Best place for shopping in FL?
 

Last December, we went to Fort Lauderdale Christmas shopping and we would like to go to Florida again in December this year for much of the same! We thought the shopping was very good in FLL but we found there was not much to do in the evenings, however, that may just have been due to it being a quiet time of year maybe!?

Is there anywhere better than FLL for us to go which will combine good shopping with nice weather (we are from the UK so it is frosty and icy in December). We are interested in gifts but also clothes and shoes for ourselves too.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You might want to think about Tampa. There is a new mall called International Plaza that has wonderful upscale shops and more conservative shops. I usually do not like malls, but this place is much more than just a regular mall. It also has an outdoor courtyard with many wonderful and unique restaurants and live entertainment. It's turned into the place to be on the weekend. Also, there is Hyde Park, which is near Tampa, and is a small quaint village with great shopping and dining. They also occasionally have outdoor entertainment.

Besides the shopping, there are evening activities. Ybor City is a place with dance clubs and bars. Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center has wonderful shows. A drive to the beach for the evening is also nice. Depending on what week you come, there are all sorts of Christmas events in Hyde Park, Tampa, and the surrounding areas.

As for your final requirement, the weather is great here at that time of year.

Good luck!

Hi Louise

I don't want to hijack your post but would be interested to know what you found by way of nightlife in Fort Lauderdale - or didn't you?

I was thinking of spending a couple of days there in September but like to find bars etc in the evening.

Thanks

Dave

Apart from the shopping malls which were open until 10pm, we found literally nothing to do in the evenings. Even the restaurants were virtually empty, in fact on one occasion, we were the only ones there! We aren't into nightclubs, but even the 'lively' areas had no-one in the bars.

This is why we have a dilemma, if we go to FLL again, we know we will love the shopping but it is a bit disheartening not having anything to look forward to in the evenings. We went about 10th December last year, so maybe it was too late for most holidaymakers and too early for the Christmas holidaymakers - September may be completely different!

We will be in FLL in July and are also from the UK. Would be interested to hear any shopping recommendations - malls or individual stores?

thanks

This is the very first time I have heard someone complain that there isn't enough to do at night in Ft. Lauderdale. There are any number of bars in Ft. Lauderdale (enough that many locals refer to the place as "Ft. Liqourdale") and I am puzzled by your inability to find at least one happening bar each night. Certainly, not every bar/pub/club/restaurant will be "going off" every night, especially if you are looking to party on say, a Tuesday night. But there is always one place (at least) that has some special happening going on even during the week. Heck, on a Monday night in December you could have found any number of sportsbars in Ft. Laud. that would be throwing a "Monday Night Football" party. Even if you guys were not into American football that sort of thing would have been fun.
Look, I'm not saying Ft. Lauderdale is South Beach (which, by the way, you could have visited on one of your evenings as it is only 40 minutes away from Ft. Laud) but overall, in terms of nightlife, I think it ranks second behind South Beach (Miami) in Florida. Also, remember the area we think of as "Ft. Lauderdale" is more than just the beachfront or Las Olas (although I can think of 10 good bars/clubs in those two locations alone), it is a very spread-out area so you might have to venture more than a few minutes from your hotel to find something going on. But believe me, there is ALWAYS something going on.
And as far as the restaurants, hey, as long as the food is good, who cares if the place isn't crowded?

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very slow in the Tampa Bay area tourism-wise. Maybe that's what Louise ran into in FLL.

As I read the original note, I couldn't help but think of recommending Miami--South Beach for beaches, night life and some good shopping all around that area, from Bal Harbour to outlet shopping, to boutiques.

I agree with Tampa. Also, you have the option of visiting St Pete beaches/sights. I never get bored there!
Plus, Tampa /St Pete airport is the most efficient in the US, IMO. All the cruisers have made Miami and FLL a total zoo. It took us nearly 2 hours to get through there in January.

Why not try Miami Beach, just south of FLL. There's probably more to do there at night, there are several good malls (Aventura & I think Sawgrass) and you're still close enough to FLL to go back to the shops you liked last year.

SallySally

We liked Sawgrass Mills, a huge (think Bluewater but probably about 4 times bigger) outlet mall. We went there 3 times, as it was just not possible to do everything in one hit. We bought quite a bit of Calvin Klein - clothes, pants (UK pants not US trousers!), DKNY - clothes, handbag, shoes. There was also a really nice crystal/china shop called Mikasa where we bought some lovely Christmas presents. There were some nice, small, individual type shops as Las Olas Boulevard. Also, there are at least half a dozen or more regular malls, all anchored by big name stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks, Lord and Taylor, Burdines etc. Also, if you or your partner are a bit geeky like mine is, there is a big CompUSA and BestBuy, where my bf just 'had' to buy the latest little Sony palm pilot thing, just because it wasn't out over here yet!!

Larry1 - As we were staying in Sunrise, we certainly did venture out more than a few minutes from our hotel! As petrol is so cheap for us, we don't care how far we travel as the needle never seems to move. Different people obviously have differing ideas of what is 'happening' but all I can say was that it certainly wasn't when we were there - maybe they all knew we were coming!!

We were thinking of maybe staying in Miami this time, or of just going to Miami for a couple of evenings if we decide to stick with FLL again.

I will do a bit of research on Tampa, however, the draw of Disney and Universal may be too much of a temptation, however, there is always loads to do at night there!

Thanks all for your replies, it is very much appreciated!

Anothetr area to consider for nightlife is the old historic district of Himmarshee that has dining & entertainment. See -
http://www.downtownhimmarshee.com

Universal and Disney are a good 1 1/2 hours away from Tampa, so it wouldn't be too tempting. And I disagree with OliveOyl about it being slow here during the holidays. On the contrary, there are many activities going on. Something for everyone!

Jon, you're going to have to trust me on this. Tourism is slow between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think you missed my reference to *tourism*, not life in general here? There's still lots going on for the rest of us and any tourists who DO come, but the tourists are busy doing their own Christmas preparations, as are the business travelers. We are dead then and it doesn't pick up again until New Years.

Lawsy I wish we had an edit function. By "we are dead then", I meant the hotel industry, not "we Tampa".

Jon

Interesting comment about Tampa being some distance from Disney etc. A lot of people from the UK fly to Tampa as a preference when going to Orlando, rather than MCO, due to easy access. An hour and a half driving time is not much really - apart from those who live in some of our bigger cities and towns, most have a bit of a drive to the large shopping centres and attractions anyway.

jon, travel is slow everywhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are some GREAT travel bargains to be had during that time period.

My husband liked Sawgrass Mills and he hates to shop.

Louise, the answer to your dead at night issue may have to do with SUNRISE (not FLL). While Sunrise is IN FLL, it's an area with a particularly older crowd (who don't go out late at night- they go to early bird dinners:) I'd try to stay somewhere on or near the beach wherever you choose to stay for more "action". I agree with OliveOyl on South Beach (the southern part of Miami Beach)as a good home base. It's a very different atmosphere with a long pedestrian "mall" filled with restaurants & clubs.

While you're there, take some time out from shopping to go to Vizcaya, an Italian Palazzo with fabulous gardens. You won't believe you're in the US.

Mclaurie

We only stayed at Sunrise, in the evenings we went to Las Olas, Riverfront and Himmershee etc!

Well, I will take your word for it, but I find it very unusual that you couldn't find something going on at Beach Place or Las Olas/Riverfront. Like I said above, during the week not every place would be happening, but certainly ONE bar or club would normally have something going on.
Anyway, since you stayed in Sunrise, you could have checked out a Florida Panthers Hockey game at the arena, they are not very good so you can almost always get tickets last minute. This facility is very new and the hockey games are fun even for people who have never seen a game in their lives. Also in Sunrise is the Sunrise Musical Theater, which hosts many musical and comedy acts throughout the year. And did you give Gameworks in the Sawgrass Mills a try for an evening of entertainment?