<p>So D and I are planning to go on a "look-see" over her Winter Break in Feb. She is interested in colleges in Melbourne, St. Pete. and Miami.</p>
<p>I am thinking flying into Orlando is somewhat central and we can just do day trips from there? Is that a good idea? Plus we can take a day to visit Sea World, Universal or whatever.</p>
<p>Does anyone have tips, hints or suggestions of places to stay, and flying in and out of there during what I'm sure is high season?</p>
<p>I tried to do a search and came up with nothing, so I thought I'd start a thread.</p>
<p>I agree with you about flying into Orlando. You will get better airfare flying in and out of Orlando or Tampa and Orlando is central. It will take about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to St. Pete from Orlando, Melbourne should only be a couple of hours from Orlando. Miami will be your longest drive as it is so far south. I rarely ever go to Miami because I absolutely hate the place, but some people do like it. The traffic in Miami is insane so please drive carefully.</p>
<p>It’s long drive from Orlando to Miami and back, ~250 miles each way - too long for a day trip. You would spend all day driving and wouldn’t have much time to see the colleges.</p>
<p>Good thoughts, thank you both. Gosh, proud_mom, it doesn’t seem like St. Pete is that far from Orlando. Is the traffic really bad? Should we account for extra time?</p>
<p>I think I will take D to one of the theme parks, which one is worth it for a 17-18 year old?</p>
<p>coueur, I think we will try to stay in Miami for the one night, you are right.</p>
<p>I assume the Miami school you’re visiting is UMiami in Coral Gables? If so, there is a Holiday Inn directly across the street from the school, so you can just leave the car at the hotel(free parking) and walk to campus. Another option is one of the hotels in Coconut Grove, about 10 minutes from UM. It’s a nice area with tons of shops and restaurants in walking distance of all the hotels, and will give you a taste of where the kids hang out. If you don’t stay there you should at least check it out while you’re in town. The Biltmore is a great splurge hotel in Coral Gables, very close to the school. Several area hotels offer a UM reduced rate, ask when you make your reservation. One thing I like to warn people about is that in the Miami area, a significant number of restaurants will automatically add a gratuity to the bill no matter the size of the party, so you always have to check, we have been burned. :(</p>
<p>AnudduhMom: The drive to St. Pete may only be around 2 hours. I used to drive between St. Pete and Orlando a while back because my parents lived in St. Pete and my sister lived in Orlando, but now my parents live in Orlando so I don’t drive it a lot. My brother can drive it in probably an hour and a half, but I wouldn’t recommend his speeds. I-4 can get pretty busy, but it usually moves well unless there is an accident. As for theme parks, you are coming a little early for the big opening of the new Harry Potter area of Universal Studios, but if your daughter plans on attending college in Florida I am sure she will go there sometime. In the meantime I would suggest Islands of Adventure. It has a lot of roller-coasters and a really cool Spiderman ride. If your daughter prefers a quieter pace with fish and whales then Seaworld is a great choice. Disney is always a lot of fun but is definitely more geared for the younger audience. Have her look at the different theme parks online before deciding.</p>
<p>sounds like you’re getting great recommendations about driving times (I live in Orlando) - just wanted to know if you were looking for recommendations of schools to visit too - or perhaps your list is already set?</p>
<p>Two years ago my D and I flew into Tampa and stayed overnight. We visited Eckerd College the next morning, then drove to Orlando and stayed overnight. We saw Rollins College the next morning. Then the very long drive to Miami to see U Miami. We stayed in that awful (old, dirty, outdated) Holiday Inn across the street from campus. After our tour there we made the long drive back to Tampa, stopping at a very nice beach on the way for a swim. We flew back home the next morning.</p>
<p>These hotels are not by any means right next to to the Univ. of Miami campus, but it would be an easy enough drive to campus with a rental car.</p>
<p>Driving in Miami is something of an adventure, but I wouldn’t call it insane. Miami has many immigrants from various Latin American countries, and they not only brought some of their interesting and colorful culture with them but some of their interesting and colorful driving habits as well.</p>
<p>Melbourne is only about 45-60 minutes from Orlando. So that one is a relatively short trip.
From Melbourne to Tampa, it is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize that HI was so bad. It was fine for a night 5 years ago during our first UM visit and I know many UM families try to stay there for the convenience and reasonable rates. Another nearby option is the Dadeland Marriott. There are many options in the area at all different price points, from the Gables Inn motel to the Biltmore and Ritz. It’s not out of the question to stay in South Beach or on Key Biscayne if you want and just make the drive to campus. The Shops at Sunset Place is a nice outdoor mall with restaurants and a 24 screen movie theater, a mile from UM, that the kids frequent and you might want to check out. UM runs a shuttle for students.</p>
<p>^I agree that Dadeland Marriott is another good hotel option. And it’s right across the street from the mall - in case you wanted to eat dinner at Cheesecake Factory or some such place.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone – excellent info, and I will post about our trip after we do it. We are visiting Eckerd, FIT, and UMiami. D does not want to visit any other colleges, as she has, at long last, finished all her apps. (btwn the 3 kids, we’ve visited over 40 colleges, I kid you not).</p>
<p>We have just made a flight reservation (flying into Orlando, flying out of Miami, to avoid driving back to ORL; actually the cost was the same for 2 one-ways), and the flight leaves from Miami airport at 0-dark-30, so I’m thinking that we will stay somewhere near the airport. Is that a good idea?</p>
<p>Great suggestion to see if there are UM discounts at hotels! AnudduhMom is always trying to do everything on the cheap (3 kids’ college tuitions to pay…)</p>
<p>I think I need to google map this. But what are your thoughts?</p>
<p>My son is a junior there, and we’ve been thrilled with this college. It has excellent academics, a faculty that is excellent and cares about students, and Rollins lets students run with their ideas, and it has one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. </p>
<p>It’s in Winter Park, a lovely town that’s a 10 min. drive from Orlando. Students can walk from their campus (which is adjacent to a lake) and enjoy restaurants, shops, etc., yet be in a safe atmosphere.</p>
<p>We learned about it only by accident late in S’s college search. It was love at first sight</p>
<p>I hope you’ll find a way to take a look at it. It also has some very nice merit aid.</p>
<p>I LOLed, but egads! Is it reasonable to stay about 10 ft. away (or more?) from any pond or river? I told my D the bugs are pretty big too – the euphemistically-named “palmetto bugs”?</p>
<p>BTW, we went w/ La Quinta Airport East. It is around $100, which is pretty good for the area, and has a breakfast (although we are leaving probably too early). It is in the flight path, but you know what, you can’t have everything.</p>
<p>Assume that any body of freshwater anywhere in Fla. or southern Ga. has alligators. That’s why people don’t let their dogs swim in lakes there. Sadly, a few years ago, a small child who was trying to pick a water lily to give to his mother was killed by an alligator in Fla.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have questions about Rollins. I am not exaggerating to say that S is getting a better education there than I got at Harvard. He’s also having a far more enjoyable college experience (that I went to Harvard during the height of the protest movement there is one reason, but even if I were at Harvard now, it lacks Rollins’ climate and beauty).</p>
I-4 can get pretty busy, but it usually moves well unless there is an accident. As for theme parks, you are coming a little early for the big opening of the new Harry Potter area of Universal Studios, but if your daughter plans on attending college in Florida I am sure she will go there sometime. In the meantime I would suggest Islands of Adventure. It has a lot of roller-coasters and a really cool Spiderman ride. If your daughter prefers a quieter pace with fish and whales then Seaworld is a great choice. Disney is always a lot of fun but is definitely more geared for the younger audience. Have her look at the different theme parks online before deciding.</p>