B &B at The Fives Downtown for £1113.

Have a look at the Dominican Republic unless she wants to avoid the Caribbean after her original trip was cancelled.

I’d go for Thailand for the reasons @user1471548941 said. My only concern would be if your friend is ready for anywhere even vaguely different if she’s used to AI in Spain and that’s been her preference. Only you know what type of person she is.

Orlando requires a car. I’ve been several times and everything is so far apart I can’t imagine not having that option.

I've done Orlando for a short break without a car - I was there for work purposes and extended my stay to have a little holiday too. It depends what you are planning to do with your days across the time you are there. If you will be spending entire days in single locations you will be fine without a car and can easily arrange either a bus or taxi at the beginning and end of each day. I wouldn't attempt it if I was going to have more varied days and would be wanting to go somewhere for lunch in between other activities though.

Where have you seen this deal please?

Quite. These are the places you should be looking as they're easy. I think your friend would feel comfortable in the Canaries in particular if she's not much of a traveller.

Wants 30 degrees and long haul. I think she was just looking forward to the Caribbean. She’s been to the Canaries (as have I, several times). Not heard great things about Cape Verde in terms of scenery/food. She doesn’t want to go to Egypt and I don’t want to go to Dubai.

Some good suggestions I’ll follow up.

Tobago, flights with Ba and book a hotel through booking. Com very cheap when you get there

Or look at ba holidays for your flights

On Tui website. I didn't know which airport you wanted so didn't select any particular ones.The £1492 Ai is from Gatwick, the B& B for £1113 is from Manchester.

Tanzania is on the fco no go list. Not surprised!

Ft lauderdale
myrtle beach

I know it isn’t a popular choice on here but what about UAE?? The weather will be lovely. I am not sure about AI options but Dubai and Abu Dhabi are easy to navigate without a car.

As a regular traveller, the jet lag is far easier travelling east and from the east rather than the US.

this year I’ve done Japan (9days) and Hong Kong (4 days) with minimal sleep disruption.
carribean & US much more tricky so don’t discount Thailand on the basis of jet lag

I wouldn’t go to America without a car - I spent 3 weeks in that area back in 2018 and most things are a drive away. We didn’t do the parks but even things like shops etc aren’t easily accessible without a car.

It was really easy to drive - I was concerned it would be really difficult as I did all the driving but it was fine. I even drove us to Nashville and back!

One thing we did to keel down costs is got an Airbnb where we stayed in someone’s house whilst they were also there. I was concerned about lack of privacy but the family were lovely and we had one side of the house to ourself so we could see them as much or as little as we wanted. We paid around £7-800 for the airbnb for 3 weeks! Obv this was in 2018 or 2019 so would be more expensive now but worth a look!

Don’t go to Cuba if you want to be able to travel easily to the US - those that have visited Cuba in recent years need a full US visa vs an ESTA