All holidays to Florida are truly magical, but especially the first one. Whether it is a trip to the Orlando / Kissimmee area to enjoy the fabulous theme parks, or a relaxing time spent by one of the many beautiful beaches, you can be sure that you will be having the most wonderful time. There really is something for everyone, and all ages.
The nine hour flight gives the perfect opportunity to catch up on some valuable reading. There is a lot of information available about holidaying in the Sunshine State. The Lonely Planet guides, available in libraries or book stores are a good source of information. Most Florida guide books will have maps in them, or if not they can also be purchased in the book store. It can be helpful to spend some time looking at these maps, to familiarize yourself with a few of the main highways, and how they link up to one another, and in which direction they run.
If you are flying into Sanford it is approx a one hour drive to the Kissimmee area, or about half an hour if you are landing at Orlando International. If you are collecting a rental car you will be given a map of the Kissimmee / Orlando area. Or if you have chosen to stay in one of the beautiful, privately owned villas, and have arranged it yourself, no doubt the villa owner will have provided you with directions to get to your villa.
After a long flight, and then a drive to your holiday home you may feel that it is a good idea to have organized for groceries to be delivered to the door, shortly after your arrival. It is an easy matter to do this on line, in advance of your holiday. It is not very expensive, about a $15 delivery charge for shopping up to $100. It is something that I always do. It is one less thing to do on a busy day. I love shopping in the Florida supermarkets, but not on arrival day. A glass of cold sparkling wine, by the pool is a better option!! Very relaxing.
The lovely water parks can be quite relaxing too. There are plenty of sunloungers around if you want to give the rides and slides a miss for an hour to re-charge. When visiting the water parks, those little money tubes that hang around your neck on a cord are a good idea. You can get them in the supermarket for a couple of dollars. When we are having a day out, the night before we freeze bottles of fruit juice. When we are out and about it provides a lovely cold slushy drink.
Random tips.
- To keep your home cool, keep the patio doors closed to keep the hot air out and cool air in. Ceiling fans help too.
- Pool toys are very cheap in the supermarkets.
- If unsure of your surroundings at first, when leaving the villa take directions with you, as to how to get back there from the nearest major roads, or landmarks.
- Use sun screen, drink plenty.
- If you really enjoy a cup of tea, take your own tea bags !
- Take change with you for the toll roads on arrival .
- Have the most wonderful holiday, and if you did not manage to do everything planned, don’t worry, there is always next year.