I will be staying in Orlando (Kissimmee) for Christmas. Is there public transport into the city centre? Will I have to hire a car? What about cycling?
Public transport in Orlando
For Public Transportion routes check
golynx.com
You can get by but might find a car hire gives you more freedom.
Public transport in Orlando
Why do you want the city center? Not bike friendly, and I wouldn%26#39;t want to go ther by bike thru sme of the neighborhoods if you are coming from the south.
Orlando, and Kissimmee are two different places, some considerable kilometers/miles apart. Personally, I think Public transport there is unworkable (althought others would disagree), unless you are staying in a less salubrious area such as I drive.
Where are you staying, and exactly where do you want to go? The Lynx buses might work depending on where you are staying and want to see.
A
Which city center, Orlando or Kissimmee?
Is Kissimmee a City, ?? if so what qualifies it to be a city. ??
Orlando City center is some 20 miles from Kissimmee.
And what is referred to as Kissimmee is Vague.
All of 192 about 20 miles of it and a 3 mile area to the south of it is generally referred to as Kissimmee. But if it is in fact all one community you would need a local to answer that.
Its a bit like calling all that land within the M25 ( about 50mile diameter) London. when in fact London only covers about 1 square mile .
What about Cycling? Do you want to commit suicide. These traffic choked roads and their drivers are not used to seeing Bicycles on them or pedestrians and you would not last a day.
And it would be almost impossible to find a series of quiter minor roads to get to your destination.
Forget it. Do like everyone else does. Drive a car.
Thats what the roads in the US ar built for.
MaryMcLoughlin,
Public transportation in central Florida is inadequate at best. It is designed to get people to and from work so its routes do not particularly favor visitors.
I would rent a car.
As to cycling, there are a few bike lanes on a few roads, but for the most part bicycling in central Florida is hazardous and not particularly fun. The distances between places of interest are so great that the time spent getting between them tends to defeat the purpose.
There are a couple of bicycle clubs in central Florida. They can be found by searching on the web. They ride at off hours and choose roads with little traffic like for example one group uses the newly constructed roads around the airport that one day will go to the new terminal if it ever gets built.
If you want to ride for exercise, you can spend a long time riding between the subdivisions in some parts of town with little traffic, but it%26#39;s not exactly a scenic ride.
Check the local bike shops for more details.
CTR
PS Kissimmee is a city and extends well beyond the places tourists usually go.
Crusing; What defines a '; City'; from a Town.
Is it just its physical size or something else.
In Britain we have only a small amount of places which have City Status. We have some towns which are bigger than Kissimmee. and some Cities which are much Smaller. Both physical size , and by population. The City of Westminster being a prime example where its size is only about 1 square mile and the population very small.
XR549,
Two characteristics define a city, it%26#39;s size and its government structure.
I am not sure of the details, but Kissimmee is a lot larger than at first meets the eye. It is mostly a bedroom community for the industrial areas in south Orange County and the attractions areas.
CTR
Public transportation in Florida is pretty inadequate. There really is no center to Kissimmee and downtown Orlando is not tourist friendly. You really should rent a car . The Lynx system and the I Drive trolley can get you around but there are long waits for buses to show up and they may not go where you want to. There certainly are places to take bike rides-even at Disney-but if you are thinking about it as as means of transportation,it%26#39;s dangerous and long,long distances. Even the Disney transportation system is not so great-a car is really much more convenient.
Another perspective:
Almost certainly you will NOT **have** to hire a car, but it does depend on where you are and where you want to be.
Public transport in Orlando and Kissimmee is fairly but not totally comprehensive. There are some areas where travel options are limited, but most of the major places are fairly well served.
Those who choose to use public transport willingly accept that there will be longer journeys than by car. That is inevitable. And, in the same way as planning a road journey (by use of maps or whatever) you need to plan with timetables.
I have holidayed on Orlando many times and have NEVER been motivated to drive. Lynx buses are comfortable, airconditioned, and on the whole punctual. The drivers are for the most part EXTREMELY helpful, and using Lynx is very inexpensive at $1.50 per one-way trip, transfers free; $3.50 a full day, or $12.00 for a full week. The massive savings you make (unless you are a large group) will pay for taxi rides where/when the bus doesn%26#39;t suffice.
There will probably be reduced services over some day/s at Christmas. I don%26#39;t have details but you can EMail Lynx.
As for your chosen destination - there is little or no good reason to visit DownTown Orlando. It might be better if you are a bit more specific about
a) where you are staying
b) what it is you want to do (and you thought you could do ';in the city centre';).
I may then be able to offer some examples of how to do such trips by bus for your consideration.
By way of example (weekday service):
IF you are located within walking distance of US192 (West Irlo Bronson Mem Hwy) then there are two bus services (55 and 56) that serve this road, which combine to give a 15-minute frequency between World Drive and the Osceola Square Mall. If you are further west than World Drive, then only one of these (55, every 30 minutes) is of use.
For shopping, there are two WalMart stores in direct reach - one in the west served by bus 55 and one further East served by both.
For Mall shopping, the Osceola Square mall is not that good (a long time since I visited), but you can transfer there (no extra fare) to bus 4, every 30 minutes, to the Florida Mall.
Riding Lynx is eay - you don%26#39;t have to discuss with the driver where to get off (unless you need help) as the fare is the same regardless. You pay cash, exact fare, $1 bills and silver change into a machine. If you need a Day Ticket or a free Transfer, you ask the driver before paying. Weeklys are only sold at certain outlets listed on the website, which is
www.golynx.com
I suggest you study the map there compared to your own location and the schedules.
If you want more suggestions about suitable destinations, then you need to say what interests you............
As for cycling:
There are probably more, but I%26#39;ve only encountered one **really** nice place. There is a dedicated trail which starts at a Bicycle Hire outlet to the west of WINTER GARDEN (which is West of DownTown Orlando).
It is a tortuous trip by bus to get there, but that%26#39;s what we did.
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