Florida road trip
 

A friend and I are visiting Florida next March (9th-17th). We land in Orlando and are looking to do a road trip from Orlando down the East Coast, the Keys and back up the West coast via Tampa. We are spending a week and would be grateful on any suggestions folks may have on places to visit.
Thanks

Most obvious possibilities, depending on interest, might include:

Palm Beach/West Palm Beach
Ft. Lauderdale
Miami/Miami Beach
The Everglades
Key West
Sarasota/Bradenton
St. Petersburg
Tampa

Though I don't recommend all of these in one week.

St Petersburg can be missed out.

Well - I could spend a week in Sarasota/Bradenton without getting bored. Also in St.Petersburg/Tampa (they do go together well for a visit - but stay in St. Pete on the beaches.) I probably could stay that long in Key West also.

Since you have tickets to arrive in Orlando, I would suggest you stick to either East Coast or West Coast. Pick out the things you have heard/read about, come back here and the Fla. crew will try to put them into a logical order.

Thanks folks for the response.
We are looking at the following places and dates
Space Coast / Daytona 9th March - 1 day - is it better to stay in Daytona?
Palm Beach 2 days - visit Fort lauderdale and Cape Canaveral
Miami - 2 days
Naples - 2 days - can be 1 day if better things to do near Tampa
Tampa - 1 day
Orlando 1 day.

It really is difficult to decide the best places to see. However, we are 2 men just wanting to see the sights, enjoy the food and try to relax.
Any suggestions welcome.

When you say 1 day, do you really mean 1 night? Some of your destinations will take a while to travel between. There are some places I would want to visit along the way, ex. I'd stop at the Shark river section of Everglades NP.

Your new plan is more reasonable than your original one.

Sorry yes I meant night. What is good to see in Palm Beach and Naples?

IMO it would really be helpful if you told US why you have picked these particular places as well as what sorts of things/activities you are interested in.
For example, are you looking specifically to hang out on a beach for a day or two? Interested in nightlife? Natural sites such as the Everglades?

Why Naples, for example? Have you heard or read something about that area? Why not Sanibel or Captiva instead of Naples?

Orlando? Why? There are a lot of things to do there but you are only alloting one day.

More info please so we can help you.

In some parts of the world, the journey is the destination. Getting there is half the fun. Florida is not one of those places. The places are great, the driving experience is miserable. With two exceptions.

You are not landing in one of the better places for two single guys. It will also be spring break for a lot of universities and accomodation will be scarce, so unless you want to troll the beaches from Daytona to Fort Lauderdale for tuna, spend the night in Orlando to recover from your jetlag, and hie thee to Miami Beach.

You could easily spend your entire time in Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and coral Gables, but the two scenic routes beckon: one is the road to Key West and the other is US 41 (Alligator Alley) to Naples. You don't really have time to do both unless your idea of touring is to look out the window.

If you like alligators etc, take US 41, stopping at Shark Valley, Everglades City, Chokoloskee, etc, on the way to Naples and the glorious beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast, albeit with an older crowd.

If you like gorgeous island scenery, beers and conch fritters by the water, charter fishing boats, and hanging out in a party atmosphere. Key West is for you.

You will need to book accomodation in advance for both Naples/Bonita Springs and Key West/Islamorada. This is high season. The drive back to Orlando will be long and tedious from either place. Have fun!

Ackislander/ Dukey1, tahnks for teh feedback.
To be honest this was a spur of the moment thing. Couple of years ago we did Vegas, LA, SF so wanted to do the East coast of US this time. The idea is to see enough of Florida so that we can decide the best places to visti with our respective families some time in future. Sort of a recon mission if you will.

Is it better to have one city, say Miami, as the base and then visit the East coast i.e. Cape Canaveral, Keys and then similarly Tampa in the West coast to visit St Petes, Sarasota. Plan is to eat good food, we are ones to lie on the beach, maybe get a round of golf in if we can.

My trip reports for Palm Beach/WPB, Miami/Miami Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale follow:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...t-184065-2.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

A board search or look through a guidebook is recommended.