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If you choose New Orleans, skip the rental car. A cab from the airport is $20 and almost everything is either walkable or on the Streetcar line. You'll pay $25+ per night to park at any of the hotels near the French Quarter.
As a frequent visitor to New Orleans that is 100 % correct.
Stay with in the French Quarter from the Mississippi River to Rampart, don't go beyond Rampart unless you are taking an escorted tour.
Try the French Market Inn on Rue Decatur, right in the Quarter and fairly reasonable. Or the hotel Ste Marie. The smaller boutique hotels give you more of the Nola flavor then the huge chains imo.
You can take the ferry from Fort Myers but it's not exactly cheap
And then once you get there, Key West isn't exactly cheap, either. Sunset Celebration can be free. That's a good thing. The local watering holes range for "value" to "you have got to be kidding me." (If the place is full of scruffy, pirate types, it's going to be closer to the "value" end of the scale.)
There's a hostel in Key West but it isn't worth it. There isn't anything in the way of budget lodging. Hotels are shockingly expensive there. But people have all the other Florida Keys which aren't nearly as expensive.
My motto for Key West is: "It's a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit there."
Quote:
Originally Posted by njkate
don't go beyond Rampart unless you are taking an escorted tour.
Try the French Market Inn on Rue Decatur, right in the Quarter and fairly reasonable. Or the hotel Ste Marie. The smaller boutique hotels give you more of the Nola flavor then the huge chains imo.
I love New Orleans. One of the best places in the United States, no doubt. And I also have no problems going beyond Rampart -- that's where some of the best food is located, after all. Although I admit that I wouldn't walk that area at night.
But New Orleans is not exactly synonymous with "budget travel." I would be looking hard at the Gulf Coast of Florida, from Tampa to Naples. Lots of fun things to do. Great seafood at reasonable prices. Juke joints. (Just stick to places filled with scruffy pirate types -- they will never, ever steer the visitor wrong.) Long walks on beaches. Pina Coladas. It's just like that old Rupert Holmes song.
And then once you get there, Key West isn't exactly cheap, either. Sunset Celebration can be free. That's a good thing. The local watering holes range for "value" to "you have got to be kidding me." (If the place is full of scruffy, pirate types, it's going to be closer to the "value" end of the scale.)
There's a hostel in Key West but it isn't worth it. There isn't anything in the way of budget lodging. Hotels are shockingly expensive there. But people have all the other Florida Keys which aren't nearly as expensive.
My motto for Key West is: "It's a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit there."
I love New Orleans. One of the best places in the United States, no doubt. And I also have no problems going beyond Rampart -- that's where some of the best food is located, after all. Although I admit that I wouldn't walk that area at night.
But New Orleans is not exactly synonymous with "budget travel." I would be looking hard at the Gulf Coast of Florida, from Tampa to Naples. Lots of fun things to do. Great seafood at reasonable prices. Juke joints. (Just stick to places filled with scruffy pirate types -- they will never, ever steer the visitor wrong.) Long walks on beaches. Pina Coladas. It's just like that old Rupert Holmes song.
If you stay off of Bourbon St and don't plan on eating in places like Emeril's you can budget it. Plenty of good Louisiana cooking at decent prices, found many a place by asking the locals.
If you go past Rampart after dark you need to be locked and loaded, unless you hail from a place like say the Bronx or East St Louis and have street wits you need to keep your azz in the Quarter unless on an escorted tour and even then keep your wits about you. the thugs can smell a dopey tourist from a mile away.
By the way, Naples is not exactly budget travel, Tampa perhaps
And then once you get there, Key West isn't exactly cheap, either. Sunset Celebration can be free. That's a good thing. The local watering holes range for "value" to "you have got to be kidding me." (If the place is full of scruffy, pirate types, it's going to be closer to the "value" end of the scale.)
There's a hostel in Key West but it isn't worth it. There isn't anything in the way of budget lodging. Hotels are shockingly expensive there. But people have all the other Florida Keys which aren't nearly as expensive.
My motto for Key West is: "It's a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit there."
Lol, I don't really remember prices of things when I was there. That's probably because basically all of my money went to those banana banshee slushy rum drinks with a rum floater on top. Damn I miss those drinks.
That is true for basically anywhere you travel to.
Agreed that hotel rooms generally chew through more of the budget than food and drink, but you'll use a higher percentage of your travel budget in Key West than in Tampa, Orlando, or NOLA.
A few weeks ago Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando was running a special for $139 + $17 tax and no resort fee a room, free parking, spa discounts, and free breakfast which is a really nice buffet with tons of hot and cold foods including bagels and Lox, cooked to order eggs and omelettes, etc. They have three great pools and a number of activities that are free for hotel guests.
The Treasure Island Residence Inn can be had for as little as $149/night and includes a breakfast bar. It's on the beach. Free parking and no resort fee.
Similar hotels in Key West would be the Hyatt and Westin which will run a minimum of $275 a night plus a $25 per night resort fee (includes parking). Taxes add another $40. Breakfast not included.
Bottom line you'd get more bang for your buck in other areas being considered than in Key West as far as hotels.
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