Florida FAQ – frequently asked questions about travel to the USA

No trip has ever generated as much interest as our two-week stay in Florida, USA. We received a lot of questions from you during the trip, and you also asked us questions upon our return. We decided to collect these most common questions and answer them in one collective post.

Although we will admit that the entry itself was meant to be written much, much earlier. As you know, we returned from the U.S. in February 2020, but for reasons well known to all of us, we could not get together for this topic earlier. However, there is no need to wait, as we are about to turn one year since returning from Florida

Frequently asked questions: Florida (USA)

We have divided the questions and answers about Florida into categories to make it easy to find what interests you. If you are still missing some information go ahead and write in the comments here or on our Youtube under the video of the same title, which is here: Florida FAQ in the video version.

We invite you to read more.

A trip to Florida

How do you get to Florida? What lines and from what cities?

We flew to Florida on our native PLL LOT. It was a direct connection from Warsaw to Miami, and from that angle it was the best option for us. Of course, if you live in Wroclaw, Gdansk or another Polish city with LOT’s network, you can buy combination tickets with a flight to Warsaw.

Another option is to fly with a connecting flight, for example, in New York, or the options of flying Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich looked interesting. In our case, however, a direct flight from Warsaw won, but we strongly considered just a Lufthansa flight from Lodz via Munich/Frankfurt…. only that they cancelled our connection from Lodz ;-)

How much did you pay for tickets to Miami?

The ticket cost about £2,000 per person in the promotion, round trip, of course. We had checked baggage included in the ticket price, but we were not eligible for free seat reservations. These we had for free in the first row of economy class, thanks to the fact that we flew with a child under 2. Although here LOT didn’t show off, but that’s another story (who reads us longer knows that something is always wrong when we fly LOT ;)).

In total, we paid about $6,000 for round-trip tickets (2x adult, 1x child, 1x infant).

How long was the flight to Miami? And how did you manage with your children? :)

We flew about 11 hours to Miami, the return flight took 8 hours and 40 minutes.

It’s just that on the way back there were no traffic jams ;) And seriously, it is normal and often happens so that on one plane fly much longer than on the other. It depends on the route, but also on the winds, which are much higher at cruising altitudes than down here. Of course, air traffic matters too ;)

And with children? Such questions were also raised. We travel quite a bit and definitely prefer to fly longer and farther than on short flights anymore :) On longer flights there is more space on the plane, there is food, there are tables on which you can spread coloring books, screens with movies and cartoons…. a nap will also happen. It’s also easier to walk around the plane because there’s more space.

We also wrote a bit about it here in an entry with a somewhat lengthy title ;)

By the way, we also recommend you texts:

• First airplane flight with a child,
• Airplane flight “for free,” that is, with a child under 2 years old,
• And traveling with an infant through the eye of a dad.

Car in the US

Where did you rent a car in Florida?

In Miami, we rented a car, as always, through Rental Cars. This time we chose Sixt, as this option suited us best considering the price to size ratio of the car we needed. We took the car at once for the entire 2-week trip. We picked up and dropped off at the airport.

With Sixt itself we have had different experiences in different countries, but here everything was fine.

We also recommend you the post How to rent a car for vacation? It is not the latest, but it is up-to-date all the time.

What kind of car did you have and which one do you recommend?

We had a Hyundai SantaFe – a large car, because we moved a lot with luggage (we often changed hotels). Anyway, as you probably know, in the U.S. on the roads all cars are big ;-)

Everyone has different needs and capabilities. Probably if we were without children we would have taken the Mustang Cabrio at least for a few days :-P

How much did it cost to rent a car in Miami?

For a car for the entire two weeks with airport pickup, we paid PLN 2,300. Based on our other trips, this is a pretty good price. It comes out to a gross of 160 zloty per day.

Included in the price, of course, we had no mileage limit, a full tank and full insurance. In addition, we still paid extra for two kid seats and SunPass, an electronic fee for roads throughout Florida. Is it worth it? It paid off for us, but we’ll write about that another time.

Are there RWF car seats available?

We inquired at several rental stores, but none had a decent RWF in stock. However, we were surprised by the quality of the FWF seats on site – we got Britax, mounted completely differently (a rental employee helped us). The seats were freshly washed, we did not see any damage, abrasions, etc. on the lower.

If you wanted to bring your own seats (because you can, too) check the standards carefully. We had planned to bring along a Nachfolger inflatable seat, but it turned out that it does not have the necessary approvals and certifications for the US market.

Insurance in the US

Did you buy additional insurance for the US?

Yes, we always buy. We always write about it and always recommend it to you. All the more reason for you to keep this in mind, because medical costs in the US are not cheap, and without additional insurance, even a minor illness can take a heavy toll on your pocket.

It is also important to check whether the insurance you buy is also active in the US. Often, for travel to the US, you simply have to buy an additional package or choose a suitable option.

From which companies is insurance worth considering?

As a rule, we take travel insurance from PZU or TU Europa. When selecting the appropriate options during the purchase (specifying the country of the trip), you can be sure that these insurances will work in Florida and throughout the United States.

USA and Florida with child

Disneyland Florida – what age should a child be to benefit the most?

There is no rule :-) We went to Disneyland Shanghai for the first time when Olive was less than 3.5 years old and had an amazing time. As important as age, or even more so, is height, so that the child can enjoy the various attractions. The child’s interests are also important. If he likes and is familiar with Disney characters then he is sure to enjoy it.

Why weren’t you at Universal Studio in Florida?

We have considered for a very long time and we would very much like to, but…. we prefer to come back here as our children learn about the magical world of Harry Potter.

Besides, in terms of time, we would have to spend two weeks in Orlando alone and, in addition, rob a not inconsiderable bank along the way ;)

Was the water in Florida too cold for children?

She was and she wasn’t. It was too cold for adults, and children are some kind of incomprehensible to us sense of cold and will go into any ;) And seriously, the water was cold (although not colder than our Baltic Sea in high season), but we managed to enter a few times. The pools are often heated.

Accommodations in Florida

Where did you spend the night?

Throughout our Florida trip, we stayed in 3 different hotels (in Miami, around Miami and in Sarasota). In addition, we also rented a house in Orlando for a whole week, such a typical, gigantic, American house, normally an American dream;-)

How did you book your accommodation?

Standard. That is, as always ;-) Hotels through Booking, and home through Airbnb.

How much did your accommodations in Florida cost you?

Much too much ;-) Although we did not sleep in the most expensive accommodations, but on a budget, as you know, we do not travel either. More, as he can manage, such a higher mid-range.

An overnight stay in Florida for our family of 4 is a cost of several hundred zlotys. One night came out to an average of 700 zloty. And not at all, as we wrote, we did not take the most expensive ones, but in fact some of the cheaper ones that had good reviews.

But a few tricks can be applied. Roads in the U.S. are very well developed and it is not a problem to live somewhere in the neighborhood rather than in the center. That’s why, for example, on the first night we didn’t stay in Miami but drove away a piece, where accommodations were up to 50% cheaper. Although they were still mega expensive, but you also have to take into account the circumstances, because we flew to Miami on the weekend of the Super Bowl Final, which was just held in Miami :)

Why did you take such a big house?

Anyone who has been following along on our Insta Stories knows that we wanted to stay overnight for a week in a typical American home, on a typical American estate. And these houses are not small ;)

It’s actually hard to find a small apartment for rent, and there are plenty of larger ones for rent anyway, especially in the Orlando area. This one had a good location and good value for money. We had 4 bedrooms, and we only used one ;-)

Spending in Florida

Is it expensive locally?

Expensive is a contractual matter, but as for us it is expensive.

Entries, food, lodging – these were expensive events. Gasoline is cheap, you can eat cheaply in fast food places (in a good promotion even cheaper than in Poland), you can buy brand-name clothes cheaply in outlet stores, and, well, it’s cheaper in big supermarkets.

What clothing outlet stores do you recommend in Florida?

We didn’t expect the clothing outlets in Florida to appeal to us so much. We were warned and they were all right :)

We have only been to two outlet stores in Orlando: International Premium Outlets and Vineland Premium Outlets (both belong to the same chain). It is definitely more profitable to buy premium brands in them, even more so when taking advantage of vouchers and additional discounts (which add up, and more than once the price at checkout has positively surprised us!). We will definitely write a separate entry about it!

How much did the trip cost overall?

We’re afraid to count, but it probably came out to about 17 thousand Polish zlotys for the whole thing. Two weeks, a family of 4, including, of course, a car, admissions to Disneyland parks and other attractions, and many other expenses (insurance too).

Internet in the U.S., which one to choose?

Internet in the States is precisely one of those more expensive things. Strange, isn’t it? :) We, personally, did not expect that the expense of a SIM card with Internet in the US would be so large. And such a card can cost a good few tens of dollars depending on the state and where you buy it.

That’s why we decided to take the reliable XOXO WiFi, which we already had with us in China and Marrakech, among other places, on our trip around the US. Here, too, we were not disappointed. Recommended, very convenient solution :)

How is it with these tips in the US?

We did not often eat in restaurants (because expensive! ;-)), but when we were, it was advisable to leave a tip (and quite a large one, as it is customary to tip about 20% of the total bill).

Summary

We hope that with this short post we have answered your questions, and if not, go ahead and add them in the comments! We will try to answer them, although of course we do not know everything :)

We consider this post as the opening of our coverage and expect more posts in the coming days!