HELP..Car Hire & drive from New York to Orlando

[AngelaB]

Hi

We are not going until Feb 2015 BUT as I like to organise myself sooo im trying to plan ahead and I need some help with Car Hire and travel from New York to Orlando.

So here goes... we want to fly to New York and are planning to stay at a hotel in Manhattan for 4 nights then pick up a hire car and start to drive down to Florida and probably having 3 or 4 overnight stays along the way. I have tried getting quotes just to get an idea of the cost of the car hire and put in next Feb dates and finding it all really confusing, for 1 we ideally wanted a mid size 4x4 and some car hire companies don't seem to have them available from their depots and I also wondered if they did a drop off service at the hotel and cant find that out either. I have tried getting a quote from the link for car hire on this site and the results say not available? Ideally I would like to book through here as I have in the past when we travelled to orlando and had no probs whatsoever, it was a great service.

Also, wondered if anyone has done this drive and stayed at hotels along the way? We have been told to use the I-95 route?...



If anyone one can give help or advice id really really appreciate it.....

Thanks in advance

Angela

[Tony G]

First things first, I'd strongly recommend using the link at the top of the page. ROger and his team are exceptional and not only provide great rates, but also an easy to understand quote that includes everything you'll need.

What you're looking for is a one-way rental. Most car rental companies will have depots/branches/sites all over USA and you can choose to collect at one and drop-off at a different one.

I wouldn't stress too much about getting the vehicle delivered to your hotel. It's no real trouble to get a cab/bus/train to the rental location and it also means that you may have the option of picking your won car out of the selection on site (book with Alamo if you'd like to do this). Also, driving the vehicle from the rental site back to the hotel gives you a good chance to make sure everything is is working order before your long trip and familiarise yourself with the vehicle in relatively familiar surroundings.

I'd use a mixture of Google maps and a hotel booking site like Expedia to find hotels along the way. Plot your route on Google Maps and try to break it up into manageable drives. At each stop, search for a hotel on Expedia, complete with guest reviews so you can usually tell a good one from a bad one.

It sounds like a great adventure and I envy you doing it!

[shockey]

We've driven between New York and Florida a few times, most recently last month. There's plenty to see on the way. The I95 is fine if you just want to do the trip in the quickest time possible (2 days), but it would be a shame to miss some of the places just off the route. Some suggestions:
- Washington - there's so much to see, just pick out one or two sights that interest you
- Jamestown, Virginia, if you're interested in early American history
- Charleston, South Carolina - take a carriage ride round the old colonial streets, or a boat trip out to Fort Sumter
- Savannah, Georgia

We did one trip via the Outer Banks on the coast of North Carolina, past Cape Hatteras then using ferries to get to Ocracoke. That was a fascinating trip, but 4 or 5 days would be rushing it, and February would not be the ideal time for the beaches.

For hotels, you could just wing it. There are welcome centers on the interstate at each state line, where you can gets lots of info about hotels in the state you are entering. There should be plenty of room in February, and good deals to be had as a "walk-in". Or you could book online just a day ahead - most hotels have wifi, usually free, these days. That way you are not tied down if the weather turns bad or you want to stay somewhere a bit longer. But if you plan to stay the night in a larger place like Washington or Savannah it would be a good idea to book further ahead.

Car hire in New York City (like most things there) is more expensive than most places, and you could look at whether renting in Newark, New Jersey would be a better option.

[steph_goodrum]

You also have to check one way drop off fees as they can somteimes be extortionate. We priced one up and it was nearly $600 just for the drop off fee.

[Mo Green]

We drove down from New York to Florida using a car hired from this site without any problems. We picked up our car from JFK Airport where it was only a 30 minute drive to the I95 south. We spent a week driving down visiting the following places on the way:-

Lancaster County - we stayed on an Amish Farm and ate at a restaurant where we were the only non-Amish
Gettysburg - Very atmospheric and worth getting a CD for a tour of the battlefields
Sky Line Drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains - we stayed in a fantastic cabin but unfortunately the pass will probably be closed by snow in February
Williamsburg - we spent 2 nights with B&B in an old colonial style house
Charleston - beautiful old houses and well worth taking a horse and carriage ride. At Sham Creek there are several good fish restaurants where the trawlers bring in their catch

We pre-booked overnight stays at the Amish Farm, Blue Ridge Mountains and Williamsburg. We wished we had booked something in Charleston as we left it until late afternoon before looking for anything and ended up in a rather seedy looking area. Otherwise it was quite easy to find somewhere to stay.

Enjoy your trip

Mo

[Katys Grandad]

Might be worth checking what the weather is likely to be around the dates of your intended trip. The North East states frequently experience pretty extreme cold and snow in February and I know from experience that some of the more scenic routes at higher altitudes might not be an option.

[Jill]

Might be worth checking what the weather is likely to be around the dates of your intended trip. The North East states frequently experience pretty extreme cold and snow in February and I know from experience that some of the more scenic routes at higher altitudes might not be an portion.

Very sensible advice especially for the February period. An example being we spent a week exploring Williamsburg and surrounding areas in September but in February, looking at the weather graphs, the average temp. ranges from 32F to 51F which could make wandering around battle fields etc a miserable experience

[Mo Green]

Even in April I needed a warm coat and boots until we reached Williamsburg.

[DisneyFunVilla]

Hi

We are not going until Feb 2015 BUT as I like to organise myself sooo im trying to plan ahead and I need some help with Car Hire and travel from New York to Orlando.

So here goes... we want to fly to New York and are planning to stay at a hotel in Manhattan for 4 nights then pick up a hire car and start to drive down to Florida and probably having 3 or 4 overnight stays along the way. I have tried getting quotes just to get an idea of the cost of the car hire and put in next Feb dates and finding it all really confusing, for 1 we ideally wanted a mid size 4x4 and some car hire companies don't seem to have them available from their depots and I also wondered if they did a drop off service at the hotel and cant find that out either. I have tried getting a quote from the link for car hire on this site and the results say not available? Ideally I would like to book through here as I have in the past when we travelled to orlando and had no probs whatsoever, it was a great service.

Also, wondered if anyone has done this drive and stayed at hotels along the way? We have been told to use the I-95 route?...



If anyone one can give help or advice id really really appreciate it.....

Thanks in advance

Angela

I-95 will be your fastest option, pending accidents. It's a long drive with lots of trees to see. If you want something more scenic, including small towns and farms, you can take Route 1. It runs parallel to I-95 in a general sense, from Maine all the way down to Key West. Unlike I-95, though, you will find lots of traffic lights. Find more details about US Route 1 here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_1.

[ravtino]

We have done this as well, we went from New York by bus to Washington which was easy and excellent, spent a couple of days there, picked the car up at the airport and drove through Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, through both Carolina's, Savannah, then down to Orlando, we took a while to do it and stayed off a couple of days in lots of places had a great time. We asked for the exact cost of a one way drop off, booked from this site.