Guide to Florida travel

Last week Eric and I visited Tampa, FL and Fort Meyers, FL. In case you plan to travel here is some info which will be really helpful! In Tampa, we stayed at the Comfort Inn close to Busch Gardens. While it was a nice hotel, the surrounding area leaves something to be desired, but at least it's close to Busch Gardens. The pictures online are exactly what it looks like inside. The breakfast is pretty decent too. We stayed there half price through my Access membership discount. While we used another discount for the rental car, we found out through some friends you should bid on a rental on Priceline. Don't even bother with other types of discounts. It is the best way to get a good rate. Eric and I paid WAY too much even with a discount for our car for one day. Our friends paid $15 a day for the week!!

In Fort Meyers, we stayed with our friend for two days about 5 minutes from the island. We then decided to try staying on the beach. The best value was the Pierview Hotel on Estero Blvd. We got a room steps away from the beach (not a beach view), for only $75 a night. Don't bother going through some discount website. Make the reservation yourself. They have 2 types of rooms 2 beds for $208 or 1 bed for $75. The rooms are small, but we planned to be on the beach the whole time or out on the town. There is a bar nearby that plays music, but we couldn't hear any outside noise during our stay. The pool is right next to the beach too. It was nice to be right next to the beach (literally) during our stay.

If you want to party, Lani Kai is a good place to visit during the day or night. I wouldn't stay there because you are basically paying for a "Spring Break" room which to me is way over priced. Most of the 'kids' were staying there. But why pay $200 a night when you could just walk a block from the Pierview?

Anyway, our vacation was nice. With a little research you can get pretty good deals on travel. Ask around to find where to look. It took us a while but we also got our plane tickets through CheapoAir.com. We were able to sit together, and get a decent rate with Northwest (Delta) airlines.

Busch Gardens and Seaworld are nice to visit as well. If you like rides I would recommend the Gardens. They are WAY better than 6 Flags St. Louis rides. My favorite roller coaster was the SheiKra. VERY COOL!

In Seaworld we liked the Dolphin Show and the Shamu show. Personally I thought the dophin show was the most impressive!