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

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josephiam
josephiam

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!

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tiltedflipcurves
tiltedflipcurves
In response to #0

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.

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bzookaj
bzookaj

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.

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carracar
carracar

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

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nutraxfornerves
nutraxfornerves

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.)

Nutrax
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josephiam
josephiam

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

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josephiam
josephiam

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

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nutraxfornerves
nutraxfornerves
In response to #5

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!

Nutrax
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tiltedflipcurves
tiltedflipcurves

Tampa has Uber.

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