The prize consists of two return flights to America with British Airways and car hire for 7 days. The winner will be responsible for paying for all other costs, including accommodation and travel insurance, and will need to provide his or her own spending money.

You can enter the competition by completing and submitting the form (and answering the travel-related question) on Advantage’s website. Entries must be received by 30 June 2010 and the holiday must be taken before 20 December 2010.

USA Car Hire Holidays

• Route 66 – find out more about this legendary American highway.
• California Highway 1 – learn about one of America’s most scenic roads.
• The Florida Keys – explore U.S Highway 1 on a trip from Miami to Key West.
• The Blue Ridge Parkway – learn more about one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.A.
• The Seward Highway – find out more about this National Scenic Byway in Alaska.

You can also read about Florida’s famous A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway and the adjoining Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail in our in-depth series of posts:

• Florida’s A1A – Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine
• Florida’s A1A – St. Augustine to Flagler Beach
• Florida’s A1A – Flagler Beach
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 1
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 2
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail – Part 3

In the previous post in our series about  Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail, we looked at some of the things that you can see and do in Tomoka State Park, if you stop off there during your Florida car hire holiday. In this post, we look at some of the attractions further along the route.

Once you’ve explored Tomoka State Park, if you head south and then drive across the Granada Bridge, you’ll arrive at Ormond Beach. The city has a number of attractions, and there are also hotels, shopping malls and restaurants, so it’s a great place to stay for a few days.

Ormond Beach is known as “the birthplace of speed”, as it was here that the automobile races that were the forerunners to NASCAR racing took place  more than a century ago. In 1906, Fred Marriott set the land-speed record for a steam-driven car in the Stanley Rocket on the sands of Ormond Beach, a record that still stands today. Although the racing later moved to Daytona, there are still many racing-related events held in Ormond Beach in order to celebrate its history and you can drive on the beach for a small fee.

Historic attractions in Ormond Beach include The Casements (25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach), which was the winter home of John D. Rockerfeller between 1918 and his death in 1937. The Casements was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was later bought by the City of Ormond Beach for use as a cultural centre. The building is currently undergoing extensive renovations.

Other attractions in Ormond Beach include the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens (78 E. Granada Boulevard, Ormond Beach, Florida). The museum holds regular temporary art exhibitions and you can also explore the gardens. There is a parking lot at the south end of the gardens, so you can leave your hire car there while you are visiting the museum.

If you fancy wandering around the shops, head for one of the city’s shopping centres and malls, which include Trails Shopping Center (300 N, Nova Road, Ormond Beach, Florida). There are many restaurants in Ormond Beach, including La Crepe En Haut Restaurant (Fountain Square, 142 E. Granada Boulevard, Ormond Beach), which specialises in French Nouvelle Cuisine, and the Charlie Horse Restaurant (810 South Atlantic Avenue, Ormond Beach, Florida), which is known for its “all-you-can-eat” crab legs specials.

Ormond Beach’s hotels include The Cove on Ormond Beach (145 S. Atlantic Avenue, Ormond Beach, Florida) and the Jameson Inn (175 Interchange Boulevard, Ormond Beach, Florida).

Once you’ve explored Ormond Beach, head north along the coast road back to Flagler Beach via the small town of Ormond by the Sea to complete your tour of the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail.

Image: Ebyabe

In the previous post in this series, we looked at some of the things that you can see and do in Bulow Creek State Park, on the first part of Florida’s Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail. In this post, we look at some of the other attractions you can see if you follow this trail on your Florida car hire holiday.

Once you’ve explored Bulow Creek State Park, head south along Old Dixie Highway in your hire car and you’ll arrive at the entrance for Tomoka State Park. The park covers about 1,800 acres of land and there are more than 100 campsites there, so you can take a break from your rental car and spend a night in the great outdoors.

Tomoka State Park is a paradise for nature lovers. More than 165 species of bird have been spotted in the park, including pelicans, herons, loons, cormorants, cranes, vultures, bald eagles, hawks, kestrels, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and owls. There are also more than 150 species of plant in the park.

The Tomoka River runs through the park, which is on a peninsula, to the Tomoka Basin, and you may be lucky enough to catch sight of West Indian Manatees, bottlenose dolphins, river otters or American alligators in the water.

You can hire a canoe or kayak from the park store and explore the rivers and creeks, or go fishing in the Tomoka River for fish such as tarpon and spotted sea trout. Visitors to Florida need a license in order to go fishing, but you can get one from bait shops and shops selling sports equipment.

There is also a 0.5 mile nature trail in the park, which will take you to the site on which Nocoroco, a Timucuan Indian Village, once stood.

We’ll take a look at more things to see and do on the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail in the next post in this series.

Image: moultriecreek

In this, the next in our series of posts about exploring Florida’s A1A, we take a look at the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail, a route that you can take if you want to extend your Florida car hire holiday.

The loop is slightly less than 34 miles long and you can get to it by heading south from Flagler Beach along the A1A in your rental car. You can find a map and a guide to the trail on the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail website and these will enable you to plan your trip.

Highlights of the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail include Bulow Creek State Park, where you can take a break from your rental car and go for a walk. Bulow Creek State Park is home to one of the largest living oak trees in the south of the USA, the Fairchild Oak. Two nature trails start at the Fairchild Oak: the Wahlin Trail and the 6.8 mile Bulow Woods Trail.

If you follow the Bulow Woods Trail, you’ll eventually arrive at the Bulow Plantation Ruins, the ruins of an old sugar mill, now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. You can visit the park’s interpretation centre in order to find out more about the history of the plantation.

The Bulow Creek Paddling Trail, one of Florida’s State Canoe Trails, also begins near to the plantation. This trail is approximately 12 miles long and is relatively easy to canoe along, although beginners may find that they experience some navigational difficulties.

Bulow Creek State Park is teeming with wildlife, such as racoons, deer and even diamondback rattlesnakes. It’s home to many different birds, including pelicans, herons, storks, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, ospreys and wild turkey.

If you decide to park your rental car in Bulow Creek Historic State Park’s car park while you explore, make sure that you return to it before the gates shut at 5 p.m. If you like the great outdoors, however, you can choose to stay in the park over night as it has a basic camping site. You’ll need a permit if you want to camp there, but these are available from the park office in Tomoka State Park, which is about 4.5 miles to the south of Bulow Creek Historic State Park.

In the next post in this series, we’ll be taking a look at some of the things that you can see and do further along the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail.

Image: Gamweb

In the next part of our series about taking a tour of the A1A as part of a Florida car hire holiday, we are taking a look at the resort of Flagler Beach.

Flagler Beach is a great place in which to relax for a day or two at the end of your tour of the A1A. This small, beachside community was originally known as Ocean City, but its name was changed to Flagler Beach in order to avoid confusion, as there were also places called Ocean City in Maryland and New Jersey.

The resort has six miles of beach and a fishing pier. Flagler Beach Municipal Pier opened in 1928 and is now one of the most popular fishing points in the area.

There are also  shops and restaurants in Flagler Beach, and you’ll find a number of places to stay. You can take a break from your rental car by hiring a bike and exploring the area, surfing, taking a stroll along the beach or visiting the Flagler Beach Historical Museum.

The A1A Scenic and Historic Byway ends just to the south of Flagler Beach, but if you want to extend your driving holiday, you can explore the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail. We’ll be looking at this in the next part of this series.

Image: Daniel Schwen

In the next part of our series about driving along the A1A Scenic and Historic Byway as part of a Florida car hire holiday, we are taking a look at some of the things that you can see and do along the final stretch of the route, from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach.

One of the main attractions that you can visit is Marineland (9600 Oceanshore Blvd, St, Augustine), which is about 15 miles south of St. Augustine. Marineland opened in 1938 as Marine Studios. It was constructed in order to provide a facility for underwater filming for Hollywood productions and scenes from many movies and TV programmes were filmed here, including some of the Tarzan movies.

Marine Studios also featured the world’s first oceanarium, where people could come and see dolphins and other marine creatures . In the 1940s and 1950s, it became famous for its dolphin shows, but it then changed focus to become an educational centre.

Today, you can learn about dolphin conservation at Marineland and get up close to the centre’s 11 resident dolphins. Marineland also runs a number of programmes, such as its “Touch and Feed” sessions, “Trainer for a Day” programme and “The Immersion” (in which you can swim with the dolphins). You can even hold up a canvas for a dolphin to paint a picture on in the “Dolphin Designs” programme!

You can book a place on one of Marineland’s dolphin programmes via the reservations page on its website.

Continue travelling south along the A1A in your hire car and you’ll come across Washington Oaks Gardens State Park. The park has formal gardens, including a rose garden, and is the perfect place for a picnic.

Heading south on the A1A again, you’ll find Beverly Beach, a quiet coastal town. You can take a stroll on the beach or stay for a day or two at one of the guest houses in the town.

Finally, you’ll arrive in Flagler Beach, and in the next post in this series, we’ll take a look at this well-known Florida seaside resort.

Image: Ebyabe

In this post, the next in our series about Florida’s A1A Scenic and Historic Byway, we’re taking a look at St. Augustine, and some of the things that you can see and do in the city if you stop off there during your Florida car hire holiday.

St. Augustine is the oldest permanent settlement in North America. It was established by the first Governor of Florida, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565. In 1885, Henry Flagler, who had co-founded the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller, moved to St. Augustine and began to develop the city as a luxurious holiday resort for the rich and famous.

The city is still a popular tourist destination and has many historic sites and buildings for you to visit. It also has some great hotels and restaurants, so it’s worth spending a few days exploring St. Augustine before heading back onto the A1A in your hire car.

One of the best ways in which to get your bearings when you arrive in St. Augustine is to take an organised tour of the city. There are plenty of different tours to choose from: you could take an Old Town Trolley Tour, climb aboard one of the Ripley’s  Sightseeing Trains, or even take a helicopter tour. You could also explore some of the allegedly haunted locations in St.Augustine on a ghost tour, relax on a scenic cruise or head off on a historical pub crawl.

St. Augustine’s main landmarks include the St. Augustine Lighthouse, which was constructed between 1871 and 1874. It is still a working lighthouse, and you can take a tour of it and climb the 219 steps to the observation deck. You can also visit the museum, which is situated in the old Keeper’s House and contains exhibits relating to the history of St. Augustine, the lighthouse and the US Coast Guard, as well as collections of shipwreck artifacts and old photographs.

Other historic sites in and around St. Augustine include: the Castillo de San Marcos, the only surviving 17th century fort in North America; Fort Matanzas, which was designed to block the southern approach to the city and which was completed in 1742; and Fort Mose, which was the first free community of ex-slaves to be founded in the USA.

You can also explore Old St. Augustine Village, where you can see nine historic houses and the site on which the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation was made, which resulted in all of Florida’s slaves being freed. Another of St. Augustine’s many attractions is The Oldest House Museum Complex, where you can see the oldest surviving colonial house in Florida and visit the Mauncy Museum in order to learn more about it.

Other museums in St. Augustine include the Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum and Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and you can also take a tour of the Old St. Johns County Jail.

If you’re travelling with children, head for the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park (11 Magnolia Avenue, St. Augustine). You can see a landmark cross made from coquina shells, which is believed to have been placed there by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon when he discovered Florida in 1513.

Although Ponce de Leon actually set off on his voyage in order to discover new lands on the orders of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, legend has it that the explorer discovered Florida whilst searching for the Fountain of Youth, a mythical spring. Anyone drinking from the Fountain of Youth was believed to have their youth restored. When Dr Louella Day McConnell bought the land which has now become the archaeological park in 1901, she discovered a natural spring on her property and charged people to drink the waters. You can still drink a glass of water from the spring today.

Other attractions in the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park include a planetarium, a Timucua Indian Exhibit, the Discovery Globe and a model of a wrecked Spanish ship. There are also 15 acres of grounds to explore and you can park your Florida hire car in the car park free of charge.

The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (999 Anastasia Boulevard, St. Augustine) is another popular family attraction. It’s currently the only place in the world where you can see all of the 23 recognized species of crocodilians on display, and the park is also home to snakes, a Komodo Dragon, Albino Alligators, monkeys and exotic birds. You won’t be able to miss Maximo, the park’s largest resident, a 15 ft 3 inch long salt-water crocodile, which weighs 1250 pounds. You can also see a number of wildlife shows and watch the alligators being fed.

St. Augustine has a wide range of shops, with everything from malls, such as St. Augustine Premium Outlets, to stores selling antiques and second-hand books. You’ll also find specialist shops, such as TeepeeTown, Heavenly Presents and The Pearl Shop, and there are plenty of bars, clubs and restaurants in the city.

Once you’ve explored St. Augustine, you can continue along the A1A in your hire car. In the next post in the series, we’ll be looking at some more things that you can see and do along the way.

Image: Daniel Schwen

In the first in a series of posts about the Florida A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway, we look at how to get to the beginning of the route, Ponte Vedra Beach, and some of the things that you can see and do when you arrive there

The nearest major cities to the Florida A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway are St. Augustine, Jacksonville and Orlando. You can fly to Orlando International Airport or Orlando Sanford International Airport from the UK and pick up a hire car from the airport. You’ll find plenty of hotels to choose from in Orlando, but you could drive to Jacksonville or St. Augustine and base yourself there instead.

If you’re staying in Orlando, it will take you about two and a half hours to drive to the start  of the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway in your Florida hire car. Head out of Orlando on the I-4 E and then take the I-95 N towards Jacksonville. Follow the I-95 N for 76.7 miles and then take exit 337 in order to get onto the FL-9A N. Follow this road for 7.7 miles and then take the exit for 3rd Street S./FL-A1A. You can then turn right onto Ponte Vedra Boulevard to get to Ponte Vedra Beach before heading back onto the A1A.

Ponte Vedra Beach is a seaside community, known for its luxurious hotels and outstanding golf courses, which include the golf courses at Marsh Landing Country Club, the Sawgrass Country Club and the TPC Sawgrass at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa. There are also a number of excellent tennis clubs and courts in Ponte Vedra Beach, and the city plays host to ATP championship tennis tournaments.

You can also try a range of water sports at Ponte Vedra’s beach or book a horseriding session on the beach with Sawgrass Stables. The beach is a conquina shell beach and is also a popular place to go fossil-hunting.

You’ll find plenty of restaurants to choose from in Ponte Vedra Beach, including the Aqua Grill (950 Sawgrass Village, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082) and the Augustine Grille (Sawgrass Marriott, 1000 PGA Tour Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082). There are also many shops and art galleries for you to browse in.

Once you’ve explored Ponte Vedra Beach, head back onto the A1A to begin your journey along this beautifully scenic coastal road. In the next post in the series, we’ll be looking at some more of the things that you can see and do along the way.

Image: Gamweb

Alaska’s Seward Highway is a designated National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, which stretches for 127 miles between Anchorage and Seward, and is a great route to explore on a USA car hire holiday.

You can fly to Anchorage and pick up your rental car at the airport, but it’s worth spending a few days exploring the city before embarking upon your roadtrip. Anchorage is full of attractions, such as The Alaska Zoo, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage Museum, the Alaska Botanical Garden and the Imaginarium Science Discovery Center. It also has some great restaurants, shops, art galleries and bars, and you’ll find plenty of hotels, motels, inns and B&Bs to choose from.

Once you’ve explored Anchorage, jump in your hire car and head through the downtown area of Anchorage in order to get onto the Seward Highway. The highway runs to the south, providing some beautiful views of the Kenai Mountains. It will take you about three hours to reach Seward, but there are a number of attractions along the way, so you may want to take a day or two to explore the route properly.

Attractions en route include the Indian Valley Mine National Historic Site, where you can pan for gold and learn about the history of the mine in the site’s museum, and the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center, where you can see black bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, caribou, deer and other animals, all of which have been rescued by the centre.

You can also take a slight detour to stop off at Seavey’s Ididaride Dog Sled Tours, where you can take a tour of the kennels and enjoy a dog sled ride. You’ll need to reserve your place in advance, so visit the company’s website for more details.

Once you’ve completed your journey to Seward, take some time to enjoy a walking tour of the town or visit some of its art galleries, coffee shops or stores. Seward’s attractions include the Alaska Sealife Center, where you can see puffins, seals, sea lions and many other marine species from the Gulf of Alaska, and the Chucagh Museum and Institute of History and Art.

You can then either explore more of Alaska or drive back to Anchorage and return your car to the airport car hire office before flying home.

Image by: Dave LaForest. Sourced from America’s Byways