Top tips

Image by stinne24 from Pixabay

Orlando has been a popular travel destination since the 19th century, but once Mr. Disney chose it as the home of Disney World in 1965, it became a global travel sensation. Orlando’s now numerous theme parks remain some of its star attractions: Disney World has been joined by SeaWorld and the Universal Orlando Resort, and then you’ve got the zoo, the botanical gardens and museums, galleries, and great visitor shopping. And the mysterious Everglades. With all these things to see and do, where you stay, and how you’re planning to get from place to place, become big questions. If you don’t want to hire a car, you probably need to base yourself on International Drive. If you’re happy to drive, the city opens up much further.There is a whole lot of accommodation in Orlando!  Around a million people live here, but around 62 million people visit each year, so there are lots of places to stay, in a vast range of shapes and sizes. With this in mind, we’re here to help. Use our neighbourhood guide to help you choose your perfect spot.

Guide to the Neighbourhoods of Orlando

International Drive

By Kiran891 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

International Drive (or I-Drive) runs right through town, with 11 miles worth of attractions, hotels and resorts, restaurants and shops. It’s often compared to the Las Vegas Strip. Stay here and you’ll be able to catch the ‘I-Ride’ trolley (or your hotel may offer a shuttle service) to ICON Park Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Madame Tussauds, the Orlando Science Center, the aquarium, and the Orlando Eye. International Drive is also convenient if you’re heading to an NBA game. While International Drive gives you great access to everything, this is still a really large area to cover, so you might want to check exactly where your accommodation is along the route compared to restaurant, nightlife and shopping hubs — there are plenty of choices there too, it’s just worth putting some pins into the map before you make your final decision.  

Downtown

Image by Jay Wiencko from Pixabay

Downtown Orlando is Orlando’s historic heart and its central business and financial district. It’s got residential pockets too, some charmingly historic ones, where you’ll find boutique hotels and converted mansions and townhouses, as well as forests of high-rise buildings, including large, luxurious hotels in their number. Downtown is slightly removed from the really touristy parts of town, but it does have lots of traditional visitor attractions, like museums and galleries, sports grounds and theatres, shopping opportunities and restaurants, and places to go out in the evening. There are several neighbourhoods within the Downtown area, offering different experiences within them. The North Quarter area is cool, with a lively restaurant scene, and lots to do at night; there’s great local shopping too, and an arty atmosphere. The Central Business District has a lot of the city’s historic architecture, and some of the major arts organisations. Lake Eola is a picturesque spot, historically significant, and surrounded by historic architecture. 

Lake Buena Vista

Image by HenningE from Pixabay

Lake Buena Vista is the place to base yourself if you’re planning to spend quite a bit of time at Disney World. There are now five Disney Parks, so it may take you a while to work your way around them all, especially if you’re here with your kids. There are reams of places to eat and drink, and lots of accommodation options beside the Disney choices (Disney has 25 hotels and resorts of its own). Lake Buena Vista also has some good shopping opportunities. Whilst this area is super convenient for the Disney Parks, it’s also only a 15-minute drive from Universal Studios. Many of the hotels and resorts in Lake Buena Vista offer a shuttle service to the other parks and parts of Orlando too.  

Kissimmee

By Visitor7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Kissimmee is slightly further away from the action of the parks. It’s only about a 15-minute drive, but the atmosphere is quite different because of it. Kissimmee is a more sprawling, country-feeling neighbourhood, with broad lakes and winding rivers, and this is a great choice if you’re looking for a private villa, or accommodation with a large or private pool. It's also ideal if you want to spend some of your holiday enjoying the great outdoors — kayaking and paddle boarding are especially popular activities here. Because Kissimmee has a more suburban layout, it has shops, restaurants and bars in several hubs.  Look out for resident alligators too, as Kissimmee borders on Orlando’s Everglades.

Lake Nona

Flickr User Dave Ouellette

Lake Nona is a good choice for anyone not sure how much of the theme parks they can take (though it does have its own: Nona Adventure Park, a water and outdoor adventure park). It’s a relatively small and trendy suburb, with local residents, and restaurants and cafes relying on repeat community customers. Lake Nona also has an impressive sculpture garden, and it’s close to Orlando’s version of the Everglades, so there are air boating opportunities. If you’re looking for Orlando’s cool kids, you’ll find some of them hanging out around Lake Nona, or Boxi Park, which is known for its food trucks, live music and basketball and volleyball courts. Less hip, more elegant, is the Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. Lake Nona is also convenient for the airport.

Lake Eola Heights 

By OrlandoThings.com - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Orlando isn’t just theme parks and resorts, before all of that, it was a ‘proper’ city: architecturally diverse and expanding organically over time. Lake Eola Heights is the place to be based if you’d like to see this side of Orlando, too. Largely residential, the tree-lined streets of Lake Eola Heights alternate Colonial Revival architecture with Arts and Crafts, Italianate, Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco. There are even some 19th century timber farmhouses, and properties range in scale from modest bungalows to mansions and apartment blocks. Lake Eola itself is an attractive place to stroll around, surrounded by a large, leafy, well-established park, and also neighbouring the Downtown area. Because Lake Eola Heights is a residential neighbourhood it has its own great collection of cafes, restaurants and shops — both boutique and independent, and global brands.  

Winter Park

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/

Winter Park is its own city, just to the north of Orlando, and arguably slightly caught in Orlando’s sprawl.  Making it a good choice for anyone who wants to see the sights of Orlando, but isn’t enamoured with the idea of staying somewhere quite so busy. Winter Park is an elegant pick, known for its shopping, fine restaurants, art museums, entertainment, and for its chain of picturesque lakes and parks — this is a green and pleasant city. Winter Park is also a good choice for anyone who wants to shake up their theme park trips with some outdoor pursuits: cycling, paddling, boating of all kinds, and walking. Even if it’s just walking around the elegant retail districts, with their opportunities for shopping both local and international brands.  Winter Park is still its own city, so there’s plenty of range when it comes to accommodation too.