Florida Destinations
 

We are going to be travelling from New Orleans back to Florida on our road trip in April/May. We fly back to the UK from Orlando but have visited Orlando before so want to stay somewhere else. We would like to spend around 3 days somewhere where there is enough to do for that time. We want to leave the car and get around on foot. We could spend a couple of hours at a pool, walk to nice shops and restaurants, do some sightseeing and although we are not ones for lying on a beach it is nice to be near one. We want to avoid cities as we will have done that quite a lot on our road trip. We have been to Naples before and loved that so somewhere similar to that would be an excellent choice for us. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

Any of the villages along 30a would be great -
http://30a.com/
They are newer villages/developments but lots to do between Blue Mountain and Rosemary Beach and you bike along the way.

Apalachicola is another option. It has a small historic downtown but lots of places to visit in driving distance
http://www.apalachicolabay.org/

St. George Island may be what you are looking for.
http://www.apalachicolabay.org/index...George_Island/
A small island with a few shops/restaurants.

All of the above are on the gorgeous white sand beaches of the panhandle of Florida. The Gulf, but further north than Naples.

I would stay on Lido Key in Sarasota.You can walk to St.Armands circle which has several restaurants and shops.Take the car one day and drive a short distance away to the Ringling Musuem and Ca da Zan..the home of John Ringling..beautiful location and historic home you can tour on Sarasota Bay.You are also just a few minutes drive from Siesta Key voted one of the most beautiful beach's in the US. Great for a walk..very wide beach with sand like talcum powder.Has a little village with restaurants and touristy shops.Magnificent area and not over run by hi-rises and commercialism.

Thanks guys, will look at these places. My husband was talking about Daytona Beach. Any thoughts on that? Also do you have any recommendations for a 1 or 2 night stopover between New Orleans and our destination (albeit unknown yet)in Florida.

Not Daytona. Daytona is full of T-shirt and souvenir shops....tacky ones. Its not a nice little walk around kind of town. Don't do it.

Daytona is unique in that you can drive your cars on the beach. If that appeals...

From 1958 -
<I>"Unlike most Florida resort communities, Daytona Beach attracts more visitors in summer than in winter. Daytona bills itself as the world's speed center. The 23-mile [37-kilometer] strip of sand, so hard that cars can drive safely at surf's edge, has witnessed many automobile speed tests. Records up to 276 miles [444 kilometers] an hour were attained on the once sparsely settled strand. But rapid beachfront development has forced stock- and sports-car racing to the southern end."

—From "Slow Boat to Florida," National Geographic magazine, January 1958

Photograph by J. Baylor Roberts
http://photography.nationalgeographi...pod_image.html

</I>Your husband may be interested in a tour of the Daytona International Speedway -
http://www.daytonainternationalspeed...urs/Tours.aspx

"Also do you have any recommendations for a 1 or 2 night stopover between New Orleans and our destination (albeit unknown yet)in Florida."

Any beach location between Pensacola Beach and Apalachiacola.

If you and/your husband are interested in planes, this flight museum is free -
http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/

Thanks. Point taken about Daytona Beach and good suggestions between NO and Florida. Ideally we want another Naples in Florida where we can park car at hotel and walk everywhere. Naples has a nice town centre with lovely shops. You may ask why don't we go back but have been twice so need somewhere else. Does Fort Myers have a downtown centre?

" good suggestions between NO and Florida."

The suggestions ARE in Florida.

Have you looked at a map perchance?
It seems as if you are unaware as to the geography.
New Orleans to Orlando = 650 miles and 450 of those are in Florida.

Yes I am aware it is Florida but probably have not been specific enough! Looking to spend our final 3-4 nights about 1-2 hr drive from Orlando Airport and looking to break the journey from NO to our final destination in Florida.

"...but probably have not been specific enough! Looking to spend our final 3-4 nights about 1-2 hr drive from Orlando Airport"

That information is definitely helpful.

So what did you not like about Duncandoodles' suggestion?

Hi amarone,

Have you considered St. Augustine? It's perhaps a bit out of your way, but not too much, close to 2 hours drive from Orlando. America's oldest city has a fascinating history and is quite compact, so you could park your car and walk to interesting historic sites and restaurants. (I visited without a car last year.) The beach you'd have to drive to or take the trolley. The Castillo de San Marcos, Lightner Museum, Oldest House, and Murat (Napoleon's nephew) House were all highlights during my visit. There are differing opinions about St. Augustine, but I really liked it.

Have fun deciding! Daniel

Great thanks. Nothing wrong with Duncandoodles suggestion starrs- just like to have as much info as I can and then I do further research on the places/areas to see what may suit us best.

If you want to be 1-2 hours from the airport in Orlando, you'll probably want to forget about the panhandle of FL. Apalachicola, for instance, is about 5 hours from the airport.

If you're looking for a small-ish city closer to Orlando:

West Coast: St. Petersburg -- shops, restaurants, interesting Dali museum, and other attractions in the city and nearby.

East Coast: Vero Beach: Really small downtown, with shops and nice restaurants. Lots of nice public beaches in the area, including Sebastian Inlet, and close enough to the Kennedy Space Center if you're inclined to take a day trip there.

I would suggest either Sarasota or St Pete. Sarasota is probably closest in flavor to Naples, with St Pete a close second. Neither of these is "on the beach", but beaches for both are minutes away. Downtown St Pete has become a vibrant city center in the past decade, and getting better and better every year. Downtown is on Tampa Bay, with patisseries and al fresco dining, as well as the museums (art and a Chihuly museum). If you prefer to stay on the beach, downtown is about 15 minutes from St Pete Beach

Sarasota is very similar with good restaurants, Selby Gardens, great shops on St Armands Circle. Downtown is on a bay, with beaches just a quick drive from downtown. Either St Pete or Sarasota are an easy drive to the Orlando airport, BUT traffic on I-4 can be a hassle certain times of day, and certain days of the week, so leave yourself plenty of time!

Thanks for all the feedback. Sarasota looks like our kind of place however I also like the look of St. Augustine and Vero Beach. Prob one of these three will be our choice.

Vincenzo - we were looking at staying somewhere between New Orleans and our final destination before flying home so that is why Apalachicola was mentioned.

Have visited St. Petes, Clearwater and Treasure Island many years ago so will go somewhere different.

One last question - is it better to stay in Lido Key or Sarasota?

Depends if you prefer beach or town. The beaches are so close, and you have a car, so it's only a matter of preference for what you see when you are in, and not pursuing some activity. If it were me, I'd go for the beach rather than town Depending on where on Lido you stay, you can walk to the shopping and restaurants on St Armand's, and it's a short drive to Selby Gardens, or Mote Marine, or the Ringling Estate.

I'm not trying to dissuade you, not in the least, but if you haven't seen St Petersburg in the past 5-7 years, you simply haven't seen it! :)

Yes OO probably prefer to be able to walk to shops and rests. on St. Armand's so Lido Key may be the place. Thanks for all the advice.

I like Sarasota and have stayed at the Sandcastle on Lido Beach, it's nice because it's right on the beach and has its own pool, etc. YOu can get rooms facing the ocean, also.

But there really are not many places you can stay on Lido Beach where you could walk to St Armands circle, unless you don't mind walking a mile or more. There is only one hotel within a half mile, a Holiday Inn. If you want to stay there, that would work, but otherwise you probably won't be walking.

Seaside Beach really is exactly what you're looking for. You could stay there for several days and then move over closer to Orlando before your flight

http://www.seasidefl.com/shop-dine/