Looking for a cheap flight to anywhere? Try Orlando
If you are anything like most of us, you’ve had an urge to fly somewhere, but not necessarily to someplace specific. A lyric in a Pink Floyd song from the wall goes, “I’ve got a strong urge to fly, but I’ve got nowhere to fly to.” The problem with this urge for most of us is that when we start researching the prices of flights we discover that most destinations that are far away are very expensive, and that all but the largest airports in our own regions are expensive too.
Well, if you get this feeling in the future and want to find a cheap flight, especially during summer, consider Orlando. Yes, the home of Disney World is one of the United States’ most popular destinations so you might think flight would be expensive, but for some bizarre reason they tend to be incredibly cheap.
New York to Orlando
At the moment you can fly nonstop from JFK to Orlando on Jetblue Airlines for $187 roundtrip on almost any day of the week. On weekends you might pay as much as $220 for this flight, but still it’s an incredible bargain considering the distance and the popularity. Jetblue is one of the country’s finest airlines with great entertainment choices and comfortable seating, so this is not a cattle car flight.
Los Angeles to Orlando
Even more surprising, you can fly from Los Angeles to Orlando nonstop on Virgin Atlantic Airlines for $279 roundtrip on any day of the week in either direction. For most of us the dreams of sub-$300 cross-country flights have been limited to a few quick fare sales in the past years, but for some amazing reason the Orlando flights are this cheap most of the year.
San Francisco to Orlando
While it may not be too shocking to find cheap Orlando flights from a few of the country’s largest airports, the phenomenon is pretty much the same across the country. From San Francisco you can currently fly to Orlando for $278 (actually starting from San Jose) with one stop, or nonstop of Virgin America for $339 roundtrip.
This is another of the finest airlines operating in the US, so it’s probably worth the extra $50 total to skip the stopover and plane change in the middle of the country, but those on the tighest budgets can save with that small inconvenience.
Travelers starting in Portland, Seattle, or Chicago can get similar fares, and those starting in Texas or elsewhere in the Midwest will do even better.
Destination Orlando
One of the great things about flying to Orlando is that nearly everything there is quite cheap once you arrive, except for perhaps the huge theme parks themselves. It’s easy to find nice hotels for under $50 per night, and meals for between $5 and $10 almost anywhere.
If you have the urge to explore Florida then you are well covered as well, since rental car prices in Orlando are among the cheapest anywhere. It’s true that rental cars are no longer as cheap as they were a couple years ago, thanks to major changes in the US car companies and how they deal with the rental agencies, but it’s still possible to get a very attractive weekly or weekend rate that will allow you to drive to Miami or Key West or Fort Myers on the reasonably uncrowded and modern roadways.