Fly Drive USA

Depart the UK on your chosen scheduled flight to Miami. Upon arrival, independently make your way to your hotel, where you spend the first night of your adventure.

Miami is a fun location with lots of attractions and beautiful beaches, so we have included a full day at the start of your holiday to enjoy its many attractions. Extra days can be included should you wish to stay longer or, you may choose to collect your motorhome today rather than stay in Miami.

Collect your motorhome from the Cruise America depot in Miami. Your base tonight is the recently refurbished Grassy Key RV Park where you’ll need to book in advance to try to secure a site as its extremely popular. Visit: the Dolphin Research Centre on Grassy Key.

Cross the seven mile bridge and several more on the way across Marathon, Big Pine Key and the many others on the way to Key West. Boyd’s Key West Campground is just five miles from the Keys’ southernmost tip and an idyllic spot. Visit: Hemmingway’s favourite Captain Tony’s and Smoky Joe’s pubs and don’t miss seeing the sun go down from Mallory Pie.

There’s only the one road in and out so now head back north bound for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Established in 1963, this was the first undersea park created in the United States. The park, combined with the adjacent Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, encompasses 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. Visit: both Coral Reef and the National Marine Sanctuary.

Leave the Florida Keys and drive into the Everglades National Park. Not a swamp as popularly pictured but technically a vast river slowly flowing southwest. The very popular Flamingo Campground should be pre-booked online using the National Park Service website that also has so much information and pictures of this amazing environment. Visit: the Everglades National park: in your vehicle but also on foot or on the water.

You are headed to Sanibel Island. Periwinkle Park & Campground is a bird lovers delight. You can see many species of exotic and native birds including toucans, macaws and lemurs. Visit: the shelling beaches of Captiva Island and, to end a perfect day, we always head for The Mucky Duck pub.

Back to the mainland and, to gobble up those miles, it’s worth taking the Interstates 75/275 bound for Fort DeSoto Country Park. Its 1,136 acresare made up of five interconnected islands and many sites are directly on the water. You can fish from two free piers and rent boats and bikes. A lot of fun. Visit – nowhere! DeSoto has won the America’s Best Beach award twice in the last five years so just stay and enjoy.

Walt Disney World and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is calling. This is a very popular RV park so you will need to book far in advance. Visit: all the sites of Disney plus all the other Orlando area attractions including Universal Studios.

Head east to the Atlantic and make for world famous Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre, NASA’s launch headquarters. Here you can tour launch areas, see the giant rockets, train in spaceflight simulators and see the moon close up via stunning iMax presentations. If you’re lucky, you might meet a veteran astronaut. They say the best way to experience Florida is a visit to The Palm Beaches and Boca Raton, so head south to the stunning area of Juno each. Visit: the Kennedy Space Center. Make sure to visit the Loggerhead Marinelife Centre during sea turtle nesting season (May-August), they take you on a guided walk to watch the turtles up close.

In the morning drive south to a little haven of luxury and live life as a celebrity strolling through the Worth Avenue shopping district at Palm Beach dubbed ‘Rodeo Drive of the East’ and make time to see some dreamy mansions including Henry Flagler’s, which is now one of the top sightseeing attractions. Your destination is North Coast which has been a favourite among motorhomers and the small boat community for fifty years. The sands of Dania Beach are just minutes away.  Visit: the world famous shopping on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue and enjoy a last night of fun in Fort Lauderdale.

Allow a good two hours to get back to the Cruise America depot, especially if driving in rush hour. Return your motorhome, make your way to the airport and check in for your flight back to the UK.