teriberi

Condo Rental in Florida
Posted by: teriberi on Feb 21, 15 at 9:56am Posted in: Forums Help Jump to last reply
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I am planning on renting a condo in Feb. 2016 for either 1 or 2 weeks and need help deciding where in Fl. I would like to rent. My husband and I are an older couple and haven't decided if we want or need to rent a car. We will be flying to Fl. We are looking for advice on the best part of Fl to stay. We definitely want a condo right on the beach. We only need a 1 bedroom and 1 bath with all the amenities. We will need to be close to a supermarket and would like to be close to restaurants and forms of entertainment. Also, if there is public transportation from the condo. Do you think you need to rent a car? Also the condo would have to supply beach chairs and umbrella included in the price of the condo. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. If you have a name of a certain condo please include that in your answer. I went on the website Homeaway.com but there are so many choices. If I could pick a part of Fl. then I could narrow it down.

DebitNM

Price per week? That is very important info to include.

RoamsAround

Florida is a big state with an area of 65,755 Sq. Miles and having 1350 miles of coastline. There are hundreds of coastal cities and towns with literally thousands of beachfront or beach access condos, many of which are available for rent. In order for anyone to be of any help you have to decide which area/city/town you plan to visit.

FYI - If you want to go swimming in February you'll probably want to concentrate your search to the southern half of the state but you still run the risk of it being cool in February no matter where you go in Florida.

Do you want to be on the Atlantic or Gulf coast side of the state?

What type of budget do you have for your rental? Knowing that will go a long to helping you narrow your search. No sense people rehoming a condo that rents for $10,000/week if all you can afford is $500/week.

Define what you mean by "close to supermarkets and restaurants" - do you mean walking distance or just within a few miles? Unless you stay in a very remote location supermarkets and restaurants should be relatively close - probably about the same as where you now live.

If you stay in a condo that's located in a major city (say Naples, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, etc.) you'll have access to public transportation. If you stay in a more rural area public transportation will be limited or impractical to use.

Renting a car is a personal choice and depends on your particular lifestyle. Do you like to get out and explore the area? If so having a car at your disposal will be a plus. If, on the other hand, you are the type that likes to stay put or you constantly fret about paying for a rental car that may sit in the parking lot all day then you probably don't want to rent a car.

voyager61

It also might help to know where you are from and the types of places you usually vacation. Since Florida is so large and there are so many options, that will help narrow down the possibilities.

teriberi

Thank you for your reply. You have been very helpful. Do you think you could get a beachfront condo for around 1500 a week? I cannot do a lot of walking, but do not want to just stay on the beach all day. Will definitely want to go to a supermarket and would like to see some entertainment at night. Also, do most beachfront condo's supply chairs and umbrellas included with the price of the condo fee? Yes, I would want to go swimming or at least be able to sun bathe in Feb. What Southern part of the state would you suggest?

teriberi

I am from Mass. My husband and I have been to quite a few islands, but since I cannot do a lot of walking around and flying for to long would probably be uncomfortable for me, we thought Fl would be a good choice since it is not to far to fly.

starrs

Here are eleven oceanfront 1BR condo rentals in south FL at your price point.
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...5&maxprice=250

RoamsAround

You asked: "...do most beachfront condo's supply chairs and umbrellas included with the price of the condo fee?". Answer: It depends - Generally speaking the "better" (resort style) condo complexes have lounge chairs & umbrellas around the pool and/or on the beach that are provided by the HOA and are for the exclusive use by owners. renters and their guests.

Some condos HOA's leave it up to the individual condo owner to provide their own beach chairs and umbrellas. In this case sometimes the condo owner make them available to renters and sometimes they don't.

Bottom line, it's a question you should pose to the owner or rental agent before you commit.

If you want the Gulf Coast look at Naples, Fort Myers, Captiva, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Marco island. If you want the Atlantic Coast check out Miami, Surfside, Sunny Isles, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood.

As pointed out in earlier responses, there are 10,000's of rental condos in Florida. You should pick an area and concentrate your search there. Since you indicated "flying too long would be uncomfortable for you" I suggest you look at locations that are near airports you can reach non-stop from your "home" airport. you, That probably means Miami or Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic and perhaps the Fort Meyers or Tampa area on the Gulf Coast. Go to Google Maps and bring up Florida to see which cities/towns are close to the different airports that are serviced by your airline of choice.

Luv2travel15

teribari, glad that you found the right forum this time and I did too! Shame on us for posting in the wrong forum. LOL

Others have given you some good advice about selecting a place to stay. My husband and I have found that in February it is not always warm in parts of FL and you have to go further south to feel the warmth. Last winter we drove from MA (we live in MA also) to FL and it was chilly and cool all along the way til we got to Naples. We have traveled both east and west coasts and prefer the west coast. Others will have different preferences. Here's a nice website I found that might be helpful in narrowing down what you would like.

http://www.beachhunter.net/articles/...rida-beach.htm

Rental prices will vary and you will just need to search the different websites to find your price point. You may find a monthly rental for an affordable rate. Good luck. Hope you find something you like. After this winter in MA you can bet more people will be heading south next winter.

teriberi

Thanks all, you have been very helpful. I will check out the ones you posted starrs.

starrs

I did a search given your factors on VRBO.com. Read the reviews and see if you like anything. If not, do a similar search on your own in other regions of Florida. The further south, the warmer.

SusanMargaret

I'm sure others will chime in, but I think it would be very hard to be without a car here in SW Florida, especially if mobility is an issue and the weather is very hot. A car would give you so much flexibility - if your condo doesn't supply beach chairs and umbrellas, a quick visit to Target would fix that cheaper than renting for two weeks. My experience in Bonita Springs last year when we had car problems was that there were very few cabs and most of them were at the airport. We wasted ages on several occasions waiting for one!

If you prefer not to rent a car, then select a beach with a beach trolley service. St. Pete Beach and Fort Myers Beach come to mind, but there are probably lots of others. That way you could use the trolley for shopping and eating out.

teriberi

That helps a lot knowing Fort Myers Beach has a trolley service.

JoJoSiestaKey

Treasure Island, St.Pete Beach, Johns Pass would be very easy to stay at without a car. They are all in the same area and are all very walkable.

We like the area where the public beach, BilMar Resort, and Publix is located.