LHR and MIA

So managed to book tickets in the sale last week that kinda fitted in with our plans.

LHR to MIA

So a few questions to thoose in the know.

Travelling down from EDI - option 1 travel down the day before and stay in the Hilton (gives us a chance to check out LHR as haven't flown from there for years) Big gain in clubhouse time

or option 2 travel down morning of flight with BA into T5 and transfer to T3. Lose clubhouse time

Excited to eventually see the LHR clubhouse

Arrive into MIA - option 1 stay over night at airport and fly up to Orlando next morning,

or option 2 stay over at airport and drive up to Orlando next morning

or option 3 drive or try and fly up same day.

Any thoughts

Thanks

David

If staying on the airport at LHR I'd go for the Sofitel over the Hilton as it's much nicer for a similar price, or go for the Radisson/Skyline etc (but getting to and from T3 is more of a pain).

I've flown into MIA on holidays where I've stayed in Orlando twice in the past as it was previously a lot cheaper than flying into MCO, at least in Y. The drive up from MIA is very easy and I've never found traffic an issue as it's usually about 6 by the time you get away from MIA - take Hwy 27 rather than the turnpike as it's much less busy, it takes about 4 hours to get up to the villa communities west of Kissimmee where we usually stay.

I suspect since the on-site rental car centre at MIA has opened this has made getting the car a lot less of a pain than it used to be getting the bus!

My preference by far would be to drive up straight after the flight as you don't waste a day of the holiday driving up to Orlando but I know some people prefer to just go straight to sleep on arrival... But this is a personal choice and will come down to whether you feel you will be OK to do a 4hr drive after a 9hr flight.

having done this sort of trip many times, my advice would be drive the next day.
whether you think you will be or not you WILL be knackered. odds are it will take you a good while to clear immigration at MIA,then sort a car etc PLUS if you have had a drink or two on the plane. its not a great idea.

you land around 4 so should be out of the airport by 6. what we used to do was get the car, drive an hour or so, hunker down in a hotel, have a shower and a meal, go to bed early, get up REAL early and hit the road , arriving home around 9am. so all we really lost was a night ion our own bed. you have a longer drive, a lot of it in the dark, in strange country, wrong side of the road. Recipe for a bad start to the hols IMO.

you could then take a leisurely drive up the east coast (West Plam Beach and Ft Lauderdale worth a look) or as suggested go up 27 which is very off the track and scenic.

for one day out of your hols its worth being rested and safe

You definitely have to stay at LHR the night before and get maximum enjoyment from the Clubhouse the next day!

Re driving when you land at MIA, I absolutely would not do this. Queues at immigration, the forever it seems to take to pick up a hire car - and all assuming your flight lands on time. I wouldn't even consider a 4 hour drive after that. Not to mention you want to enjoy Clubhouse and UC drinks, why limit yourself just to collect a hire car when you land? When we flew to LAX we booked an airport hotel so we could just crash out when we landed then picked up the hire car bright and breezy the next morning.

[honey lamb]

Definitely fly to LHR the night before. I always do it if I am on a flight leaving in the morning ever since a delayed early morning flight from my home airport had my nerves in shreds as I dashed from T1 to T3. I know a previous poster has mentioned more Clubhouse time but that really is a by-product to the peace of mind you will have

I am doing a very similar trip on Friday - though not to Orlando, but to Bradendon on the gulf coast.

We chose to fly the day before and stay at the Ibis. Not sure if the Ibis will turn out to be a mistake, but it was only £35. We plan to get to the CH as soon as we can in the morning.
We are staying in the Sofitel at Miami Airport when we arrive and will pick the car up the next morning. Didnt want a car immediately after a champagne fuelled flight .

I would fly EDI-LHR the night before your transatlantic trip (get the last flight down), and then fly LHR-MIA-MCO the next day.

I wouldn't even consider driving MIA-MCO.

It's a good idea to stay in MIA for a night after the long flight, we did when holidaying in Naples last month. It took just over an hour to exit the airport.


We were somewhat lucky as we have family with a large house near MIA but plenty of reasonably priced hotels at MIA or near by.

Be sure (if you can) to do the online check in for your hire car before traveling as it saves loads of time at the new car rental building at MIA - just swipe your credit card at the kiosk and away you go.

Enjoy

If staying at LHR I would recommend the T5 Hilton. Although it is not actually at T5 - you have to get the hopper - it is fairly new and there is free WiFi throughout. The prices in the Hilton Great Getaway (if still running) at very good indeed! We stayed there on Fri night last week for £70 including taxes!

I am doing a very similar trip on Friday - though not to Orlando, but to Bradendon on the gulf coast.

We chose to fly the day before and stay at the Ibis. Not sure if the Ibis will turn out to be a mistake, but it was only £35. We plan to get to the CH as soon as we can in the morning.
We are staying in the Sofitel at Miami Airport when we arrive and will pick the car up the next morning. Didnt want a car immediately after a champagne fuelled flight .

Spill, i thouroughly recommend rather than use Alligator Alley, take 27 North to Clewiston, then 27/80 west round lake Okeechobee, just south of lake placid turn west onto 70 through Arcadia and onto Bradenton. its slightly longer timewise but a spectacular journey if you can spare an hour or two more.

you will get to some of 'Old Florida' and when I say old I mean yee ha. Everyone round here says Arcadia in where you marry your sister !! :0

My two penneth...
Fly down from EDI the night before. Personally I'd go for a hotel on the Bath Rd or near Sipson (Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn) so that you can have dinner here http://www.achari.co.uk/.
Stay overnight near MIA and head off by car in the early in the AM. Just as easy as getting back to the airport flying to MCO and then collecting a car there.
Immigration at MIA (hellhole that it is) is so unpredictable (I've never had a good experience there ! ) and you want to enjoy the CH and flight, so driving on arrival probably isn't an option .
DL

I am doing a very similar trip on Friday - though not to Orlando, but to Bradendon on the gulf coast.

We chose to fly the day before and stay at the Ibis. Not sure if the Ibis will turn out to be a mistake, but it was only £35. We plan to get to the CH as soon as we can in the morning.
We are staying in the Sofitel at Miami Airport when we arrive and will pick the car up the next morning. Didnt want a car immediately after a champagne fuelled flight .

Spill, i thouroughly recommend rather than use Alligator Alley, take 27 North to Clewiston, then 27/80 west round lake Okeechobee, just south of lake placid turn west onto 70 through Arcadia and onto Bradenton. its slightly longer timewise but a spectacular journey if you can spare an hour or two more.

you will get to some of 'Old Florida' and when I say old I mean yee ha. Everyone round here says Arcadia in where you marry your sister !! :0

Thanks for this. It sounds like a much more pleasent option.

Another vote for staying the night in MIA before driving up to MCO.

It feels like a very long drive, even with coffee after the flight! Although I'm not a fan of MIA, a nights rest and early start will be more comfortable!

If staying at LHR I would recommend the T5 Hilton. Although it is not actually at T5 - you have to get the hopper - it is fairly new and there is free WiFi throughout. The prices in the Hilton Great Getaway (if still running) at very good indeed! We stayed there on Fri night last week for £70 including taxes!

+1 to that - my wife likes this hotel and she is hard to please when it comes to hotel rooms!

Beware of the excessive parking charges though...!

Thanks for this. It sounds like a much more pleasent option.

i think you will enjoy the drive. you can stop in Clewitson at a park and view the lake. its huge and very impressive.
hope you enjoy your stay in Bradenton, theres some great places to visit. if you need any more help shout, we live about 45 mins south

the good news is the weather is fantastic right now

Thanks for all your replies.

1st half booked - flying down with BA the day before - next up a Hotel at LHR to find.

David

Is it just American Airlines that fly direct MIA to MCO?

thanks

David