2-3 weeks in Southwest Florida for Young Seniors?
 

As the snow comes down up here in the Northeast, we're starting to think about next winter. If 2 youngish senior couple (late 60s) want to spend 2-3 weeks in Southwest Florida, can you help us plan. With about a 3 hour drive from Tampa to Marco Island (our assumed end points) and with our preference to stay in B&Bs if available or in rented apts, I assume we want at least two places over the time we are there. No need for beaches for sunning or swimming. Our preferred activities are walking (to restaurants in the evening, at museums, at outdoor places,) visit some tourist sites, and relaxing in the weather.

Can you help us start to plan?? ... will have a car... two or three one week rentals make sense?? If so, what areas? Hard to know which areas have the most things to do. Night life, other than restaurants not important. Ideas or websites to visit appreciated.

Thanks

North: Friends just got back from St. Petersburg and loved every minute.

Center: Sarasota has museums, opera, classical music, restaurants. We like St Armand's Key for a mix of activities, but we like the beach more than you seem to.

South: Naples has great weather, a symphony, a museum, a fabulous library system with cultural activities and lots of good restaurants. It is a good base for day trips to the Everglades and Miami. Walking paths everywhere.

A week in each place would be great. All Florida beaches that I know of are public. Even if you don't like to lie on the beach, they are great for walking and people watching.

I don't remember B&B's being a big thing in this part of ?Florida, but that may be because I don't like most B&B's.

Thanks, Ackislander,

That is really helpful to begin our planning... Like to walk on the beach (actually we live on one about 25 miles from NY City) but no desire to sit and sun at our age... Can we do two places or is the traffic to get to your suggestions too much of a pain?... Thanks.

Do you absolutely HAVE to fly to Tampa or could you fly to Sarasota-Bradenton or Fort Meyers?

Consider taking a cruise or two or three out of Ft. Lauderdale. Generally cruises are cheaper than renting condos and cruises include the food and housekeeping.

In the Fort Lauderdale area, we enjoyed Hollywood Beach, which has a great paved "Broadwalk" near the ocean amd some low-key restaurants and shops. We took the intercoastal waterway from there to the famous (Las Olas?) Boulevard in Lauderdale. There is a cool old home/museum down there that we enjoyed. Also took the waterway, which is basically a water taxi, to another beach area and walked around and had dinner. Definitely a neat area. If you like casinos at all, Hard Rock Seminole is neat and has sort of an outdoor mallish area attached.

If you did the north-central-south thing as a way of exploring different parts of the West Coast for future trips, I would definitely explore flying into Tampa and, as Dukey suggests, out of Ft Myers.

If I had to choose because of costs and/or rental car drop off fees, I would do Ft Myers (RSW) and explore the area between Sarasota and Naples and Naples and Miami. Pick up Tampa-St Pete another time. Base for a week in Sarasota and maybe ten days to two weeks in Naples.

But figure the drop off and other fees as a percent of the total cost of the trip, and you may be surprised how small the percent is. Or not. It depends on when and what else is going on.