Looking to stay in Florida during winter. from PA.Have 2 small dogs who must go and would like a nice dog-friendly lodging suggestion and a fun beach, also. We like to walk, sit on beach, view beach and surf, shop, some nice restaurants. Any help out there?

I could interpret your post as "spending the winter" in Florida for several months. Or are you talking about a week vacation?

Are you looking for a beach front apt or condo, or are you looking for a hotel/motel?

I will say that in the winter, it is much warmer south of Tampa or West Palm. North of there can be quite cool. The further south you go, of course, the warmer.

There is a pet friendly web site that reports on condos and hotels that permit pets. I don't have the exact address but I think pet friendly rentals google will get you there.

The Lorelei Resort in Treasure Island is very pet friendly. They allow swimming in the bay - they are right on the water. Plus you've got the Honeymoon Island dog beach a few miles north - it is really a BEAUTIFUL beach

http://www.loreleiresort.com/

Great answers and lots of help appreciated. WE are thinking 2-3 weeks for the first winter.I was interested in being able to swim, so where it is warm in february would be nice.I did a lot of googling and pet friendly searching. Any first hand knowledge of Silver SAnds REsort in Fort Myers area? Thanks again and keep em coming.ps- we are 60ish and retired.

back again to say, any type lodging will do from cottage to resort to condo,and beach view would be very nice, but not mandatory.

Do we have a price in mind? You will find everything from $75 or more per day to $3000 a week. Many places have lower rates yet in January than in Feb. or March, usually the two most prime months.

I like the Treasure Island area, but you can usually expect a good 5 to 10 degrees difference in the winter between there and Ft. Myers, for example.

Neopatrick, or others, medium to low medium price range, certainly not thousands per day. Just a nice, clean, sweet area of good location.I am not at all familiar with treasure island, but will research it a bit.
Neo, are you the person who provided wonderfully detailed report on a month in NYC some time ago?

Guilty as charged.

I've lived in Naples, Florida for 30 years, so know this area pretty well. As a child in Ohio we spent many vacations (in August -- fools that we were) in Treasure Island.

Ft.Myers Beach tends to be a bit younger -- lots of kids and teens, and somewhat family oriented.

Sanibel has the most spectacular and remote beaches. Great place for relaxing, shelling, and beaching, as well as nature-oriented stuff. But not a lot to "do" otherwise. Beautiful low rise condos along the beach.

Naples is very upscale -- fancy shopping and nice restaurants. But within the city there's hardly anything (other than private homes) on the beach. North of town -- Vanderbilt Beach are some condos and motels along the beach.

Near Sarasota, there is Anna Marie Island, very laid back, Siesta Key -- much busier and more "crowded" but great beaches.

That is all useful info. I s fort myers too crowded- heard there is one beach in that area that allows dogs to run unleased.
we plan a 2-day trip to NYC- see christmas show and another on broadway. can you suggest decent, however small, hotels just off- no right on- times square? what about the salisbury?thanks. also the best small restaurants in that area for good american food. thanks

maribethp, I suggest you do a separate post on the New York issues. There are a lot of them, but people who know New York hotels aren't going to find this post to answer.

Ft. Myers Beach is probably about as crowded as beaches in Florida get in season. But I wouldn't say "wall to wall". I'm really not sure about the dog issue.

Last year we stayed near Fort Myers Beach with our two dogs and are returning to the same area this winter. Fort Myers Beach is 7 miles long and allows leashed dogs all along it. There are even special poop bags provided! Another reason for our selection of FMB is that Sanibel Island (about 3 or 4 miles away) also has several dog friendly beaches (again they must be leashed). There is an off leash beach at Lover's Key (Bonita Springs)and a better one in Venice (though that's a bit of a drive). We got lots of very helpful information about places to go with our dogs from Florida Dog Lovers Companion by Sally Deneen. I can't help on places to stay as we bought a travel trailer specially so that we can travel with our dogs!

Here's a link to a single family home dog-friendly rental in Naples, short walk to beach. http://www.dog-house-resort.com/vaca...inflorida.html

The #1 Pet Friendly beach in America is Cape San Blas, FL in the Florida Panhandle! Beautiful, uncrowded, white sand beaches! Worth checking out.