Driving to Orlando... do I need a Sun pass?

[topmom101]

My husband and I are driving to Orlando from Charlotte, NC this coming Sunday. We are originally from NY and still have our EZ pass on hand. I know that many of the roads in FL have tolls. Can the EZ pass be used or do I need the Sun pass? If the Sun pass is the one we need where can I get one? Or, are there cash lanes? Thanks for any info you can offer.

 

[silentg]

There are some cash lanes. But SunPass can be easier, www.sunpass.com. There are some tolls booths that don’t have cash.
You only need to have $10.00 in your account.
Silentg

 

[Talent312]

It's possible to drive to + thru Orlando without using any toll roads.
Take I-95 & I-4 and use local arteries. It's a bit slower, but not much.
Stay off the Turnpike, East-West, Beechline, 417 & 429 Expressways.
... OR ...
Buy a Sunpass online, load it with $10 and set up automatic $10 refills.
.

 

[paxsarah]

I have always paid cash until this year, when I finally decided to buy an E-pass. I bought E-pass instead of Sunpass because the systems are fully compatible but the E-pass sticker transponder didn't cost anything, just the money I load on it, whereas the Sunpass transponder needed to be purchased. It was nice to be able to breeze through the toll plazas, but if you have cash in your pocket it's not really that inconvenient to just pay cash.

 

[JohnPaul]

In Orlando there are a lot of exits that require you to have coins equalling 75 cents or $1.25 etc. No people, no change, no bills, no credit cards. It can be a pain. (Unless of course you have a pass.)

 

[CanuckTravlr]

We have transponders in our cars for the 407-ETR electronic toll road here in the Toronto area, but unfortunately there is currently no reciprocal agreement with SunPass.

We use the automated cash toll booths to lighten our US change pouch. That's where we keep any US coins from previous visits to the USA or the occasional US coins that show up in our change here in Canada (rare now with the USD at such a premium to the CAD). Where the cash booth is manned, we sometimes break a bill to help keep the change pouch topped up.

Probably more convenient if we had a pass, but we really don't find it usually takes that much longer to divert to the cash booths. Plus we are on vacation, so not often in any great hurry. Quite frankly, it never occurred to us that we could actually apply for a pass without a US address or credit card. Will have to explore it further before our next visit.

 

[Talent312]

I'm going to reverse myself and recommend E-Pass, instead of SunPass.
E-Pass is issued by the Central Florida Expressway Authority and it's free.
It covers SunPass tolls and gives discounts on it's tolls (SunPass doesn't).

You can get it here: https://epass.cfxway.com/epassweb

They also sell "E-Pass Xtra" which is compatible with E-Z Pass, and...
PeachPass, NC QuickPass, RiverLink, I-PASS and FastPass toll systems.
Its pricey: $18.50+$10 activation, but you can manage both it and
E-Z Pass in one account. See: https://tinyurl.com/yb8dux3q
IOW... They've managed to do what SunPass should'a done years ago.
.

 

[topmom101]

Thanks for the replies. My daughter, who recently moved from Miami, still had the sun pass in her glove box. She merely added my plate number to it and I am set to go.