Flights, rental car, entry

Nonstop connection from Frankfurt to Fort Myers, Florida!
With Discover Airlines (previously Eurowings) this is twice a week! From there you can be at our house in Cape Coral in half an hour by car or with an Uber airport shuttle. Further flights are available from various German airports with a transfer in the USA to Fort Myers.

Another alternative is the direct flight with Lufthansa. Non-stop from Frankfurt to Miami, daily. However, it is about a 2.5-hour drive from there via the IS 75 (Alligator Alley, right through the Everglades) to Cape Coral. But you could also think about visiting Miami and staying there for a night.

Flights (outbound and return) are usually available for less than EUR 1,000 per person in Economy Class with Lufthansa or in Basic Economy Class with Eurowings Discover if booked in good time. If you want more legroom and 2 x 23 kg of luggage per person, you can book Premium Economy with Lufthansa or Premium ECO or Best Class with Discover. As a rule, return flights cost around EUR 1,500 per person, but with a bit of luck you can fly for even less. Absolute savers can fly with Discover for less than EUR 600 (Basic Light fare) there and back, but with 8 kg of hand luggage they probably only have "swimming trunks and toothbrush" with them.

The outward flight takes around 10 hours, the return flight is a little quicker depending on the jet stream. It usually takes 8.5 hours to get back to Germany.

A rental car on site makes sense, because you want to discover a lot and don't necessarily have to hire a boat to get to beautiful sandy beaches or other destinations.

Although car rental prices have risen since the corona pandemic, a downward trend can now be seen again. You now pay around EUR 40.00 per day. If you want to benefit from the current favorable dollar exchange rate, renting a car through Budget directly at RSW Airport could also be an alternative.

ADAC Mietwagen USA, autoeurope.de or usareisen.de/mietwagen are our recommendations in Germany.
In any case, it is cheaper for tourists to rent a car in Germany than locally! And then everything is taken care of.

And the fuel prices? Well, the equivalent of a liter of regular gasoline is about 80 euro cents - that explains some of the vehicles you see there... but it's also fun to drive again.

However, there are a few things you should know if you have not yet traveled by car in the USA. There is virtually no "free parking" anywhere. On the contrary, even on the beach the credit card-fed parking meter is ticking. For half a day, parking fees can add up to $10.00. But it's worth the price: a great, white sandy beach, always clean toilets, open-air showers and no garbage, unimaginable here in public places.

Right before left? Far from it. If there are 4 stop signs at a junction, the first person to stop may go first and so on. And if the traffic lights, even on a main road, show red, you can turn right despite the red light (even without a green arrow, which doesn't exist there). However, it is sometimes stressful on the highway, because overtaking on the right is just as permitted and common as overtaking on the left. And the trucks usually drive in the middle. Well, you get used to it...

To enter the USA, a valid, biometric passport and the so-called
ESTA form (stay up to 90 days). You can fill this out online (preferably about 2 weeks before departure) and download the completed document as soon as possible. If you need help with this, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Simply enter our home address as your vacation address. The validity period of this ESTA document is 2 years, i.e. it can be used several times.

Current information:
Due to reports in the German media, there is currently a great deal of uncertainty regarding entry into the USA. According to the experience of many agencies and regular visitors, this is not the case at all. The reception at Fort Myers Airport is just as uncomplicated and friendly as it has been in the past.
We ourselves have not noticed any changes so far.
Of course, ESTA or visa and passport should be in order and no false information should be given to the border official during the interview.
Then you can be very sure that everything will run smoothly.