slater

Looking for some help to identify a perfect-world beach for our family's holiday trip this year. There will be 13 of us - 7 adults and 6 kids ages 6 and under, and we're looking for the week of Christmas.

Prerequisites are that it be warm (preferably warm enough for the adults to swim ... the kids will get in regardless how cold I think it is), that it be on the Gulf and that the beach be soft. Would be great to stay beachfront somewhere, just because we all know there will be umpteen million trips back to the house for snacks/drinks/forgotten goggles/potty/etc. Would love to stay all under one roof so that we can put the kids down and then eat dinner and relax without hiring sitters or trying to make the monitors reach across several floors of a condo complex.

The extent of my knowledge of Florida beaches is that we've visited (and come to really enjoy) Panama City during trips to visit extended family in the area, and that we hear Naples is great. During my research of this forum and others like it, I've seen that Sanibel has great shelling (but that's probably not what we want), that Anna Maria Island and Siesta Key are regularly noted as standouts (but I wonder if that's too far north to be anywhere near warm enough to swim?) and that Ft. Myers has been called too touristy/high-risey by some. Having never been to any of them, it's hard to decide between all these unknowns.

What I do know: we have a long history with the NC beaches, and we love many of them. Our favorites are the low-key beaches along the Outer Banks (especially Hatteras/Frisco/Buxton, but also Nags Head/Kitty Hawk), and the Holden Beach/Ocean Isle area, which has lots of casual beach houses but not many high rises. That said, though, the kids love the excitement of a Myrtle Beach or Panama City Beach type place with lots to do, so I wouldn't outlaw those types of places.

What I have in my head is a great little beach that has stuff you can walk to, isn't too high-falutin, and isn't uber-expensive (although for this trip, somewhere in the $5000/wk range, and perhaps even higher, isn't out of the realm of possibility). Does this place exist? And if so, can you help me find it?

321go

> There are a number of gulf coast beach towns like that, but the issue is going to be swimming in the last week of December. None of the places I'm thinking of would really be warm enough for that. I think you'll have a hard time finding a beach house that sleeps 13 that still has availability for that week.

Any Fodorites with ideas for slater?

starrs

just start scanning vrbo
Naples
Maybe anna Maria
That's a tough one

gdubkc

My family loves Key Biscayne but it is on the other side just a couple of miles from the Miami airport...beautiful little key with a couple of VRBO homes...a lighthouse,
Mango Cycles for bike rentals, Chiefs for seafood and sushi
a great park and beautiful sunsets over the bay.

slater

I've been addicted to vrbo and homeaway the last few days, and it does look like we're already too late to get many of the big beach houses we've looked at. Ft. Myers Beach may have a couple. Thoughts on that area? Are the beaches nice and soft? What's the area like? Good for kids?

Maybe we'll have to decide whether swimming in the ocean is imperative, or we'd be happy with a heated pool and short sleeves (hopefully). That said, what are your suggestions further north? I keep seeing Anna Maria, but is that the one that only rents homes by the month? (They're all running together at this point, so forgive me if that's not right). And regarding Naples, it appears that many of those homes are not waterfront ... which to my family is fairly important, especially if it may be warm enough to swim.

Thanks for the tip on Key Biscayne gdub, I'll have to check it out and see if I can convince my MIL (who is paying for this big shindig) that we should also look on the Atlantic side.

I'd love to hear more ideas if anyone has them.

NewbE

Take a look at Clearwater Beach and the nearby towns, like Passe-a-Grille, Indian Rocks, Indian Shores, Reddington Beach, Madeira Beach. I think they offer a good balance of family-friendly things to do without being wildly overbuilt. But indeed, you might not find swimming in the ocean to be possible; I mean, Canadians do it all the time, lol, it's not COLD in December, but it's not bathwater warm (the way it is now, almost too warm). And it's true that anywhere much north of the Miami area, you run the risk of encountering a cold snap.

I am just not a fan of Ft. Myers.

slater

Thanks NewbE for the advice. I have a friend who lived in Passe-a-Grille for a while, and she loves that area and also recommended Anna Maria. I will look at the other nearby towns too. Any of those slightly walkable (to dinner, or coffee, or a couple stores, in addition to beach)?

I have found quite a few homes in the Anna Maria Island/Holmes Beach area since this morning that are available and with heated pools. That seems to be a decent possibility at this point. I wasn't overwhelmed with excitement at much of anything still available in Ft. Myers.

starrs

Anna Maria with a heated pool would be a GREAT solution

330east

You might look into South Seas Resort on Captiva or maybe some place on Sanibel.

NewbE

slater, yes, all the towns I named are definitely slightly walkable--perfect phrase! Depending on exactly where you're located on or just off Gulf Boulevard, you will be able to walk to something, because all the restaurants and shops and cafes and such are strung along the main drag. The Sand Pearl is a really nice resort on Clearwater Beach...

cd

I do like Maderia Beach (be sure to roam Johns Pass there) and St Pete's Beach. I like Captiva and Sanabel but the beaches are not soft and sandy, full of small shells. I do like Ft Myers Beach, we stayed on the north end and walked to Times Square everyday, which was like a ten minute walk,for really good ice cream. Whatever you decide, I think besides an oceanfront facility, a heated pool is important for your kids

slater

Thanks for all the replies. I feel like we're armed with a little more information now, and it looks like we might be headed toward the Anna Maria Island option. I've looked at a lot of the other small towns NewbE mentioned, but many of them didn't have houses available that were large enough for our small army (and that's one thing we've learned that's really important for us while the kids are still young enough to go to bed early-ish). AMI still has plenty of beautiful homes - big enough for all of us - close the the beach and with heated pools. Sounds like paradise to me.

Thanks to all for helping to winnow down the towns to a manageable number to research. It's nice to have the experience of others to help guide our decision.

OceanBreeze1

Problem with Florida at Christmas time is that it is often cold. We have been there b/t Christmas & New Year's & it was freezing. One year it was nice but still chilly. This was Southeast Florida (Ft. Lauderdale/Palm Beach).
To maximize your chances of warmer temps, go as far south in Florida as you can. Southwest Florida...Sanibel, Naples, Marco Island... would be included there.

But, if you really want a warm Christmas week you shd go to Aruba or some place waaay south.

starrs

Pretty much the opposite of what you said you were looking for -

My best friend just returned from a fabulous extended family vacation at Ponte Vedra (east coast). They usually go to St. George Island on the gulf. They were WOW'D by the oceanfront rental house and grounds of the club.

St Augustine is up the road and would be beautiful at Christmastime.

As mentioned before, the ocean may be cool but beautiful for walking. We've been to Cumberland Island (further north) the last day of the year and the kids played in the water so it may turn out to be warm for you while you are there. No guarantees, but always a possibility.

OceanBreeze1

Anything is "possible". It's just not probable to be warm @ Christmas in Florida. It is definitely not guaranteed. OP's prerequisite is that it be warm.

I would, & now do, go farther south than Florida when I want warm...even in February!

321go

"Sounds like paradise to me." It's pretty close! It's a great place for a family vacation; I think you'll enjoy it.

slater

Thanks, Starrs, for the suggestion of Ponte Vedra ... that is another town my friend from Pass-a-Grille was extolling the wonders of. I passed through on a work trip 10 years ago and always wanted to go back, but I figured this might not be the time. Maybe as kids get older and are more able to enjoy walking/shopping. Right now they're all about checking things off the list: beach - check, pool - check .... But anyway, suggestion noted and saved for later; I definitely want to stroll St. Augustine eventually.

And I know we're kind of taking our chances with the "warm" aspect of our trip simply by staying in FLorida, but to fly all 13 of us somewhere ... the thought makes me exhausted and probably causes my MIL to have heart palpipations. That's just a lot of coordinating. Florida feels easier because it's drivable, and if we have to sacrifice a couple degrees ... well, we'll just have to drink more and warm up. Plus, I should have mentioned - half of us are coming from Indiana, so anything above 40 will feel warm-ish to us!

starrs

slater, I'm pretty much the opposite. I worked Florida for years and really was never drawn to Ponte Vedra. I'd be in the area and out to dinner during golf tournaments and be in restaurants with the pros and their families - and just never drawn to Ponte Vedra. My SIL and her parents used to take the kids every year. Still no draw. But, last week my friend called from there and started the conversation with "Oh. My. God". Their oceanfront rental house was the best one yet and she just loved the club. Thought I'd toss that out there.

One thing I've never done that I always wanted to do was watch the Jacksonville Holiday boat parade. I just googled and found a list of others in the state. I had no idea there were so many - and some are nearer the end of the month than the beginning. Check it out for possibilities -

http://www.floridabywater.com/compon...7-boat-parades

If you end up on the west coast, mid-way up or better, consider taking the kids to Tarpon Springs and eat at one of the family owned Greek restaurants. I think they'll enjoy the sponge docks.

If you do a park, Busch Gardens was (by far) my favorite park to take the kids. It's not so big and overwhelming as Disney/Universal but just as much fun. (Ditto for Dollywood in the mountains).

Have a great multi-generational holiday. One word of unsolicited advice - figure out a way to manage easy meals so you (or another person) isn't in the kitchen all the time.

Betsyboopy

my favorite is Pass-a-Grille on the Gulf Coast. They were just included in Coastal Living Magazine as one of Florida's best secret beaches. There are a couple of little inns that have kitchens and heated pools. One we stayed at is Coconut Inn. Right across from the Gulf of Mexico. You can find them on this website: www.visitpassagrille.com Have fun wherever you end up!

Betsyboopy

one more point I wanted to make - one of my favorite things about Pass-a-Grille is everything is walking or biking distance so you don't have to pile everyone in the car to go to dinner all the time.