Southern Dunes Villas - Florida

Southern Dunes Villas – Florida

When I first visited Florida I decided to splash out and opt for a villa (plus we got a good deal on it as part of a package).




The villa we stayed in was located in Southern Dunes golf and country club. Was gorgeous. It is a peaceful and gated community so each time we entered we had to show a car badge which we were given upon our arrival so it was very safe and secure. 


The villa was amazing! It was huge with 3 bedrooms so would be ideal for families of several couples sharing. We had our own private pool so didn’t have to deal with other peoples kids of being constantly splashed/hit by other people carrying on.


There were 2 ensuite toilets and one main bathroom so no queuing or fighting. There was a garage and a drive way so 2 cars could have easily fitted (but we only had the one so we just left it outside on the driveway). In the garage there was a washing machine/tumble dryer so we were able to wash our clothes throughout the holiday until having a mountain to do after we got home.


In the kitchen there was a full size fridge which came in very useful for all the junk and juice we bought. There was also a cooker, microwave etc so a couple of times instead of going out for dinner we just bought stuff in and cooked for ourselves. The location was pretty good but only if driving!! We had a rental car and could not have stayed here without it! It is about a 25minute drive to Disney world (some of the parks take a little longer since they are located apart). There is a Walmart right at the entrance to the golf course so was very convenient for shopping.

Driving times (roughly) from villa to some of the notable attractions

To Universal – 40 mins

To Disney – 25 mins

Sea World – 30 mins

Gatorland – 35 mins

Busch Gardens (Tampa) – 1 hour 15 mins

Oak Ridge Shopping Centre (Cheesecake Factory) – 45 mins

Downtown Disney – 35 mins

Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores – 35 Mins

Tolls

Basically for most places just get on the I-4 E and you can reach the majority of places. It is the fastest but it is a toll road so you will be required to pay at each toll point so if you are going to use this road make sure you have change! We used it from the airport and thankfully from reading online reviews we knew to get change before leaving the airport. And make sure you drive on the RIGHT unlike a certain individual I won’t name for legal reasons :P

Sat Nav

I cannot recommend sat nav heavily enough! We got lost several times and that was with the sat nav. If we hadn’t had it we may still be lost there now. The roads can be very confusing and like here a lot of roads just have names like the I-4E.

Tips for Travelling to America 3 – Rental Cars

Tips for Travelling to America 3 – Rental Cars

America is a great place to visit but there are various things that need to be considered before you travel. This third blog post covers another issue that anyone travelling to America must consider.

Rental Cars

When I visited Florida I was not old enough to drive our rental car, which I did not discover until we turned up to collect the car as the travel agent had neglected to tell us.

On the bright side I got chauffeured about for 2weeks and I didn’t really mind but it could have been a serious issue had my partner not been a couple of years older than me. Different states have different age limits so it’s worth checking this to plan ahead!

We thought because we both held full UK licenses and were both over the legal age limit to drive a car that would be enough. As we discovered it was not. To be honest think my partner preferred it that way as he is a terrible backseat driver, plus the car was humongous.

When we turned up to collect our economy car we were "upgraded" (the guy basically said slip me $20 and I'll take care of you) to the next sized car up from ours so it was huge.

In Florida some companies do not allow under 25s to rent or drive their cars at all. Whilst other companies do allow people ages 21-24 to rent and drive their cars but this does incur an additional surcharge and there can be further conditions that must be met.

Some companies will only allow under 25s to drive certain vehicles e.g. the rental company Budget.

An individual under 25 may only rent an economy, compact, intermediate, standard, full-sized or premium car or an intermediate or standard SUV.

Under 25s are not allowed to drive their luxury car range and they apply an additional $10 a day surcharge for the rental of all other cars.

Other companies offer various young driver packages and deals for under 25s e.g. Alamo. Alamo offer a package were up to 3 drivers age 21-24 can each drive the car with no additional charges on collection. I have included the link below for the website US rent a car.

http://www.usrentacar.co.uk/

This website offers cheap car hire is the USA at over 500 locations including Orlando, California, Florida and Nevada. Bookings can be made and viewed via the site.

This website also gives further information on various things such as the young drivers’ package.

Comparison websites and rental car companies own websites are also very useful for booking a car for your trip and let you look at the information in your own time.