One of the less obvious things about going on holiday to Florida is the chance to have a different car! We have all seen the movies and it appears that all cars are rear wheel drive and slide round corners and that they are massive!
It is fair to say that many cars over there are indeed large and heavy and are less than great with regards to fuel efficiency but that said fuel in the US is decidedly cheaper than over hear. I therefore tend to try and get a car that is a bit more fun than we have over here in the UK. When selling a car hire in the UK travel trade staff are told to ask the customer what car they drive now so as to chose something comparable as people often tend to be price interested only as it is just another expense on the holiday.
As well as possibly wanting a car that is similar to the one you have at home you must remember (people often overlook) that when you arrive you are however many people PLUS your luggage, also remember that there may be even more luggage coming home so it is a good idea to go up a size.
Over the years we have bad a few different cars in the states which we have varied depending on budget and purpose. When I went to upstate new York I had a 4×4 (Chevrolet Blazer) which was a lovely car to lump along in, with a big boot it would be ideal for a family wanting a bit more space and not have a boring shaped car.
When it comes to family travelling there is often the option of a standard family sized car or going for a people carrier! The first time I went to Florida is was a package holiday and you got a rental free car (that is another story!!, coming soon) as part of the package, the people on that holiday was 6 adults and a child, the rental free cars that were assigned therefore were 2 standard sized cars. These cars once we got there were Dodge Neon’s, this of course meant nothing to us back then but it was basically a bot like an Astra and so 2 of these was plenty fine for us and worked well, there were no problems with the cars although there was the option to pay a bit more an upgrade if you wanted.
On our most recent trip as a party of 4 adults (2 grandparents) and 1 child we opted to try and keep this one simple and selected a people carrier but as the child was 3 he would need a car seat which we also pre booked. The car worked well for our party size and since we went everywhere as a group there were no problems with regards to only having one car but when we went to the collect the car we were offered a sat nav unit. Now, being the geek that I am I had sat nav on my phone but was not sure how well it would work, when looking for cars the guy behind the desk said he could offer a people carrier that had a built in child seat and so would I have the Sat Nav instead? The option should therefore have been to save some money rather then give me something else but I thought it might be good to try. When we got the van the child seat was not quite what we were expecting as basically a part of the seat folded down and so there was an alternative seat belt unit was behind it for a child to sit on. This is something to think about in the future as it would have saved £70 on the car hire at the time.
For those going for a more entertaining Florida experience then a really fun option is to get a convertible. There are a few different types such as the Ford Mustang or we had a Chrysler Sebring, these are both great cars and actually surprisingly large, the pictures will often show a family of 4 in them and this is do-able but only if you have small kids, also you will often find that when the roof is down the people in the back get quite a buffering. This is a great car to have in Florida and I would always say it is worth a try if your party fit the size. There is nothing quite as nice as driving along in a convertible in the warm weather with the Sun out knowing you are in Florida!!
No matter what it is you think you are going to go for make sure you know what you are booking and that you will fit. Make a point of using a well known brand is a nice safe way of feeling at least comfortable on the condition of the vehicle as the big brands often get cars from new and don’t keep them for long and so should be pretty much like new!
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