BA To Tampa

[Mumof2]

Hi

I am flying BA to Tampa next month. A few questions for any of you who may have done this.....

What is the service like?

How long does it take to clear customs, immigration and collect car hire etc?

If anyone then drove to Orlando from Tampa - approximately how long did this take?

Thanks

 

[maleficent_man]

Can't answer about flying into Tampa but in terms of driving, I know your looking 80 miles from Busch Gardens to I-Drive so add a bit more onto that. I'd have thought you were looking at 2 hours. The best thing to do is get the address of the aiport and where you are going and throw them into www.mapquest.com which will give you directions and time (I believe there may be roadworks towards the Orlando end so bear this in mind as well).

 

[bob1986]

I've travelled the Tampa route a few times with Ba.
Customs and Immigration are usually a bit quicker than Orlando, the airport is much smaller than MCO, not so many shops etc.
We used alamo, its about a 5 minute bus ride to their main site, make sure you keep the map they provide as its a little tricky to find, on the way back. Getting from the car rental to the highway is not as straight foward as mco but its no big deal as the roads are much quieter than mco.
All in all, tampa is a nice medium sized airport.

 

[kristieuk]

We fly to Tampa every year with BA. It's a really good service, although it has become really busy in the last couple of years - very full flights!

They seem to have improved immigration in the last couple of years - it was a lot quicker last November, but try and get a seat on the plane as close to the front as possible. Always helps!

Tampa airport is fine, really small duty free, but then that seems to be deal in all US airports. There is a TGI's, and a Le Meridien (I think it's Le Meridien, may be another big chain, I'll have think) hotel attached with a pool terrace which is great for some last minute relaxation before your flight home.

If you havn't rented a car already, definitely go for one who have a presence in the airport building - Alamo have moved offsite and it is a pain to get to - plus it is then easy to get lost when you come out of the airport. Definitely Hertz, Budget and Dollar have desks, but check which others do - we always use Dollar through Airline Network - can never find cheaper.

It's an easy drive to Orlando, but it is going to take you 2 hours even on a good run.

 

[btab]

We always fly into Tampa instead of Orlando. Find the whole system much easier. Distance to car hire depends who you are hiring with. Alamo is a short courtesy bus away, all others are on site at the airport. Finding your way out of the airport is fairly easy, think it's I275, then you take the I4. How long it will take you depends on where you are staying in Orlando. We stayed near the junction with the I27 (mile marker 55) which took about an hour and 20 minutes from leaving the airport.

Hope it all goes well for you

BTAB

 

[Mumof2]

Thanks for all the help and info.

Our car is already booked via BA and its Alamo - so I guess we're doing the bus run.

L