Miami to St Petersburg, including the Everglades, Naples to Clearwater (and Orlando)
All distances and times are indicative and do not include stops.
Total miles; 295 miles one way Miami to Clearwater Beach, additional 110 miles to Orlando
Total drive time; 5 hours one way Miami to Clearwater Beach, an additional 1 hour 30 minutes to Orlando
How long do I need? This is one that is possible to do in a week, ten days if you want to take it more slowly and two weeks if you are going to incorporate a trip to Orlando.
This trip takes in the fun of Miami, a stop off at the fabulous Everglades and the beauty of Florida’s Gulf Coast. There are innumerable places to stay as you work up the coast, Naples is an interesting town with a great range of restaurants and hotels, Sarasota has culture, wonderful beaches and a great restaurant scene, St Petersburg has excellent museums and with Tampa is a great sea front town with fabulous beaches lined with resorts up to Clearwater. Clearwater beach is one of my favourite beaches in Florida.
If you want to add some extra beach time to your trip you could include a stop off at Sanibel and Captiva Islands.
Go independent…
To find the best deals on your flights and accommodation, we recommend 1Plus2Travel. They are a great search website and search all the online consolidators so you don’t have to!
Otherwise, we like Skyscanner for a good listing of all the operators running flights.
We recommend Holiday Autos or Easycar for car hire. Check out our car hire info for ways to save money. You may want to cover your excess and increase your liability cover with a policy like that from Worldwide Insure or Insurance4carhire.com.
For where to stay in Miami, check out our guide to Miami. On Marco Island, we have stayed at the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort which we really liked; pleasant rooms and large well maintained public areas and access straight onto the beach. The pools are particularly nice and we enjoyed having a fridge so we were able to have a cold glass of wine every evening on our balcony. We have also stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Marco Island – Sunset Cove in a lovely large apartment. We prefer to self cater so enjoyed the apartment which came very well equipped and is within an easy walk of a supermarket and a number of restaurants. It was not on the beach although a shuttle service was available.
There are lots of holiday rentals available on Marco Island as well if you enjoy self catering.
In Naples, we like the Bayfront Inn is a great option, well located with nice rooms, a pleasant pool and a nice outdoor terrace. If you want some self-catering facilities or you are travelling with a family or in a group the Bellasera Hotel is really hard to beat. It has a mix of suites with kitchenettes and 1-3 bedroom condos complete with full kitchens including washer machine and dryer. They also run a free shuttle service to the beach (just over a mile away). If you want to be on the beach itself, the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club is a good bet, especially for golfers. The proximity to the beach means you may be further away from walkable eating options outside those provided by the hotel.
On Captiva, we like the South Seas Island Resort. It is right on a huge sandy beach. There are several restaurants and there are tennis courts and several pools.
At Clearwater Beach, we love the Sandpearl Resort. The rooms are spacious and well equipped. If you are traveling with a family or in a group you can get one or two bed condo with separate living room and full kitchen. The restaurant is excellent, the pool is lovely and they have a fire pit on the beach by the beach bar.
Book a package…
Sometimes you just don’t have the time or inclination to plan and book a trip independently, that’s when booking through a tour operator makes sense.
Kuoni will happily create a fly drive itinerary for you that includes Miami a trip along the Gulf Coast of Florida and a trip to Orlando.