A trip in March or April to Florida.

Mainly for amusement parks, but see the Everglades and go Snorkeling from Key Largo as well.

Short Summary.

Day 1	Leave Illinois and fly to Florida.	Orlando, FL
Day 2	Drive south to the Everglades.	Florida City, FL
Day 3	Everglades in the morning, snorkeling/beach afternoon.	Key Largo, FL
Day 4	Snorkeling out of Key Largo in the morning, then drive to Tampa Bay.	Tampa Bay, FL
Day 5	Busch Garden	Orlando, FL
Day 6	Day at Disney, Morning at Magic Kingdom, Evening at Epcot.	Orlando, FL
Day 7	Day at Disney, Morning at Animal Kingdom, Evening at Hollywood Studios	Orlando, FL
Day 8	Day at Universal, Morning at Islands of Adventure, Evening at Universal Studios Florida	Orlando, FL
Day 9	Day at Universal, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.	Orlando, FL
Day 10	Day at Disney parks.	Orlando, FL
Day 11	Day at Universal parks.	Orlando, FL
Day 12	Fly back to central Illinois from Orlando.	Home

See our list of trips.

Travel Resources Page

Full Description

Day 1	Thursday	Depart from Springfield airport (SPL) at 6:21 p.m. on United flight 5472 Arrive in Chicago at 7:19 p.m. Depart Chicago (ORD) at 8:03 p.m. on United flight 1444 to Orlando Arrive in Orlando at 11:39 p.m. Pick up rental car between 12:00 a.m. Friday and 12:30 a.m. Friday. Drive to hotel (near airport) Stay for the night at Hampton Inn Orlando (reviews) or Red Roof Inn Orlando South (reviews)	Modest hotel near the Orlando Airport
Day 2	Friday	You arrived late, so sleep in to 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. Depart hotel and Orlando at about 10:00 a.m. Arrive at Sawgrass Mills shopping mall in Ft Lauderdale around 1:15 p.m. Just a short time there for lunch. Leave by 2:30 p.m. Arrive in the Everglades National Park Ernest Coe Visitor Center at 3:45 p.m. Walk on the nature trail near the visitor center and see the exhibits. Probably you have time to go to Royal Palm and walk the Anhinga Trail and Gumbo Limbo Trail before dark. Around 5:30 p.m. leave the National Park and drive to Homestead for the night. Probably have dinner at Shiver's BBQ (reviews). Spend the night at the Everglades International Hostel (reviews) or the Florida City Travelodge (reviews) or the Hotel Redland (reviews).	Stay in Homestead or Florida City, near the Everglades.
Day 3	Saturday	Go to Knaus Berry Farm (reviews) around 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. for breakfast. After breakfast, go back into the Everglades and take some walks. Spend the morning in places like Pinelands, Pa-hay-okee Overlook, Mahogany Hammock. Sometime between noon and 1:00 leave the Everglades, stopping either in Homestead for lunch or else waiting until you reach Key Largo (which is about 90 minutes’ drive from the Everglades National Park entrance). After lunch, check into a hotel, and perhaps go swimming or snorkeling on your own. From March through October you can do a sunset snorkel and sail tour. It might be best to just go out on your own to Harry Harris Park or John Pennekamp Coral reef State Park. Possible hotels include the Island Bay Resort (reviews), the Key West Inn (reviews),	Stay in Key Largo.
Day 4	Sunday	Take a morning snorkeling tour. You can go with Keys Diver (reviews) or Sundiver snorkeling (reviews) or Quiescence (reviews). Most of the snorkeling trips depart at 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. You will get back around 1:00 p.m. Around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. drive north and take US-41 / Florida-90 to drive through the northern part of the Everglades toward Naples, Florida. Stop at the Shark Valley Visitor Center, take a walk through a Cypress forest at Kirby Storter Roadside Park, and see if there are any Manatees at Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center. You should get past Naples and turn left at Bonita Beach Road (County Hwy 865) to go to Barefoot Beach State Preserve, where you can enjoy nature and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico. After the sun sets, you just get on I-75 and go north to Tampa Bay. Stopping for dinner along the way for an hour, you should be able to get to a hotel by 9:00 p.m. Stay at La Quinta Inn & Suites (reviews) or Wingate by Wyndham Tampa (reviews)	Brandon, Florida (near Tampa Bay)
Day 5	Monday	In the morning go to Bush Gardens. Spend the day at Busch Gardens. If you have no children under 21, then be certain to do the Serengeti Night Safari. If you do have children, then do the Serengeti Safari Tour. When you are done at Bush Gardens, drive to Orlando (just a little over an hour away). Check into Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista (reviews) or the Hawthorn Suites Lake Buena Vista (reviews) or the Clarion Suites Maingate (reviews).	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 6	Tuesday	First of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Probably start with a morning at the Magic Kingdom, then take a rest back at the hotel for lunch and a swim or nap, then back to Epcot for the afternoon and evening.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 7	Wednesday	Second of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Probably do Disney parks again, starting with Animal Kingdom, then a break at mid-day, and then back to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon and evening.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 8	Thursday	Third of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Probably use this day to check out Islands of Adventure in the morning, then take a break for lunch and a nap or swim around mid-day, and go to Universal Studios in the afternoon and evening.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 9	Friday	Fourth of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Perhaps finish the third day at Disney, going to whichever parks had more things you wanted to see in the morning and afternoon.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 10	Saturday	Fifth of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Another Day at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. As this is a weekend, it might get a little crowded. You still have a third day to come back.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 11	Sunday	Sixth of six days at Orlando Theme Parks. Use a three-day Disney Park Hopper ticket to see the Disney Parks, or a two day pass (with a third free day) at the Islands of Adventure and Universal Orlando Resort parks. Either spend the day on the Disney properties or the Universal properties. Final day at the Universal Theme Parks.	Lake Buena Vista, FL
Day 12	Monday	Fly back to Springfield. Leave hotel at about 9:00 a.m. Turn in rental car at airport. Flight American 411 to Dallas leaves at 12:00 p.m. Arrive in Dallas at 1:55 p.m. Fly out of Dallas on American Eagle 3317 at 2:50 p.m. Arrive back in Springfield at 4:35 p.m.	Home

Cost analysis

Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2013 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income)
(Thus 1,080 Myrfti is 10.8% of a median year-round full-time American income, while 230 Myrfti is 2.3% of median year-round full-time income. To convert costs into current dollars, simply multiply the costs in the far right column times the current median year-round full-time American income, and you'll have an idea of current costs. Otherwise, use a Consumer Price Inflation adjustment to 2011 with the dollar figures. The resulting cost estimates should be similar, at least if travel costs and incomes have matched inflation).
The two-person prices assume an adult couple sharing a bed, and the four-person costs assume a family of four with two children aged between 12 and 17.
I used $49,500 as the median year-round full-time income as a match to the 2011 prices. That should be fairly close to the right number.

Days 1-12	Flight and rental car reserved as a package.	2 persons $1,635 4 persons $2,783	2 persons 330 4 persons 562
Days 1-12	Gas for the rental car (assuming gas mileage of about 23 mpg)	2 persons $130 4 persons $130	2 persons 26 4 persons 26
Days 1-12	Lodging Costs Staying at the most expensive of the options given in the description (although the hotels are all modest) Staying at the least expensive of the options given.	least expensive 2 persons $890 4 persons $964 Most expensive 2 persons $1,309 4 persons $1,376	Least Expensive: 2 persons 180 Myrfti 4 persons 195 Myrfti Most Expensive: 2 persons 265 Myrfti 4 persons 280 Myrfti
Days 1-12	Food for 11 days eating mostly in restaurants The costs of meals is reduced by the costs of food during the day at Busch Garden being already included in the ticket price, and the breakfasts that are included with most hotel stays, but this reduction in cost is balanced by the much higher costs for food in the Disney and Universal Studios amusement parks At the low end, the meal budget is $25.00 per person per day (5.05 Myrfti per day per person). At the high end, the meal budget is about $36.50 per person per day (7.37 Myrfti per day per person).	Higher costs: 2 persons $875 4 persons $1,750 Lower costs: 2 persons $605 4 persons $1,205	Higher costs: 2 persons 177 Myrfti 4 persons 353 Myrfti Lower costs: 2 persons 122 Myrfti 4 persons 144 Myrfti
Days 2-11	Costs for admissions and fees. Admission to Everglades National Park, admission to state park or beach in Key Largo, going on an organized snorkeling tour the afternoon of the 3rd day and morning of the 4th day, a one-day pass at Busch Gardens (includes food), a Serengeti Tour at Busch Gardens (if nobody in your group is under 21 you can pay more and get a night Serengeti tour, but I priced the daytime tour), a three-day park-hopper ticket for the Disney parks, and a ticket for three days (actually a two-day ticket with the third day “free”) for Universal Studios Orlando and Islands of Adventure.	2 persons $1,220 4 persons $2,408	2 persons 246 Myrfti 4 persons 487 Myrfti
Total	Total Costs For four persons, this trip would cost between 19.5% and 21.5% of the median year-round full-time income. For two persons the costs would be between 11.4% and 13.1%.	Higher costs (better hotels and higher food budget): 2 persons $5,165 4 persons $8,445 Lowest costs (less expensive hotels and 31% reduction in food budget): 2 persons $4,475 4 persons $7,490 Average costs (half-way between most expensive and least expensive): 2 persons $4,820 4 persons $7,965	Highest costs: 2 persons 1,314 Myrfti 4 persons 2,148 Myrfti Lowest costs: 2 persons 1,138 Myrfti 4 persons 1,905 Myrfti Average costs: 2 persons 1,226 Myrfti 4 persons 2,027 Myrfti
	To afford a vacation like this every two years, a typical family budget for a family earning 120% of the median year-round full-time income ($59,400 would be 120% of about the median income of $49,500 in 2013), might allocate money in this way each month: Housing and utilities: 26.7% ($1,321 per month) All taxes: 16% ($792 per month) Car expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance, purchasing): 13% ($643.50 per month) Groceries, food, and household supplies: 11% ($544.50 per month) Savings for a trip like this every two years: 7.00% ($352 per month) Savings for retirement: 6% ($297 per month) Savings for children's college expenses: 5% ($247.50 per month) Health insurance and health care expenses: 5% ($247.50 per month) Savings for a smaller trip every other year: 2.25% ($111.40 per month) [for example, a vacation for four costing 21.5% of the median year round full-time income every even-numbered year, and a vacation costing 5.4% of the median year-round full-time income every odd-numbered year] Charitable giving: 2.2% ($109 per month) Miscellaneous other expenses: 1.8% ($89 per month) Clothing: 1.8% ($89 per month) Other entertainment, Internet, cable television, movies, etc.: 2.25% ($111.40 per month)

Map of trip:

A trip in March or April to Florida.

Short Summary.