staying in orlando or tampa

[dengirl]

We will be staying in a condo or house rental for six nights in either city. Only going to universal studios for two or two days so not sure what town would be better. Any suggestions?

 

[A Mickeyfan]

First suggestion is to look at a map. You will see that Tampa is clear across the other side of the State. If you are going to some place in Orlando, why not stay in the Orlando area. You say you are going to Universal for 2 days, what do you have planned for the other days. If you want the beach, then I would say to go for Tampa and commute the hour and a half to Universal. If you are just going to relax.. you are better off just staying in Orlando..
I-4 can be a brutal commute depending on the time of day you are traveling...

 

[swilshire]

We have stayed in Orlando and driven to Tampa a couple of days to go to Busch Gardens. It's certainly doable, but it takes about an hour. I'd be more inclined to split the stay between Orlando and one of the beaches close to Tampa. Not sure I'd stay in Tampa unless there was something there I wanted to do.

Sheila

 

[2busy4life]

We are staying between the two of them in Haines City. This way we are close to Orlando and Tampa depending on what we want to do which day.

 

[cjdj4]

I have lived in Tampa for 15 years. While it is only 1-1 1/2 hours to Orlando (depending on where in Orlando you are going), we rarely ever drive over for the day. We prefer to stay there. If I were visiting from out of state, I would definitely stay in Orlando. You can drive over to Busch Gardens for the day. We have had passes to Busch Gardens forever and there is not much more than 1 day worth of things to do there. Do you want to go to Clearwater or St. Pete beach? If not, stay in Orlando and be close to Universal and Disney.

Plus, I love my town, but Tampa has lots of not so great areas with cheap places to stay. I would be VERY careful about picking a location in Tampa. The Busch Gardens area is can be seedy. You can PM me about the places in Tampa you are considering and I will tell you about the area.

 

[cjdj4]

We are staying between the two of them in Haines City. This way we are close to Orlando and Tampa depending on what we want to do which day.

Haines City in really not in between. Its like 15 min to Disney and 45 min. to an hour to Tampa. Its a great place to stay for less than what it costs in Orlando.

 

[dougsmom98]

I have looked for house rentals in the Tampa area and I have never found anything reasonably priced with the same great amenities as the house rentals in Orlando. I feel bad because my mom lives in St. Petersburg and would love for us to stay over that way, but it just isn't as economical.