Thanks guys.
Off Villas, what airlines would you advise? Price is a factor but obviously with such a long flight and 5 kids I don't mind paying a bit more for more comfort.
Thanks guys.
Off Villas, what airlines would you advise? Price is a factor but obviously with such a long flight and 5 kids I don't mind paying a bit more for more comfort.
Main choice is between a direct flight to Orlando (Virgin from Manchester/London, BA from Gatwick or charters like Thomas Cook) or other (mainly US) airlines with a connection somewhere in the USA. Direct flights tend to be more expensive, sometimes by quite a bit so with a large party you could make very significant savings.
As far as comfort is concerned, my view is that there's nothing to distinguish 1 airline's economy product from another but they're all tolerable.
If you are travelling around the October half term the flight prices, whoever you fly with, will be much more expensive.
Lyn
No we're bad parents, we're taking them out of school. lol Couldn't even hope to afford it otherwise
Where are you flying from? It is cheaper to do an indirect flight but for your first time you might prefer a direct flight although it will be costlier
The roads are much bigger and i find driving easier even in a 15 seater
We're in the East Midlands but could fly from here, any London or Bimingham. Probably only go from London though don't they.
We are not gated and have had no security problems in the 8 years we have had the villa.
As far as the direction the pool faces, it also matters how close your villa is to other villas as they can shade your pool. Our pool does face north, but as we only have bungalows either side of us and nothing behind - just our large garden it still gets plenty of sun even in October, just partly shaded early and late in the day. Insisting on a south facing pool will cut out 3/4 of the villas.
Sue
Also, when looking for a villa, decide if you want privacy in the pool area. Many villas are literally back-to back, with only the pool screen and a bit of grass between. We always choose one with no other properties overlooking the rear and with privacy hedging between adjacent villas. Think about pool heating, it is an extra cost, but is necessary for many people, especially during the early or late months; personally, we always have it, whatever time of year because we like a comfortable, rather than "refreshing" swim. Do you want a spa as well as a pool? When you short-list your villas, compare the photographs with Google Earth to find the exact property, then you can see its direction, and proximity of neighbours or main roads etc. also its' closeness to shops. parks etc. I agree with previous comments about pool orientation and always select a South facing pool because we often use it in the morning or evening as we are usually out during the day.
Scorpio
We flew into Tampa on BA last Saturday and found the prices were considerably cheaper than flying into Orlando. Tampa is a nice airport (although presently undergoing a face lift) but the immigration queue was much quicker than the 90 minutes we queued at MCO at the end of November. We were completely through and in our car within the hour and it is then an easy drive across on the I4
The charters mostly fly into Sanford, which is a great airport, and premium on many definitely gives the scheduled airlines a run for their money.
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