Florida                                                                 

Clearwater Beach
Middle-of-the-road visitors not looking for sophistication; popular with couples and young families. However, come the March Spring Break it becomes very popular with students.

Daytona Beach
Hundreds of thousands of students descend upon Daytona Beach in March/April for weeks of parties, drinking and tanning.

Florida Keys
The Keys have something for everyone, with the focus on water activities. They generally offer a laid-back atmosphere, plenty of nightlife and many "celebrations", particularly in Islamorada and Key West, although there's peace and solitude if you want it.

Fort Lauderdale
Middle- to upmarket couples and families. Business people attending the Convention Center (many of whom like it so much, it is claimed, that they return on holiday).

Kissimmee
With its huge variety of attractions within easy reach, it offers something for nearly everyone, particularly families with children.

Miami
Shoppers, golfers, the boating fraternity and those wanting to be within easy reach of beaches and exciting nightlife, as well as business people and convention delegates.

Miami Beach
Ranges from the young and fashionable right up to retired couples seeking the sun. See individual resort area descriptions.

Orlando Kids Club
Something for everyone; families with children will probably get the most out of it but, with the huge range of things on offer, there really is no doubt Orlando has something for every pocket and persuasion.

New York

New York is the most engaging of cities. It is a tribute to freedom and money yet rubs shoulders with poverty and neglect. It exudes energy and dynamism and is totally fascinating; even in the devastated area which was the World Trade Center and is now known as Ground Zero, the mood is decidedly up-beat and forward-looking. The city's architecture is stunning, from modern megalithic skyscrapers to old "brownstone" (sandstone) tenements. The 5 boroughs of New York City cover 300 sq mls and have a combined population of just over 8 million. However, most major sights and attractions are in Manhattan. Most hotels are here and nearly all visitors head straight for and stay on this island, which measures 13½ mls by a maximum of 2¼ mls; the resident population is 1½ million and it receives about 35 million visitors a year. Manhattan divides into distinct areas: Downtown, S of 14th Street; Midtown, between 14th Street and Central Park; Uptown consists of the areas either side of Central Park; and N of the park lie Harlem and N Manhattan. Streets mainly follow a grid pattern, with "Avenues" running the length of the island; "Streets" run from side to side. The S tip uses names for both and the grid pattern vanishes. Most hotels covered are in Midtown so Times Square, centre of the theatre district, has been used as the central reference point. The Empire State Building and much mainstream shopping is here, too, but most of the character and history is found in Downtown. Here are the trendy areas of Greenwich Village, East Village, SoHo and TriBeCa, as well as untrendy but fascinating Little Italy and Chinatown. The latter separates upmarket Wall Street and the financial district from the seedy Lower East Side. Uptown Manhattan is distinctly upmarket, while Harlem and N Manhattan are distinctly not.