From the Keys to the Everglades and the Gulf beaches, departing from Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale
Campervan hire in Florida promises a road trip between two seas: the Overseas Highway hopping from island to island all the way to Key West, the Everglades marshes and their alligators, the white-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast, then the Atlantic shore, from St. Augustine to the Kennedy Space Center. Our rental partners are waiting for you in Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, from campervans for two to family motorhomes sleeping seven.
Orlando, halfway between the two coasts, is home to most of the depots, while Miami leads straight onto the road to the Keys. The state is flat, driving days are short and the sun shines almost all year round: all that remains is to choose between the dry, much sought-after winter and the hot, humid and stormy summer.
Avanti Campervans
Rental company category:Economy
Britz
Rental company category:Standard
Public rating of the rental company:
3.1/5
(10 reviews)
Cruise America
Rental company category:Standard
Public rating of the rental company:
4.0/5
(8,016 reviews)
El Monte RV
Rental company category:Standard
Escape Campervans
Rental company category:Low cost
Public rating of the rental company:
4.4/5
(94 reviews)
Mighty
Rental company category:Low cost
Road Bear RV
Rental company category:Premium
Public rating of the rental company:
4.5/5
(130 reviews)
Star RV
Rental company category:Premium
Public rating of the rental company:
3.5/5
(227 reviews)
Choose your departure city: the map shows where rental companies hand over their vehicles.
South of Miami, US 1 becomes the Overseas Highway and skips from island to island above turquoise water: Key Largo and its reefs, the fishing harbours of Islamorada, the Seven Mile Bridge beyond Marathon, then the beach at Bahia Honda before Key West, at the southern tip of the continental United States. The depots in Princeton, south of Miami, are ideally placed for this trip.
The road often has just one lane in each direction and the wind can blow hard on the bridges: take your time and make the most of the viewpoints. In Key West, narrow streets and scarce parking make it best to leave the vehicle at the campground and get around by bike.
From Homestead, the Everglades National Park road crosses the sawgrass prairie and mangroves to Flamingo, on the shores of Florida Bay. You then join the Tamiami Trail, which cuts west through the swamps with a stop at Shark Valley, then Everglades City, gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands, before reaching the Gulf Coast.
Naples, the shell-strewn beaches of Sanibel and the Sarasota islands offer sunsets over the water before you arrive in Tampa, where another of our departure points awaits. This route is best enjoyed from November to April: in summer, heat and mosquitoes make the swamps hard going.
A short loop from Orlando to the Atlantic: the manatees of Blue Spring in winter, the long beach at Daytona Beach, then St. Augustine, the oldest city of European origin in the United States, and its Spanish fort. On the way back, the wild dunes of Canaveral National Seashore come before the Kennedy Space Center and the surf at Cocoa Beach.
If a launch is scheduled from Cape Canaveral during your stay, the Space Coast beaches make great viewing spots: check the launch schedule, which often changes at the last minute.
Far from the bustle of the south, the northern Gulf Coast reveals a more rural Florida: the crystal-clear rivers of Crystal River, the small harbour of Cedar Key, the fishing village of Apalachicola, then the white quartz-sand beaches of Panama City Beach, Grayton Beach and Pensacola, lapped by emerald-green water.
West of the Apalachicola River, most of the Panhandle runs on Central Time, one hour behind Orlando. The return to Tampa or Orlando is by interstate, over two long days.
The dry season is the most pleasant: sunny days, moderate rainfall and bearable heat, even in the south. In the Everglades, wildlife gathers around the last remaining waterholes and is easy to spot. In January, nights stay cool in central Florida, with lows of 11 °C in both Orlando and Tampa.
Two transitional months. In May, the heat sets in, the first thunderstorms break out and the sea already reaches 28 to 29 °C in Tampa and Miami. In October, rainfall eases in central Florida, with 119 mm in Orlando, but remains heavy on the south-east coast: 193 mm in Fort Lauderdale.
Summer draws families to Orlando's theme parks, despite sticky heat and almost daily late-afternoon thunderstorms: Orlando gets more than 240 mm of rain in both June and August. At 31 or 32 °C, the sea offers little relief; it is best to drive in the morning and stop early.
Orlando for travelling between the two coasts, Miami for the Keys and the Everglades, Tampa for the Gulf Coast and the Panhandle, Fort Lauderdale for the southern stretch of the Atlantic coast.
Mileage packages, kitchen and bedding kits, generator, insurance and excess: check what is included, then run a search with your dates to see the real cost.
Start with the Keys and the state parks in winter, or with campgrounds near the theme parks in summer, and complete the trip with RV parks.
Many depots are on the outskirts, in Kissimmee, Davenport, Princeton or Riverview: plan the journey from the airport, check the pick-up time and keep your driving licence to hand.
From June to November, a hurricane can force you to change your route or even evacuate a coastal area, and the Keys have only one road out. Follow National Hurricane Center bulletins and local authority instructions, keep a few spare days and ask your rental company what to do in the event of an alert.
Florida's Turnpike and many express lanes around Orlando and Miami are largely cashless: tolls are charged via a SunPass transponder or billed from the licence plate. Ask your rental company whether the vehicle has a transponder and how tolls will be recharged to you, handling fees included.
From December to March, snowbirds from the northern United States and Canada spend the winter in the sun and fill state park campgrounds, from Bahia Honda in the Keys to the Gulf beaches. These sites are booked on the official state parks website well before the season: aim for them as soon as you book your vehicle and keep private RV parks as a fallback.
In the humid heat, the motorhome's air conditioning becomes essential, especially at night. It runs on the campground's electric hook-up or on the generator, whose use is often restricted to certain hours in the parks: choose pitches with hook-ups, particularly from May to October.
Orlando has the most depots: Britz, Road Bear RV, El Monte RV, Mighty, Escape Campervans, Indie Campers and Avanti Campervans, plus Cruise America in Kissimmee and Star RV in Davenport. In Miami, Cruise America and El Monte RV are based in Princeton, to the south, on the way to the Keys; Cruise America also has depots in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
Yes, the Overseas Highway takes vehicles of all sizes, although a compact one makes stopping along the islands easier. The real challenge is accommodation: campgrounds in the Keys are few, full in winter, and overnight parking outside them is generally prohibited. Book your nights there before confirming your itinerary.
For two, a campervan from Escape Campervans, Indie Campers or Avanti Campervans parks anywhere, from the Keys to beach car parks. For families, Class C motorhomes, from the Class C Small sleeping four to the Family Sleeper sleeping seven, offer a kitchen, shower and air conditioning; a Class A sleeping six is also available in Orlando.
Yes: Orlando's major theme parks generally have parking areas for motorhomes, and Walt Disney World has its own campground, Fort Wilderness. Around Kissimmee, some RV parks even run shuttles to the parks. Check accepted vehicle sizes and conditions on each park's website before you go.
Ten days are enough to link Orlando, the Everglades and the Keys. Two weeks let you add the Gulf Coast, from Naples to Tampa, or the Atlantic coast up to St. Augustine. Allow three weeks to a month to push on to the Panhandle and Pensacola, at the far end of the state, without a string of interstate days.
Easy booking to do. Responsive customer service. Nothing to complain about.
Absolutely, very good services.
Good service
A standard car driving licence is enough for the motorhomes offered for hire. If your licence was issued outside the United States, the rental company may ask for an International Driving Permit alongside the original: check the offer's conditions, which also set out the minimum driver age and how long you must have held your licence.
State parks offer pitches by the water or under oaks draped in Spanish moss, private RV parks full hook-ups and often a swimming pool. In the Everglades, the Flamingo campground welcomes motorhomes. Overnight parking outside campgrounds is regulated by each county and town: check before you stop for the night.
Rarely: in our October 2026 price checks for pick-ups in Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, no offer included unlimited mileage. Rental companies charge for miles driven or sell mileage packages. Estimate your distance before booking: a round trip between Orlando and Key West alone exceeds 1,000 km.
Alligators live in many of Florida's lakes, canals and swamps, including near campgrounds. Keep your distance, never leave a child or dog at the water's edge and never feed them, which is against the law. In the Everglades, you can watch them safely from the trail boardwalks, at a respectful distance.
Entry to Everglades National Park is paid per vehicle or with the annual national parks pass, whose price differs for non-resident visitors. Florida's state parks charge their own entrance fee, separate from that pass. Dry Tortugas can only be reached by boat or seaplane from Key West. Check current fees on the official websites.
Several months ahead for the period from Christmas to Easter, when the winter influx and spring holidays fill everything up, and for July and August. Daytona Beach's big events, the February races and March's Bike Week, also fill the area's campgrounds. In May, October and November, a few weeks' notice is often enough.
Few states suit a motorhome as well as Florida: flat, easy roads, rarely long driving days and nature right by the roadside, from the alligators of the Everglades to the coral reefs of the Keys. You fall asleep facing a sunset over the Gulf, wake up surrounded by mangroves and move in a single day from Orlando's theme parks to the deserted Atlantic dunes.
With four departure cities, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, each trip takes shape around the season: the Keys and the Everglades in the heart of the dry winter, the Atlantic coast and St. Augustine in spring, the Panhandle and its emerald waters for those seeking peace and quiet. To go further, Atlanta, another departure city for our rental companies, lies about 650 km from Orlando as the crow flies, ideal for extending the road trip into Georgia and the Appalachians.
