Average temperatures and rainfall in the USA
Temp °C
Rainy Days
January
24
5
February
24
5
March
25
6
April
26
5
May
28
9
June
30
11
July
30
15
August
29
13
September
28
13
October
28
9
November
24
6
December
24
6
 

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Villaseek: Florida, USA
 

The Central Florida area is centred on Orlando, where Disney and most of the other major attractions are to be found. There’s a huge choice of accommodation in the area, within easy reach of the theme parks. The east and west coasts are an hour or two’s drive away, so you can easily take a day trip to the beach.

The Atlantic Coast area running down the east coast from Jacksonville to Miami, takes in Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral, and on down to the Florida Keys (that curious string of islands off the southern tip of Florida). There are some very stylish villas here, though the area is mainly given over to hotel and condominium developments.

The South West Gulf Coast runs from the Everglades National Park, on past Marco Island, Naples, Sanibel and Captiva islands and up to Fort Myers and Port Charlotte. If you really want the best in flawless beaches, the islands of Marco, Sanibel and Captiva are hard to beat, but everywhere along this coast you’ll find wonderful white sand.

The Central Gulf Coast extends from Sarasota up to Tampa, St Petersburg, Clearwater and further north to the increasingly popular New Port Richey/Hudson area. Sarasota is an excellent family resort and Naples has an upmarket, slightly more sophisticated feel. New Port Richey and Hudson offer plenty of accommodation, good beaches and boat hire for fishing, diving or visiting the offshore islands. The northernmost section is known as the Naturecoast, where a visit to the Crystal River to watch the manatees is a must.

In a way it doesn’t matter too much where you stay, because if you have a hire car (and it would be almost unthinkable to take a self-catering holiday in Florida without one) it’s easy to move around. But you don’t want to spend your holiday stuck in a car, so a good compromise is to stay a week in the Orlando area then, just as ‘theme park overload’ starts to set in, move to the coast for a week.

Temperatures in Florida vary between warm and hot all year round. If you go in the peak summer months you’ll certainly appreciate the air conditioning, both in your house and car. A glance at our weather charts will show you why!

Be prepared to spend quite a bit on theme park entry, and take care when arranging car hire. While you may be offered ‘free’ car hire, taxes and insurance can add upwards of £100 a week. Make sure you know what the fully inclusive prices, including all taxes, insurance and extras will come to before signing up for any hire car or fly-drive deal. Perhaps the safest bet is to pre-book fully inclusive car hire from a UK-based operator – you should be able to get a fortnight’s hire of an air-conditioned car from about £350 upwards.