Florida beach, budget accomm, within a few hours of Orlando by public transport?

Flying into Orlando and looking for a beach to chill on for a few days before heading off to a farm in TN. I don't have transport so will need to use buses. I also need somewhere with hostels/budget accommodation.

I was originally thinking of heading down to Miami purely for the fact the Grehound/Megabus goes there and I could stay in a hostel for $20 a night, but since I'm landing in Orlando at 3pm, I'm not sure with immigration lines etc I will make the last bus down there. Obviously as I'm heading north to TN afterwards, a beach north rather than south would be preferable, but I'm not really worried either way.

I literally have no other requirements other than being able to get there after my 3pm landing, and a cheap bed.

Thanks for any recommendations!

Head to an airbnb in St. Pete, Clearwater, or another beach town in the Tampa area. http://extranet.greyhound.com/revsup/schedules2/sa-50.pdf Or if you plan to reach Nashville by bus, head to the Florida Panhandle.

I second Tampa, but the only hostel in the Tampa Bay area is in Tampa, which is not a beach town. You'll have to take a couple buses to get to a beach.
The hostel is around $25 per night, plus tax.

head to the Florida Panhandle

There is a hostel in Fort Walton Beach.
But you won't get there by the evening.

I'll suggest the Pirate house Hostel, in St. Augustine ... 904 808 1999 ... Happy trails ... carracar

I hate to hijack this a bit, but if you are planning to WWOOF or do another program where you work in return for food & lodging, are you aware that you cannot do that legally if you enter via the Visa Waiver Program or a tourist visa? (If this doesn't apply to you, my apologies for the distraction.)

Nope not wwoofing, just visiting a friend on her farm near Nashville before heading into the city :)

Thanks so much for the input guys, both St AUgustine and St Petersburg looked like great options until i saw that the last/only bus leaving Orlando on a sunday is before my flight lands, or else by the time I make connections out to the beach (for ex Tampa to St Petersburg) the last local bus will have stopped for the day

Nope not wwoofing, just visiting a friend on her farm near Nashville before heading into the city :)

Thanks for clarifying. Alas, there have been posters here who found out about the visa issue after buying that plane ticket. Enjoy your trip!

Tampa has Uber.

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