Need suggestions for airport other than Orlando

[joshua4]

I seem to remember seeing somewhere on this board a suggestion to use a different Florida airport to fly into and then drive to Cape Canaveral -- we are cruising in March and the fare to Orlando is pretty high so I wanted to check different destination cities. Help! Thanks.

[wovenwonder]

Was Melbourne the other one that you were thinking of?
:)

[mmouse37]

Melbourne is actually closer to the terminal but does not have as many flights in and out as Orlando does.

Check out Dave's website....I am pretty sure he discusses the different airport options and travel times.

www.dcltribute.com


MJ

[MollyX]

Melbourne is the next closest after Orlando. Jacksonville (155 miles) and Tampa (125 miles) are possibilities too - about 2-2.5 hour drives.

Molly

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Melbourne (MLB) is the closest airport (41 miles).

www.mlbair.com

Orlando International (MCO) is the second-closest airport (47 miles).

www.orlandoairports.net

Sanford Orlando (SFB) also has limited options. The new Pan Am (no relation to the old Pan Am) has flights to Sanford from Allentown, PA (ABE); Baltimore, MD (BWI); Gary, IN (GYY); and Portsmouth, NH (PSM). (64 miles).

www.flypanam.com
www.orlandosanfordairport.com

[mog]

We flew into Jacksonville. Southwest's rates into there were WAY cheaper. We figured it would be worth driving a little further. It ended up taking us a little bit longer than we thought - the worst part is that drive is SO boring! There really isn't much between Jacksonville and Port Canaveral, so that makes it seem longer. Of course it didn't help that my son had hurt my daughter's arm at the airport and she cried almost the whole drive down - we thought we would have to take her to the emergency room instead of to the cruise! So that might be affecting my memory of the drive a little.:p
If the prices are really that much better, I would consider doing it that way again, although I might try to get in earlier in the day so you don't have to do that drive in the dark!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by mog

the worst part is that drive is SO boring!

You got <b><i>that</i></b> right! We have family in Florida, but when we were DINKS, I refused to drive to see them because the drive was so boring. But now that we can't afford to fly anymore, I just have to grin and bear it.

[mog]

...And you can't even tell where in the world you are, because the exits are not numbered by mile like most other places - they're just in numerical order - it could be one mile until the next one or it could be 40 miles!!
We lived in south Georgia for a while and had family near West Palm Beach...drove down once...that was enough! It was only about 5 or 6 hours but it seemed like it took forever!!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by mog

...And you can't even tell where in the world you are, because the exits are not numbered by mile like most other places - they're just in numerical order - it could be one mile until the next one or it could be 40 miles!

And you don't know how far you are from anything because the signs giving mileage only tell you how many miles to the highway that's at the next exit, and how many miles to Miami. That's useless information unless you're traveling to Miami.

As I'm traveling south on I-95, I want to know how many miles to St Augustine, Daytona Beach, Titusville, Melbourne, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Stuart, etc. Knowing how far to Orlando via I-4 would be nice too.

[Ariel Lover]

Depending on where you are flying from, Southwest often has very good rates into Tampa. I lived in Tampa for most of my life and the drive over to the Port isn't bad. Again, not the most exciting, but FL terrain is pretty boring(very flat). It might be worth the boredom though to save some money.