Florida, from a British Perspective
Most UK visitors fly into Orlando or Miami, spend a week at the parks, and fly home having seen a small slice of the state. This site is for planning that week, and for the bits people wish they'd added: the drive down the Overseas Highway to Key West, a morning on the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, a quieter few days on the Gulf coast around St. Petersburg or Sarasota.
If you haven't booked yet, start with the weather page. Summer is hot, wet and inside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, and that changes what a "cheap" August fortnight really costs. If you have booked, the city pages cover getting around without a car where that's possible and with one where it isn't. The travel tips page covers the paperwork: ESTA, insurance, driving licences and tipping.
Floriday is published by Tabaconda LLC, Florida, USA. We link to official sources for anything that changes, such as entry rules, park fees and tax rates, and we date those facts where we give them.
Why Florida?
Florida has been a staple of British long-haul holidays for decades, helped by direct flights and a climate that is warm for most of the year. The reasons people keep going back are practical:
- Weather. Daytime highs sit in the low 20s °C in winter and the low 30s °C in summer across Central and South Florida. Winter nights in the north of the state can drop close to freezing, so "warm all year" is only true for the southern half.
- Direct flights. Orlando, Miami and Tampa are all served non-stop from the UK, with flying times of roughly nine to ten hours westbound.
- Theme parks. Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando (now with three theme parks, including Epic Universe, which opened in May 2025), SeaWorld, LEGOLAND Florida and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are all within about 90 minutes of each other.
- Beaches. Florida has more coastline than any US state except Alaska, split between the calmer Gulf of Mexico side and the surfier Atlantic side.
- Families. Hotels, restaurants and attractions are set up for children as standard: high chairs, kids' menus and pools are the norm rather than a request.
Value is harder to promise than it used to be. Exchange rates, resort fees and tips all move the real cost, so the FAQ walks through a realistic daily budget and the extras that surprise first-timers.
Quick Facts for UK Travellers
- Flight time: about 9 to 10 hours direct from major UK airports; the return is usually an hour or so shorter with the jet stream behind you.
- Time difference: Florida is on Eastern Time, normally 5 hours behind the UK. For a couple of weeks in March and again around late October to early November the gap is 4 hours, because the US and UK change their clocks on different dates. The western Panhandle, including Pensacola, is on Central Time, one hour further back.
- Currency: US dollar. Card payments work almost everywhere, but carry a little cash for tips.
- Entry: British citizens visiting for up to 90 days normally travel on an ESTA, not a visa. Since 1 January 2026 the official fee is $40.27, according to the US Federal Register. Apply only at esta.cbp.dhs.gov and allow at least 72 hours.
- Driving: you'll almost certainly want a hire car outside Miami Beach. Drive on the right. A full UK photocard licence is accepted by the major hire companies.
- Tipping: 18 to 20% at sit-down restaurants, a dollar or two per drink at a bar, and a few dollars per bag for hotel porters.
- Plugs: US sockets are 120V, Type A/B. Bring a UK-to-US adapter. Most phone and laptop chargers are dual voltage; hair straighteners often are not.
- Drinking age: 21, and bars and supermarkets ask for photo ID regardless of how old you look.
The Major Destinations
Orlando & Central Florida
Orlando is where most UK trips start. Walt Disney World alone covers roughly 25,000 acres, with four theme parks and two water parks, and Universal Orlando sits about 20 minutes' drive north. Around them are SeaWorld, dozens of smaller attractions and a long strip of hotels and restaurants on International Drive.
Beyond the parks there are clear, cold springs within an hour's drive, outlet shopping, airboat rides on the Kissimmee marshes, and easy day trips to Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic side or Tampa Bay on the Gulf. Our Orlando page covers the parks, where to stay and what to do on a rest day.
Miami & South Beach
Miami feels more Latin American than anywhere else in the US. Spanish is heard as often as English, and the food, music and street life reflect Cuban, Venezuelan, Colombian, Haitian and Peruvian communities. South Beach has the Art Deco hotels and the famous lifeguard huts; Little Havana has ventanita coffee windows and the dominoes in Máximo Gómez Park; Wynwood has the murals. See the Miami page.
Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
The Gulf coast around Tampa Bay is calmer and usually cheaper than Miami. It has broad white-sand beaches at Clearwater and St. Pete Beach, the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Tampa's historic Ybor City, and Busch Gardens for rollercoasters. It pairs well with Orlando, which is about 75 minutes away on the I-4. More on the Tampa Bay page.
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is about 30 miles north of Miami, with a long public beach, canals you can tour by water taxi, and Las Olas Boulevard for eating out. Hotels here are often cheaper than on Miami Beach, and Brightline trains link it to Miami in around half an hour. See the Fort Lauderdale page.
The Florida Keys
The Keys are a chain of islands running south-west from the mainland to Key West, joined by the Overseas Highway and its 42 bridges. The drive from Miami to Key West takes around four hours without stops, and it's worth taking longer. Key West is the end of the road: a small, colourful town known for Hemingway's house, sunset at Mallory Square and key lime pie. Read the Florida Keys page before you plan the drive.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is Florida's most populous city and covers more land than any other city in the contiguous United States. It sees far fewer British visitors than the south. It has Atlantic beaches, a brewery scene, the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, and quick access to St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European-founded city in the US. See the Jacksonville page.
The Everglades
The Everglades is a slow, shallow river of sawgrass that drains south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. Alligators, wading birds and, near the coast, manatees and crocodiles are the draw. Airboat rides are the classic experience, but a kayak through the mangroves is quieter and more rewarding. From 2026, non-US residents aged 16 and over pay a $100 surcharge per person to enter Everglades National Park, on top of the normal entrance fee; the Everglades page explains how to plan around it.
Best Time to Visit
Each season has a trade-off:
- November to April. Dry season and peak season. Mostly sunny, 20 to 28°C in the south, with the highest prices over Christmas, February half-term and Easter.
- May to June. Shoulder season. Hotter and more humid, and afternoon storms begin. Prices usually dip in May, then climb again from mid-June when American school holidays start.
- July to September. Very hot (low to mid 30s °C with high humidity) and stormy most afternoons. Often the cheapest flights and hotels, but this is the core of hurricane season, and late August to early October is its busiest stretch.
- October. Halloween events at the parks, lower humidity by the end of the month, and good value outside the UK half-term week.
Getting Around
Hire Car
A car is the default for most Florida trips. Roads are wide and well signed, and after the first half hour driving on the right feels ordinary. Book from the UK before you travel, check whether the quote includes the insurance you need, and compare the hire company's toll package with paying tolls yourself.
Toll Roads
Florida has a lot of toll roads, particularly around Orlando and Miami, and many no longer take cash. Hire cars usually come with a transponder or a plate-billing scheme, charged back to you with a daily fee. Read the terms at the desk: the daily fee sometimes costs more than the tolls on a short trip.
Ride-Sharing
Uber and Lyft work in every city covered here. For a short stay on Miami Beach or in downtown St. Petersburg, rides plus walking can be cheaper than a car once you add overnight parking.
Public Transport
Public transport is patchy compared with UK cities, with a few useful exceptions. Brightline runs trains between Orlando International Airport, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and several stops in between. Miami has Metrorail and the free downtown Metromover. Tampa's TECO Line streetcar connects downtown with Ybor City. Orlando's Lynx buses serve International Drive and the tourist corridor, but journeys to the parks are slow.
Planning Your Trip
The city pages cover each region in depth. The themed pages on beaches, dining, weather, activities and history cut across the whole state. Everything is written for UK readers, so prices come in dollars with the extras spelled out, and US habits that trip up British visitors, from sales tax added at the till to right turns on a red light, are explained where they come up.
floriday.uk is an independent travel guide published by Tabaconda LLC and is not affiliated with any airline, hotel chain, tour operator or tourism board. Travel information was checked at the time of writing; always confirm entry requirements, opening hours and prices with the official source before booking.