Florida Beach Vacations
 

Looking at trip to Florida and looking for ya alls opinions on 3 different areas. Were in late 60’s and love beautiful beach’s water and scenery. Thinking possibly the St. Augustine area, Florida Keys or Siesta Key are my choices. Best place to fly into the keys, and suggestions where to stay need a great beach.

We do like bit of bike riding and walking. Probably be gone a week to 10 days.

The Florida Keys are not known for beautiful beaches. I'd personally lean toward Siesta Key (although I haven't been there, I've been in many places on the west coast, and think the beaches are fabulous).

Out of those three choices the only really beautiful beach is Siesta Key. I don't know what time of year you are thinking of going but it gets really crowded. Don't miss the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota. There are beautiful beaches in the Panhandle but it's hard to recommend without knowing time of year.

Siesta Key is gorgeous. We stay at the Tropical Breeze Resort and love it. You can walk to everything. Love the Bonjour French Cafe for breakfast and lunch. And in Sarasota don'r miss the Ringling Museum and Circus Museum and a tour of their house.

Looking to travel mid March. Does the Keys have pretty scenery in spite of no beaches per say.?

Looking to travel mid March. Does the Keys have pretty scenery in spite of no beaches per say.?

The Keys are gorgeous and I would pick them over any beach area. I would stay in Key West and definitely do some snorkeling.

Higgs beach is nice in Key West and then you have the fab restaurants, all walkable and those great sunset cruises. St Augustine is great also. Ocean and a quick trip across the bridge for dining, shopping and arts. Good beachside hotels and airbnb.

If you want beautiful beaches, water and scenery forget about St. Augustine, it is known for the historical city not the beaches. I would recommend looking to the gulf coast for best beaches and water. My favorite beaches are Clearwater, Treasure Isand, St. Pete Beach, Anna Maria Island, and Marco Island. These are from North to South. My absolute fav beach is Anna Maria Island.

Thankyou all. Still thinking and researching. Read where a traveler loved the Island Resort in Islamorada FL. Looks gorgeous but so expensive. Any other recommendations ther maybe around 2-250 a night. And would it make sense to fly into Miami stay in Islamorada even a few nites then down to keys. Must have beach.

And who ever recommended Amelia Island, how does it compare to Sanible Island. We went there for years. Love the comments so helpful.

Where do you stay? Can you compare it to Sanible Island.

I disagree. St. Augustine has nice beaches (Crescent Beach, St. Augustine Beach, Anastasia State Park, etc.) plus the historic district and many good and reasonably priced restaurants.

Well, he obviously didn't go. And hasn't even come back to say thanks.

Sorry. We booked a vacation on Feb.26 to the Keys and the next morning I had a cardiac arrest. Yess I survived, but covid hit..

jhagerman64, I hope you are well now.

Key West has pretty beaches, beautiful sunsets, great places to eat, history to see and you can fly into Key West. Stay in old town and you don't need a car. Biking and walking plus take a sail during the day. Tons of watersport options but they are taking COVID seriously and you need to be up on Monroe county policy. I like Truman annex the best. Those streets are beautiful and vacation rentals there. Visit the Truman Whitehouse. Southernermost point area for beaches and hotels/

Just spoke to DD this morning, who owns a shop in Old Town Key West. She says that they are being strict about a 10p curfew and even arresting violators. Seems that most of those rougue curfew-breaking partiers are out-of-towners. As one might expect. Please be mindful of mask and other local requirements, keep everybody safe. Key West has scant resources to handle COVID cases.

Sludick, that is what we are hearing. We could not even reserve a room at Truman or Trumbo Navy Base. Hope your daughter is doing ok.

Keys: Cheaper in January than in March
 

Here’s the deal on the Keys: They’re expensive in February and March. Go in January and you’ll save money. Whenever you go, fly into Miami, rent a car and you’ll be in the Keys in a little more than an hour. You can easily spend a week exploring. It’s only 3 hours to Key West, but the drive is just gorgeous—42 bridges I believe.

Key Largo has the John Pennekamp State Park with a lot of activities including snorkeling trips. Next up is Islamorada with a nice little area with a brewery and art galleries. (This is where “Bloodlines” was filmed, at the resort called The Moorings.) You might enjoy the Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center where you see beautiful native birds up close. Also love the Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory. From Robbie’s Marina you can take snorkeling trips, rent kayaks and go to an island, and feed giant tarpon. Next is Marathon with its Dolphin Research Center and its Turtle Rescue. About a half hour before Key West, you’ll pass through Looe Key. The Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center is one of the best deals in the Keys if you want to snorkel or dive on one of the resort boats, which go to what are regarded by many as the best reefs in the Keys.

Then you’re in Key West! Lots to do here. Don’t miss the Truman White House tour. If you want to take the ferry out to the Dry Tortugas, plan ahead: it sells out days in advance, tho who knows in Covid times.

My husband and I (in our 60s) biked from Key Largo to Key West two years ago, at a leisurely pace of 25 miles a day, with lots of time for exploring. ( We’d recommend this for anybody who likes to bike.) So get a guide book and poke around the beaches, eat, bike, see the tiny deer, get in a boat. One thing we missed was historic Pigeon Key, so it’s still on our list. The Keys exude an old-fashioned, slow-paced low-key charm all the way up to Key West, where it’s a little crazy but fun.

On your way back to the airport in Miami, as soon as you get off the Keys, you’ll pass a BBQ restaurant in Homestead called Shiver’s. Stop for lunch. And if you’re into kitsch, stop at the nearby Coral Castle (might be closed during Covid) and see what one man did for love.