Well, no sooner do we commit details of our new book to print (see our last blog!), than here comes the real thing, hot off the press and twice as pretty. Yes, it’s the very first copy of The Best Orlando Villa Holiday Guide, and it’s looking mighty fine in our latest video:
It’s the first time we’ve seen it and we’re delighted with the sharp look and general layout and design. It’s been a while in the production stage, but it’s now on sale at all good UK bookshops and online with both Waterstones and Amazon.co.uk. Be sure to seek it out!
OK Brit Guide fans, this one’s expressly for you. Although our long-running guidebook died a slow and painful death in 2024, we have been quietly working to salvage the content and find a new home for it. And find a new home, we have.
The 29-year run of the Brit Guide was something of a phenomenon in guidebook terms, taking on the well-established big-budget travel series and coming out on top year after year as the UK’s best-selling guide to any destination. But now it has a successor. Step forward the Best Orlando Villa Holiday Guide.…!
Yes, we know, it’s a bit wordy, but the new UK-based publisher is well aware of the ever-growing market for villa holidays in Central Florida, hence they wanted to be right up front with this aspect of things. And, if we’re honest it’s something we should have done a while ago. The villa market is a real speciality in the Kissimmee area, and we needed a specialist to cover this area, hence the well-travelled Lizzie Best was recruited to write this section. We have to say, the information, and the way it is presented, far exceeded our expectations (and our ability to replicate it!).
In fact, with new layout and design, we think it looks even better than the days with our previous publisher. The colour is sharper, the design is more imaginative and the content has a bit more zing to it, having been given a complete overhaul and rearranged in a number of sections, including a month-by-month guide to what’s happening in terms of events and sports, as well as the weather (!).
A sample page from the new book
The chance to look at all the various Brit Guide content from a fresh perspective has led to a number of changes in the general flow of the book as well, while we have been able to add a lot more practical content when it comes to preparing for the holiday and getting to grips with matters like ride-share transport, toll roads in Florida (of which there are a lot) and travel insurance. We’ve added a section on Tampa Airport, in addition to Orlando and Melbourne, and boosted the Getting Around chapter with more advice and insight on child car seats, the essential Visitor Toll Pass and other driving practicalities. And the detail on villas, and all aspects of choosing the right villa and villa community, is second to none, with a comprehensive look at the logistics, value and places to stay, as well as things like grocery shopping and using barbecue grills.
Another big change is with the theme parks chapters, perhaps not surprisingly following the opening of Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe park, which is quite stunning. Now, all the main attractions are grouped together in one mega chapter, while a second chapter looks at other attractions, like Wild Florida and Mount Dora, that are all worthwhile Days Out in and around Orlando.
The full Epic Universe panorama
Of course, there are still chapters devoted to the essentials of Shopping, Dining and Sport, while we have re-worked the old Beyond Orlando section to give it a Florida Beaches focus that should have extra appeal to all our UK visitors.
In many ways, we’re grateful for the chance to re-work large parts of the old content and make it seem fresh again, and we thoroughly enjoyed the full write-up on Epic Universe, which is simply gorgeous to look at. There’s more in the pipeline, too, so be sure to follow all our updates on our Instagram account.
So, a final farewell, then, to the Brit Guide; and hello, Best Orlando Villa Holiday Guide (phew!).
As we come to the end of another year in the life of two weary-but-happy travel writers, we are able to look back on a truly remarkable 12 months, culminating in the launch of our latest book, 111 Places In Orlando That You Must Not Miss.
Making sure our local Barnes & Noble store has a signed copy of the book!
Back in January, we were holed up in Donna, Texas, at the beginning of the homeward leg of our grand A Year On The Road RV adventure across the USA, taking a breather as we figured out the final four-and-a-half months of the trip. In the end, we continued with Plan B (our re-routed itinerary after discovering New Mexico gets a fair bit of ice and snow!) to travel the full length of the Texas coast and then hop through each of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before returning to Florida. It all worked out well, albeit, we lost our beloved Ruthie the Rescue to an ongoing medical condition (and old age) in May.
A happy dog – Ruthie did so well on our big RV trip, but then faded quickly on our return home
The rest of the year has been devoted to getting our Orlando lives back in shape, catching up with work back in The Theme Park Capital of the World – and launching our new book. The 111 Places guidebook was a happy coincidence of a contact on LinkedIn flagging up an opportunity for us, and we were delighted to dive into a different side of Orlando, the non-theme-park side, for what is now our 52nd book. While part of an existing – and highly popular – book series by German publisher Emons, it gave us the opportunity to spread our wings and delve into a completely different side of The City Beautiful, one which doesn’t get a lot of publicity.
The 111 Places in Orlando team – us with photographer Kayla L. Smith
The simple fact is, there is more to this huge tourist destination than meets the eye – much more, in fact. There is a wealth of history, art and culture, as well as a thriving downtown district scene, and some unique restaurants. All of this, plus some of the quirky and offbeat places that most cities can boast, and more can be found between the pages of the new book, studded as it is with wonderful photography by Orlando photographer Kayla L. Smith. This is a book we are immensely proud of, and we hope everyone who buys it discovers something new, exciting and captivating about the city we call home. There are 111 stories just waiting to be discovered (along with another 111 that are linked to the main Places!).
How our epic Year On The Road adventure started – with driving lessons!
And that’s our (basic) story of 2024, at least for now. There will be more new adventures in 2025, although we don’t know what they will be yet. We are probably going to take a step away from our Brit Guide work for the immediate future, but there will be another edition in Susan’s Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World series in the not-too-distant future, plus more about our Year On The Road adventure. We’re hoping to get back to Europe for some (long) overdue travels there, and we also want to see more of the USA’s east coast. We do plan more RVing at some stage, but we might need an extended break first! In the meantime, we’d like to wish all our family, friends and followers the happiest of Holidays, and a peaceful and prosperous New Year –
Veness Travel Media 