Cheaper ways to go to Florida (winter from New England)) when we retire.

[Bailey#1]

We will be going to Florida at the end of January. I was looking up rental cars at MCO,
I was also wondering how much it would cost to rent a car at Albany NY airport and return it to MCO.

This is what I found out!

I can rent a (Full) car at Albany for 2 weeks and return it to MCO for a cost of $158.00
If I rent a car at MCO for 1 week and return it at MCO the cost is $223.00.
We won't have to pay for airfair for 1 way down there.

I know people will say but you will spend more in food, stays etc. and I agree unless you are planning to use your own car to get down there, which we probably will do once we retire. One of the things that concerned me about driving to Florida is driving back.

What this means to us when we retire. We can rent a car from Albany slowly drive down to Florida with multiple stops along the way and not worry so much if our car breaks down.

While we won't be doing this on this trip, it is something for us to think about in the future. I figured I'll pass this on.

 

[Panina]

We will be going to Florida at the end of January. I was looking up rental cars at MCO,
I was also wondering how much it would cost to rent a car at Albany NY airport and return it to MCO.

This is what I found out!

I can rent a (Full) car at Albany for 2 weeks and return it to MCO for a cost of $158.00
If I rent a car at MCO for 1 week and return it at MCO the cost is $223.00.
We won't have to pay for airfair for 1 way down there.

I know people will say but you will spend more in food, stays etc. and I agree unless you are planning to use your own car to get down there, which we probably will do once we retire. One of the things that concerned me about driving to Florida is driving back.

What this means to us when we retire. We can rent a car from Albany slowly drive down to Florida with multiple stops along the way and not worry so much if our car breaks down.

While we won't be doing this on this trip, it is something for us to think about in the future. I figured I'll pass this on.

When you retire and drive down, consider a week in Hilton Head SC. Most of the time weather is much warmer then New England. Many snowbirds go to Hilton Head for the winter.

 

[rapmarks]

I think it is funny that a couple who retired to pinehurst has rented in so Florida for the winter, I don't get the move to the middle if you aren't staying there.
Someone rented a car late in the season to drive to Michigan from fort Myers for $50 one year.

 

[Nickfromct]

Every winter car rental companies need cars in Florida and earlier in the season were renting cars for as little as $5 per day for one way rentals from the Northeast to Florida.

 

[WinniWoman]

You live in Vermont but are close to the Albany airport? What happens when you get down to Florida? Will you have a car to use for the winter? Why are you concerned about driving back from Florida but not driving down?

Not understanding...And what is MCO?

My brother drives down to Fla. from NY with his own car. My aunt and uncle used to drive to Washington,DC and take the auto train down.

I personally would never drive that far- retired or not. And this is coming from a person who hates to fly, but also hates really long driving trips (over 8 hours) even more. Then again, my husband and I do not like the idea of leaving our home during the winter months either.

 

[Bailey#1]

You live in Vermont but are close to the Albany airport? What happens when you get down to Florida? Will you have a car to use for the winter? Why are you concerned about driving back from Florida but not driving down?

Not understanding...And what is MCO?

My brother drives down to Fla. from NY with his own car. My aunt and uncle used to drive to Washington,DC and take the auto train down.

I personally would never drive that far- retired or not. And this is coming from a person who hates to fly, but also hates really long driving trips (over 8 hours) even more. Then again, my husband and I do not like the idea of leaving our home during the winter months either.

When we retire we would travel 3 or so weeks at a time. We would drive to Florida return the car to the orlando airport (MCO). Then fly back! We would do stops along the way for example DC, Charleston, Hilton Head. We don't mind driving I put on 40,000 miles a year. By renting a car one way we wouldn't have to drive back. The fact that it is cheaper to rent a car from Albany for two weeks and return it in Florida, then to rent a car in Florida for 1 week amazes me!

 

[WinniWoman]

When we retire we would travel 3 or so weeks at a time. We would drive to Florida return the car to the orlando airport (MCO). Then fly back! We would do stops along the way for example DC, Charleston, Hilton Head. We don't mind driving I put on 40,000 miles a year. By renting a car one way we wouldn't have to drive back. The fact that it is cheaper to rent a car from Albany for two weeks and return it in Florida, then to rent a car in Florida for 1 week amazes me!

Oh- I get it now. That is amazing! Great idea. So- you would drive and leave your car at Albany airport and pay for the parking or get a ride to Albany airport?

We drive a lot also with working/commuting- but look forward to the day we don't have to drive so much. Maybe we will think differently when and if we ever can retire, but I doubt it because we will be older by then.

 

[WinniWoman]

I think it is funny that a couple who retired to pinehurst has rented in so Florida for the winter, I don't get the move to the middle if you aren't staying there.
Someone rented a car late in the season to drive to Michigan from fort Myers for $50 one year.

My brother just sold his condo on Palm Coast to a couple who live in the Villages who are using it as a second home! LOL! They said the Villages gets too crowded during the prime season and they need some peace and quiet! Ha! Ha!

 

[Bailey#1]

Oh- I get it now. That is amazing! Great idea. So- you would drive and leave your car at Albany airport and pay for the parking or get a ride to Albany airport?

We drive a lot also with working/commuting- but look forward to the day we don't have to drive so much. Maybe we will think differently when and if we ever can retire, but I doubt it because we will be older by then.

I think when we retire we will feel much younger, at least for several years anyway! Right now, work gets in the way, with commuting and work hours, who has time!

PS, it seems like we are 20 years younger when we are on vacation!

 

[rapmarks]

My brother just sold his condo on Palm Coast to a couple who live in the Villages who are using it as a second home! LOL! They said the Villages gets too crowded during the prime season and they need some peace and quiet! Ha! Ha!

Wow, that is a first

 

[silentg]

Wow, that is a first

Not as odd as you might think. Folks up north have Homes in the city and own beach places as second Home.The Villages is not near the Beach, so good for them to buy a second place. Palm Coast is near the Atlantic Ocean.
Silentg

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I think when we retire we will feel much younger, at least for several years anyway! Right now, work gets in the way, with commuting and work hours, who has time!

PS, it seems like we are 20 years younger when we are on vacation!

I’m hoping I feel younger when I retire in 9 years. I’m so tired every day after working 9-10 hour days. I love sleeping in on the weekends

 

[rapmarks]

Not as odd as you might think. Folks up north have Homes in the city and own beach places as second Home.The Villages is not near the Beach, so good for them to buy a second place. Palm Coast is near the Atlantic Ocean.
Silentg

We keep our two homes far apart.

 

[Brett]

When we retire we would travel 3 or so weeks at a time. We would drive to Florida return the car to the orlando airport (MCO). Then fly back! We would do stops along the way for example DC, Charleston, Hilton Head. We don't mind driving I put on 40,000 miles a year. By renting a car one way we wouldn't have to drive back. The fact that it is cheaper to rent a car from Albany for two weeks and return it in Florida, then to rent a car in Florida for 1 week amazes me!

looks like a good strategy. I go to Florida in February every year, flying and sometimes driving. I'll have to check the one-way rental rates

 

[rapmarks]

Not as odd as you might think. Folks up north have Homes in the city and own beach places as second Home.The Villages is not near the Beach, so good for them to buy a second place. Palm Coast is near the Atlantic Ocean.
Silentg

And the average temperature in January is 55 degrees. Makes more sense to me to have it for summers when it gets really hot in the villages.

 

[Bailey#1]

looks like a good strategy. I go to Florida in February every year, flying and sometimes driving. I'll have to check the one-way rental rates

It seems like it is only a January thing. You can rent the last day of January and it will give you the disc rates for Feb. I checked and a 4 week rental from ALB to MCO is only 339.99.

 

[silentg]

We keep our two homes far apart.

We only have one Home, but many timeshares to travel to, like to go in spring and summer.

 

[bogey21]

Every winter car rental companies need cars in Florida and earlier in the season were renting cars for as little as $5 per day for one way rentals from the Northeast to Florida.

In my younger days (a long time ago) there were companies where I could sign up to drive someone else's car to Florida. These were people who would spend the Winter there. They would fly of take the train but wanted their car while they were in Florida. These companies would also find me a car to drive back. A couple of times these were cars that had been repossessed. The gas was paid for by the car's owner. I never had a problem getting a car.

George

 

[moonstone]

In my younger days (a long time ago) there were companies where I could sign up to drive someone else's car to Florida. These were people who would spend the Winter there. They would fly of take the train but wanted their car while they were in Florida. These companies would also find me a car to drive back. A couple of times these were cars that had been repossessed. The gas was paid for by the car's owner. I never had a problem getting a car.

George

We did that twice in our BC (before children) days. We liked to go to Florida in April, a time when snowbirds wanted their cars to return north. The company (out of Toronto) that we used also paid for the drivers airfare down to FL. We were able to get another cheap airfare for me on the same flight. We found a cheap rental car to use while we were in FL and then dropped it off after picking up the car to drive home. We were never allowed to use (& not supposed to open) the trunk which had the owners belongings in it, but our bags fit in the back seat with no problem.

The last time we did it we got a very new loaded Cadilac. What a nice ride home! When we got to Toronto we went to our home and I picked up our car then followed DH to the car drop off address. They were very inexpensive trips to Florida for a young couple.

~Diane