When you think about taking a Florida travel vacation, Orlando and Miami come to mind as desirable places to visit. The reason for this is that these cities have so much to offer with very exciting theme parks, entertaining nightlife and gorgeous white sand beaches. These two cities by far have become two of Florida’s most visited leisure destinations. But in 2009, Forbes list of the top 25 most visited tourist destinations in America included Orlando and Tampa. (photo courtesy: wikipedia)

Let’s face it, Orlando has a lot to offer with the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom loaded with theme parks for the whole family to enjoy, SeaWorld, Islands of Adventure, and in Tampa Bay you have the magnificent Bush Gardens. These are places that are not only enjoyable to children but adults as well. So when planning a vacation, most families want to visit Orlando and Tampa. If a Florida vacation is in the horizon for you, there are things you can do to make it affordable and here are some tips to get you started.

Book Airfare Early

Unless you are planning to drive to Florida, it is a good idea to book your flights many months in advance of your desired trip date. Like everything else, you have to shop around for the cheapest airfares available especially if you have a large family. Check out Orbitz online as they charge no booking fees and offer price assurance on your purchase. Also check out cheapoair for guaranteed low prices.

Lodging

If you have family members or friends living in Florida and can stay with them that is great. If not, do some research on the Internet and start comparing lodging rates. One of my favorite places to do this is HotelsCombined. It is the world’s leading hotel search engine visited by over 6 million people each month. Their website streamlines the largest number of deals into one simple format and includes prices from prominent online travel agents and hotel chains like Hotels.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com, Travelocity.com, Hilton Hotels, and many more. In essence, HotelsCombined is a search engine that combines all hotel deals into one free and quick search to get you the cheapest hotel rates available.

Ask about Freebies

Lots of hotel chains offer free breakfast and “kids eat free” programs. Take advantage of these freebies and save lots of money on food. If you use the Internet, stay at hotels that offer free Internet access. Some hotels also offer complimentary shuttle service from and to the airport so find out about this and take advantage of it. You can also find out if the hotel you are staying in offers complimentary shuttle service to all the theme parks or wherever you want to go.

Get your theme park tickets Online

You can actually purchase all theme park tickets way ahead of your vacation departure date. What I normally do is go to “The Official Ticket Center” and purchase online. This is Florida’s most recommended discount attraction ticket agency. All of the tickets they sell are discounted and include taxes. There are no hidden fees! This agency has been in business for over 10 years and do offer the lowest prices on tickets to all theme parks.

Membership discount Programs

There is a wealth of membership benefits for AARP and AAA members. Simply show your membership card and you can save on hotel rates, car rentals, sports events, dining and many more. If you contact The Official Ticket Center to buy your theme park tickets, do mention that you belong to AARP or AAA and see if you can get even more discounts.

There you have it! With the tips mentioned above, you should be able to plan a dream Florida vacation that is actually affordable for the whole family. So go ahead, start planning now and pack your bags heading for the Sunshine State of Florida.

Miami Beach, also called South Beach, has become known throughout the world as “America’s Riviera” because of its magnificent Art Deco structures. When you take a stroll on the streets of Miami Beach, you get transported back to the 1930s and 40s. Back then more than 800 Art Deco structures were built around the Miami Beach area. Today, the area reflects bright neon lights, confetti like colors, and sleek aerodynamic lines making the Art Deco the center piece of the beach. (photo courtesy of floridatourguide.com)

A growing number of visitors are attracted to Miami Beach every year and these include lots of New Yorkers, Europeans, investors from South America, yuppies, gays and lesbians, Hasidic Jews and Cuban immigrants. The beauty of these multi cultural groups is that they all mingle as one and get along well. And because of these different cultures, Miami Beach and the greater Miami area have become a scouting field for talent and it is visited frequently by movie producers, celebrities, recording artists and producers.

Because of its beauty, many movies are filmed at Miami Beach each year. Here you will see some local stars like Albita, John Secada and Gloria Estefan and friends of mine also came across Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, Sophia Loren, Whitney Houston and Cameron Diaz who owns the Bambu restaurant in the area. As you walk around the area, you will sometimes see large motor homes on the streets and these are used by models who pose for covers of popular magazines like Cosmopolitan, Glamour, or Vogue. They use these motor homes as changing rooms and a resting place in between photo sessions. (photo courtesy of flickr.com)

Anything goes at Miami Beach. For example, you will find first class hotels in the middle of palm lined streets, back packers usually gather to share information on their trip and interesting places to visit, you may see society lovers meeting to discuss literature or other interesting subjects over a cup of coffee, and lots of models posing for fashion magazines in the middle of Ocean Drive. And you will also find many Latin and Caribbean cuisines hosted by America’s finest chefs at many trendy eateries to delight all visitors. (photo courtesy of flickr.com)

When you plan your next Florida Travel vacation, be sure to set aside some time to visit Miami Beach even if just for a day. Don’t worry about keeping the family busy as the beach is big enough for everyone and there are lots of activities such as volleyball, kite flying and plenty of sunshine for the family to enjoy.