flying into Tampa- is this a mistake?

[sln88]

We are going for 9-10 days, and spending the 1st 2 on the beach/Busch Gardens. SWA had ding fares for Tampa today so I got them

Was this a mistake? Is car rental real expensive out of Tampa? Is the Tampa airport a hassle to fly in/out of?

any tips would be appreciated. I guess I could change them if it a bad idea. I think we are saving about $100 by going to Tampa(unless a good ding comes up for Orlando)

 

[gw_lit]

We are going for 9-10 days, and spending the 1st 2 on the beach/Busch Gardens. SWA had ding fares for Tampa today so I got them

Was this a mistake? Is car rental real expensive out of Tampa? Is the Tampa airport a hassle to fly in/out of?

any tips would be appreciated. I guess I could change them if it a bad idea. I think we are saving about $100 by going to Tampa(unless a good ding comes up for Orlando)

I wouldn't consider it a mistake at all. Car rentals prices at Tampa are comparable to Orlando, I don't think you'll find a major difference. National is offsite in Tampa, but its on your way out of the airport, I rent from there all the time for business.

I actually like the Tampa airport better than Orlando, and in a lot of ways they are set up very similarly. When you get off your plane in Tampa, you'll take a tram/monorail from the Airside (gate area) to the Landside (terminal area). Baggage claim and rental cars can all be found on the Landside.

 

[dkal95]

We flew into Tampa for our list trip and it worked out great! The rental car prices were right around the same amount as MCO's.

 

[tebookie]

Our family has used the Tampa Airport several times. Very easy!
Car rentals have never been a hassle, and prices are very similiar to Orlando.
Just check to see that agencies are "in terminal"

Drive up to Orlando is easy too...275 North to 4 East, and follow signs to Disney World.

We are actually flying into Tampa in 1-1/2 weeks!

 

[taimgxe]

In the past 3 years, we have flown into Tampa 3 times for Spring Break @ Disney. The biggest reason is the price of the airfare as compared to Orlando from Houston. Most of the time, the dates we need (even if we are flexible) have been overpriced for Orlando, whereas, Tampa has been wide open with the sale. As a previous poster said, the airport is very comparable to Orlando. Getting out and into the airport is very smooth. It is very easy to get onto to I-4 and once you are on, it is a straight shot to Disney. It is about 1 hour and 10-15 minutes to Disney. If you figure it takes about 20-30 minutes from Orlando's airport, another 30-45 is not that big of a deal, espcially if you are saving $$$$ flying into Tampa. Another thing to consider, is you can always fly into Tampa and fly out of Orlando. We have done that as well. We use Dollar and Budget for our rentals. The rates are the same as Orlando and there is no extra fee to do a one-way.

Have fun!!!!!

 

[NeedaVacation03]

We flew into Tampa on Sept 1 and rented from Alamo, then we returned the car to the Dolphin. We then flew out of Orlando. It was very easy and enjoyed the drive from Tampa. I do have to admit that we made a small stop at the Hard Rock Casino on the way to Orlando

 

[pbnjrockette]

We are planning on driving to Tampa after renting a car in Disney (Alamo) and are thinking of flying out of Tampa rather than driving back to Orlando. Looks like car rental is the same (no extra drop off fee with Alama anyway).
Does anyone know if the Alamo car rental in Tampa is an easy drop off?

 

[lbarnes]

We flew in and out of Tampa without any problems. We were flying with frequent flier miles, and could get better arrangements through Tampa. We took advantage of being in Tampa and spent a day at Busch Gardens before heading to Orlando. We also rented a car from Alamo. Our flight arrived around 10:00 PM, and it took almost two hours to get the vehicle rented. The lines were atrociously long at Alamo with only 2 people working. Drop-off was much easier.

 

[sln88]

thanks for all the replies! Glad they were positive. One less thing for me to worry about : )