Re: Travel from Tampa

[gme6662]

Does anyone know how the drive is from Tampa Airport. Flights are usually cheaper in and out of TPA than Orlando

 

[lovetoscrap]

I am going to move this to the Transportation Forum.

 

[DVCBELLE]

It is a pretty easy drive. My in-laws live just south of Tampa so we have flown in and out of Tampa so we can add on a couple of days at Disney for trips with them - it is about a 3 hour drive (maybe 2.5) but really easy and all highway!

 

[My3kiddos]

We flew into Tampa last year and it was a very easy drive. We had to drive to Clermont and it only took between and hour to an hour and a half. As long as there are no traffic backups you should have a really easy drive. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[goofy4tink]

DS lives in Tampa now. So, when we visit him, we routinely stay at N. Rocky Point Dr...very close to the airport. When we drive over from WDW, it takes about 70 mins. I would imagine it's going to be the same going to WDW from Tampa. And, Tampa Intl is a wonderful airport. Very easy to get around in. I love flying in and out of there.
Roads are very well marked. And it's pretty much a straight shot between Tampa and WDW.

 

[phorsenuf]

I live in that area. from the Tampa airport it wouldn't be any more than an hour and 15, barring any traffic. Easy ride. I travel over there all the time.

 

[DOOM1001]

It is a pretty easy drive. My in-laws live just south of Tampa so we have flown in and out of Tampa so we can add on a couple of days at Disney for trips with them - it is about a 3 hour drive (maybe 2.5) but really easy and all highway!

It's definitely not 2.5 hours from Tampa to Orlando,more like 1 hour fifteen minutes to an hour and a half.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We flew out of TPA once. Prices and times from MCO were much less desirable. It was so easy. Just over 1 hr as others said.
We had convertible that trip so we put the top down and radio up and enjoyed watching the palm trees go by one last time before going home.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Pembo]

We too have flown into TPA for a WDW vacation. It's great airport and security is simpler than at MCO. The drive is a little over an hour and I love to see the Mickey Wires as you get close.

 

[nytimez]

It's definitely not 2.5 hours from Tampa to Orlando,more like 1 hour fifteen minutes to an hour and a half.

Definitely.

There are nightmare traffic scenarios that can turn it into a 2-3 hour trip, but in most cases it's 70-80 minutes.

 

[Bonnie151]

1 hour 15 minutes if you are me, or 1 hour if you are my husband.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I guess my in-laws live much further south of the Tampa airport than I remembered! Sorry -

 

[LadyBeBop]

I guess my in-laws live much further south of the Tampa airport than I remembered! Sorry -

There are parts of the Tampa Bay area which are a ways from the airport. I remember vacationing in St. Petersburg, and it took at least an hour from the airport to our resort. Of course, this was 30 years ago, but still...

These days, we always drive. Our last trip in February, we actually arrived in Florida a day ahead of schedule (we left early to avoid a snowstorm). So instead of exiting at the Turnpike, we continued on I-75 to Tampa Bay. We have stayed in Tarpon Springs before (just north of Tampa), so we spent the night there again. It took every bit of two hours to get from Tarpon Springs to Orlando. But we took our time....our room still wasn't ready by the time we got to our resort.

We stopped at Plant City, which is right on I-4, for about an hour. There is a winery there if you want some good wine. And of course, you cannot pass up the fruit stands there. Plant City is the strawberry capital, so we bought several quarts of strawberries. Nothing like fresh strawberries...especially at a time of year you can never get them.

As everyone said, the drive from Tampa Airport to Disney is an easy drive (and Disney is before Orlando). However, I hope you have time, either when you arrive at the airport or leave to go home, to spend some time in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/Tarpon Springs area.

 

[phorsenuf]

I love going up to Tarpon Springs. They have the best soaps!

 

[My3kiddos]

However, I hope you have time, either when you arrive at the airport or leave to go home, to spend some time in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater/Tarpon Springs area.

I totally agree! You can't beat Clearwater/St. Pete Beach. We love the Gulf and have always stayed in this area.

 

[gme6662]

Thank you for the assistance. New to the boards and not sure where to post a thread sometimes

 

[gme6662]

That doesn't seem like much of a longer trip than Orlando Airport, especially since the savings on plane tickets can be much less in and out of Tampa compared to Orlando especially during Holiday times.