Spending money for a week in Florida/Miami

[nickdrinkwater]

Hi all

Heading over to the States with the girlfriend for a surprise holiday at the end of February, with her hopefully returning as my fiancée. We are flying into Miami, hiring a car and then stopping 5 nights in various places on the Florida Keys before dropping off the car again and stopping at Miami Beach for 2 nights. All the above is paid for, but I'm wondering how much money to take with us for the 8 days, and whether to take it in cash, on a prepaid credit card thing, or both or neither.

I am thinking along the lines of £1600 for the 8 days, with the probability that some days we will go over £200/$300 and some days under. This would include meals, tips, activities, taxis when needed and buying a few souvenirs if we have any left.

Does this sound realistic or do I need to up the budget? And is taking a mixture of cash and card the best thing to do?

Thanks and apologies for the long post

Nick

Edited by nickdrinkwater on Monday 21st January 21:47

[Original Poster]

Seems about right, you could easily spend more or less.

When I went to Florida last year I took half in dollars and half on a FairFX card, worked well although if you're 'only' taking £1600 it may be easier to just take it all in dollars.

[telecat]

I take $100 a day with A Credit card that does not charge for Dollar purchases. Seems to be enough.

[ChrisBMW]

Depends on what you are looking to do, we go to Florida almost yearly and would spend that on clothes shopping in a day but we take money specifically for this purpose.

Never been to the keys but Miami can be expensive, for peace of mind I would put the money on a money travel card and take a couple of hundred dollars in small bills for tips etc.

Are you picking up something special for a hire car or just something normal, could effect what you spend on fuel over the 8 days.

Edited by ChrisBMW on Tuesday 22 January 15:35

[nickdrinkwater]

Thanks guys for the helpful advice. The money/card combination seems to be the best option.

We are not planning to go OTT on shopping mainly because I don't think there are a many malls in the Keys and even were there to be, I think the time is spent doing other stuff like the beaches, bars and seeing stuff like dolphins and other wildlife. I expect petting the dolphins to be quite pricey hence planning ahead. There are other things listed on tripadvisor etc. but wary of planning too far ahead instead of taking things as we find them.

Car wise we only have a small car, not the most compact but the one up from that, booked with Alamo and with a tank of fuel included. Hopefully this will be fine, I guessed something like a Mustang would be wasted given the short distance and other things to enjoy.

Cheers

Nick

[bigdavy]

We found the prepaid card good, and probably a bit safer than running about with that amount of cash. Most travel agents do them I think, they all include insurance and replacement card if lost or stolen etc.

[David Beer]

I have done Miami many many times, south beach though. Key west is great, the keys on the way down not much going on. For budget, it is up to you, I use Amex as they have the best rate. I would suggest a convertible though!

[rogerthefish]

David Beer said:

I would suggest a convertible though!

done it in a convertible 5 hours I recall, arrived with a bright red face and a thumper of a headache so make certain to wear a hat/bandanna and sun block or just stick to a normal A/C car.

[tim0409]

I have done this around 4/5 times with a convertible Mustang - you will both have a great time! I have never been massively impressed with Key West, but the drive down is great. Last time we stayed in the Hampton Inns in Key Largo and it was really good - we drove to Key West and back in a day and that was enough for us. Your budget sounds fine, although try and get yourself a CC with good rates - I have a Halifax Clarity card as this doesn't load transactions abroad and there is no charge for cash withdrawals so long as you pay them off by the due date.

[nickdrinkwater]

Cheers guys. Interesting to hear different views on the area too. We have a night in Key Largo (more a stopover after getting off the flight), 2 nights in Key West, 2 in Hawks Cay and then 2 nights in Miami Beach at the end. Should be a good balance i hope. Has anyone done the boat trip in Miami? Looks like there is good choice of things to do...