Tampa Airport to Port opinions?

[candyht]

I'm thinking about flying into Tampa Airport instead of Orlando because of a cheaper airfare. The savings is $260 on 4 tickets. I'm not sure if it's worth the savings and wanted opinions. Is it worth the extra driving time? Our plane would land at 5:15pm, so we would be travelling I-4 in rush hour to get to the Radisson Hotel.

 

[prymsu]

I say go for it. That is a pretty big savings, and i would be doing that if it were me. By the time you get your luggage and rental car, the traffic may be slowed down from rush hour.

 

[MarkRG]

That's definitely worth the extra travel time, just make sure you 're going to have enough time from disembarking to get back to Tampa if you're flying out that day!

 

[Buschfan]

I would do it. The biggest tie-up is is going the opposite way towards the airport with commuters leaving Tampa on the way to Clearwater. You can put that $260 to much better things.

Tampa area commuter

 

[Ironmike]

That is the city that we always use. If you choose the right rental car agency you simply walk downstairs and pick-up your car. Your only traffic problem will be getting out of Tampa, but it is not that hard and also the speed limit I think is 75 when you get outside the city. I don't know if you have ATA or Southwest Airlines near you, but they seem to have great deals. I see from Indy to Tampa is 146 roundtrip. Also look at Southwest's website. When they internet sales they are a real sale. I base my vacations sometimes around when they offer them. I booked our flight over Labor Day at $526.00 for four. Taxes and airport fees are starting to become the greatest expense.

 

[candyht]

Originally posted by Ironmike
That is the city that we always use. If you choose the right rental car agency you simply walk downstairs and pick-up your car. Your only traffic problem will be getting out of Tampa, but it is not that hard and also the speed limit I think is 75 when you get outside the city. I don't know if you have ATA or Southwest Airlines near you, but they seem to have great deals. I see from Indy to Tampa is 146 roundtrip. Also look at Southwest's website. When they internet sales they are a real sale. I base my vacations sometimes around when they offer them. I booked our flight over Labor Day at $526.00 for four. Taxes and airport fees are starting to become the greatest expense.

We are flying Southwest. We have decided to fly into Tampa on the 18th and fly out of Orlando on the 26th. We are going to spend a few days at Disney and Universal after the cruise. The costs for the airfare are the same if we flew out of Orlando instead of Tampa on the 26th. The only difference is that I have to book the flights as one-ways.

Is Avis inside the Tampa terminal? We are renting a car for a one-way rental to the Port.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by candyht

Is Avis inside the Tampa terminal?

According to the Tampa Airport web site (www.tampaairport.com), yes Avis is "on airport".

 

[MFan]

Does anyone know how long is the drive from Tampa airport to the port? We may fly there if the price is right and the added driving time is reasonable.

 

[Ironmike]

I am not sure how long it is to Port Canaveral, but it is about 1.75 hours to Orlando Airport depending on your speed. Suggest using Mapquest to get an estimate.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by MFan

How long is the drive from Tampa airport to the port?

According to MapBlast...

MIA to the port... 3:19 for 217 miles.
FLL to the port... 3:01 for 197 miles.
JAX to the port... 2:41 for 176 miles.
PBI to the port... 2:17 for 150 miles.
<b><i>TPA to the port... 2:16 for 137 miles.</i></b>
DAB to the port... 1:06 for 72 miles.
SFB to the port... 0:59 for 58 miles.
MCO to the port... 0:49 for 47 miles.
MLB to the port... 0:42 for 30 miles.

 

[disney6]

You might want to check the prices for Jacksonville also. We really saved ALOT by flying to Jax. The drive time (according to Dave's research) is only about 30 minutes more than Tampa. We used to same codes for Avis that have been going around and we got the same price for the mini-van that you get in Orlando. We are flying Southwest from Buffalo for $125 round trip (Oct. 18-26). Just a thought.......