14 nights in Kenya for under £500 I found Again I found some pretty good holiday deals on lastminute.com where you can stay for a full 14 nights at a 3 star hotel on the beach in Kilifi for only £449 in January, in February, the prices rise to around £500 or just above, but because of the two week duration I felt that this holiday should still qualify. The Laguna Sea Lodge Hotel is located 64km north of Mombasa along the main beach resort strip in Kenya that includes Diani beach, Bamburi beach (where I stayed), Nyali beach and Malindi.
Cheap Winter Sun Holidays: Orlando, Florida under £500
Sunday, December 14th, 2008
During the darkest months of winter, you have to travel some to find some real winter sun holidays, this often means that they are often pretty expensive. So I decided to see where would make a great winter sun holiday destination but which you would not have to pay the earth for.
Cheap Winter Sun Holidays in Florida
A quick search on Lastminute.com holidays
and I found two three star 7 night holidays to Florida for under £500 between January and April. Both of them in Orlando and on a room only basis. Leaving from either London Gatwick airport, or Manchester, you will be flying Virgin Atlantic Airways, which usually means a comfortable trip.
Car Hire in Florida Included
What is great is that they both include car hire, with insurance which is sure to save you a bunch of money. If you don’t want to drive, the transfers will be included in the price.
Accommodation in Orlando Florida
For the two holidays that I found, you can either stay at the Quality Inn International or the Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista.
Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista – £499
The Comfort Inn offers excellent value in what is generally a slightly pricey area of Orlando. In the 23 acres of landscaped grounds is a lake which is home to a variety of Floridian bird life. Disney is really near as well, with a fantastic array of restaurants, bars and shops there, including the Virgin Megastore for bargain CDs. The Comfort Inn has a Shuttle to local attractions and parks, Two swimming pools, Children’s playground, Video game arcade, comfort Zone cocktail bar, mini market and a board walk restaurant.
I found this holiday at the Comfort Inn lake Buena Vista available for £499 between December and April, to find it use the link below:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays
Quality Inn International – £459
Located in International Drive, near to all the theme parks and lies in the main entertainment centre in Orlando. Quality Inn International hotel in Orlando is just a 5 minute drive to Universal Orlando with all its special effect 3D rides and fantastic roller coasters, 10 minutes to Seaworld and only 20 minutes to Walt Disney World. There is a lively evening atmosphere at this hotel in the Topsy-Turvy Lounge where you can shoot pool and dance to the jukebox until the early hours of the morning.
I found this holiday at the Quality Inn International hotel in Florida available for £459 between December and April, to find it use the link below:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays
Florida Weather
The nickname of the “Sunshine State” is really justified for Florida, with seemingly endless days of lovely warm weather and sunshine. Florida has hot tropical summers and a warm dry winters and it is said that the Florida winter is like the UK summer without the rain! So as long as you avoid the Hurricane season, you can almost guarantee to see the sun on your Florida holiday. With very little rainfall from January to April and average daily temperatures around 24 degrees Celsius, the UK winter is the perfect time to visit.
Beach Holidays in Orlando, Florida
Most people visit Orlando for the theme parks, but Orlando has some great beaches too. Try Cocoa Beach to get away from the tourist crowds. Or do what the locals do and go to New Smyrna Beach, it a great beach that’s never really crowded. Other beaches in Orland to look out for include Playalinda beach, located in the Cape Canaveral National seashore just north of the Kennedy space center and Indialantic Beach which is the easiest beach to reach from the Orlando area. With good surf and a great atmosphere, Indialantic has long been a favorite of visitors and locals alike. The boardwalk has an old time beach appeal and the dining and shopping areas give the area a small town feel.
Florida Activities
As well as a great beach holiday destination there is loads to do in Florida and as you would imagine, it is an excellent location to go on holiday for the whole family, and you don’t have to go to Disneyland!
Golf is huge in Florida and the state has some of the best golf courses in the world. There are literally hundreds of golf courses in Orlando alone and so you are sure to find the course to suit you including the excellent Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge, which has two of the finest public golf courses Orlando Florida and they boast 45 Holes of Pure Golf with No homes, No noise and the World’s Largest Practice Facility!
For the whole family there are literally hundreds of activities and attractions on Orlando, Florida including:
- Gatorland: Orlando’s best half-day attraction! The “Alligator Capital of the World” is a 110-acre alligator theme park and wildlife preserve.
- Boggy Creek Airboat Rides: Discover territory that remains unaltered by man in the Central Florida Everglades with a Half Hour airboat ride.
- Ripley’s Believe It or Not!®: This weird and wacky Auditorium features fascinating, outrageous and interactive exhibits that are fun for all ages.
- Train Land International: For train enthusiasts both young and old! Learn the history of trains and examine miniature models in action.
More Holidays to Florida
As alternatives to lastminute.com, you can also try:
Thompson holidays to Florida
With over 40 years of travel experience and more staff based around the world than any other travel company, you won’t find anyone better to travel with.
British Airways Holidays also offer holidays to Orlando in Florida and you may want to check them especially if they have a sale on.
Alternatives to Florida & The USA
If the USA is not for you, from January to March another relatively cheap winter sun holiday destination is The Dominican Republic. Part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region, it is in the same part of the world as Cuba, Jamaica and therefore Florida. It has pretty decent weather all year but from December to April, the humidity is low and there is less rainfall on the island. Hurricane season lasts from the beginning of June until the end of November.
I found a few deals to The Dominican Republic for under £700 between January and March on Lastminute.com. Just use the link below and search for holidays to The Dominican Republic:
Search Lastminute.com Holidays
