Florida town you can walk to beach and restaurants?
 

I am interested in visiting a Florida town where you can walk to the beach, restaurants, and shops. I enjoy the casualness and great restaurants of Key West, but would prefer someplace easier to reach for a quick trip from the northeast. Any great suggestions?

Hi B,

Get out a map of Florida.

Follow A1A from Palm Beach to Key West.

What's your budget?

When?

((I))

Ft. Lauderdale (Lauderdale-By-The-Sea area is particularly cute, with many fine restaurants and little shops within walking distance), South Beach in Miami, Sanibel Island, St. Pete and Clearwater Beach (although Clearwater Beach has gotten a bit junky and run down, in my opinion). St. Augustine is another good one...the downtown area is beautiful, has tons of history, is laden with restaurants/boutiques/galleries, and the beaches are nice. You might also consider Lido Key in Sarasota...especially in the area of St. Armand's Circle (a beautiful gulf-front dining and shopping district).

Will you be driving down? Which month will you be coming? Some of the beaches in North Florida can be rather chilly in March/April. Have you heard of New Smyrna Beach...? It is just South of Daytona Beach. Its a quaint little beach town not touristy like Daytona, has several good restaurants, and a few little beachy shops on the main downtown street. Or how about Amelia Island near Jacksonville? It is nice also. I personally prefer Indialantic Melbourne area but there isn't much shopping within walking distance to the beach, however,there is a real nice mall (Melbourne Square) a couple miles from the beach. Indialantic/Melbourne is about half way down the state on the East coast, pretty even with Orlando. It is just south of Cocoa Beach and Patrick Airforce Base.

We just took a quick four day trip to Fort Lauderdale in January. WE stayed at the Kira Mar Motel based on TripAdvisor recommendations. We flew nonstop from the Northeast, took a taxi from the airport to the motel, and walked everywhere or took the Sun Trolley. My hsuband and I both loved not driving--we both have thirty minute plus commutes. The restaurants were great on Las Olas, the beach was fine, and nothing was more than a 30 minute walk.

Indian Rocks S. of Clearwater is a great beach with several restaurants in walking distance of the hotels. No monster hotels to crowd up the neighborhood. The Holdiay Inn Indian Rocks is across the street from the beach, but always has a good music act in the evening. Half the rooms face a canal that opens on the Gulf.

Naples is a lovely charming town. It has great restaurants on 3rd and 5th in the downtown area. There are lots of cute cottage type homes there which give that small town feel, (as far as realestate values go I think they a expensive but they look cute!) and every street has an access to the beach which is beautiful.You can walk for miles. Beautiful sunsets.

Siesta Key in Sarasota is perfect.There are plenty of places to eat nearby. If you dont mind a 10 minute walk then siesta village is what your looking for. The shopping area in the village has cute resteraunts and bars but more importantly the beach is my favorite beach in florida and I've been to just about all of them. I was born and rasied in tampa, and I find the beaches closest to tampa (St. Pete, Clearwater, etc) are a little too college spring break oreinted all year long. Siesta key is more upscale and low key. The travel channel said the sand is the softest in florida. I believe it. It's like white powder. It's beautiful. Good luck and have fun!

Pensacola Beach. Walk to lots or a very short drive. Beautiful beach.

Just returned from Lido Beach. Beautiful beaches just a few hundred feet from St. Armand's Circle, full of great shops and restaurants.

Sanibel, Naples, Delray Beach.