Lilley

We've been to Orlando (disney) twice. Would like to try a different vacation destionation in Florida. We have no kids. Like to relax look at the ocean, shop, eat have a good time. We are in our 30's, not into wild party's. Like nice jazz clubs, etc... Any advice??? Was considering, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Key West & Marco Island. But we are open. We are thinking of going in November.

andy

Hands down-- NAPLES--

Stay at the Ritz Carlton ( they have specials) or at the Registry..

It has a great downtown area full of shops and restaurants...

Also Old Naples is also filled with shops and restaurants..

The beaches are gorgeous...and there is also deep sea fishing there....

Marco Island, while right near Naples, is , to me, a dead island...you have to drive long distances into NAPLES to get some great restaurants and for the decent shopping.....

Another alternative would be South Beach ( Miami Beach) for some funky bar hopping and good restaurants..shopping is OK there, but not great- unless you go up to the Bal Harbor Shops ( you will need a car)....

Ft.Lauderdale is great-- the shops and restaurants along LAS OLAS BLVD are fabulous and yes,there are tons of restaurants and JAZZ clubs....
Stay ON the beach though and make sure you have a car to access Las Olas..It is really hopping on weekends! ( I like it MUCH better than South Beach).

clairelong

Fort Lauderdale is fantastic, just came back, in our 40's. But don't miss the keys even if it's Key Largo...those are a something that everyone should see once in their life...breathtaking! If you have any questions please email me at [email protected]

clairelong

OH, Key west was a waste; we went to South Beach and that was more for younger people; not sure how old you are.

tcapp

Miami would be a good choice. Other suggestions would be the Forida/Georgia Coast(Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Jeckyll, St. Simons),
and Crescent Beach, which is just South of St. Augustine.

Heartburn3

You can always take a quick plane over to the Bahamas for a couple days. Otherwise, I love Ft. Lauderdale Beach. I recently read they have some of the best beach area in Florida. I prefer the Atlantic vs. Gulf beaches due to much better sand and nicer water conditions. The beaches in the Keys are not good, except to see the view (sand is much harder.)

You can get a good buy on the Marriott Harbor Beach through Priceline.com (start bidding around $65 -- these were summer rates.) It's on a great area of the beach and within walking distance to the Water Taxi where you can take the Intracoastal water taxi to restaurants, shopping, etc. Las Olas has loads of restaurants, bars, shops, and scenery. It also is very close to the Riverwalk. A great stroll in the afternoon with stops for drinks and dinner.

soccr

Sarasota, maybe? It has a reputation for being overrun by blue-hairs, but not if you stay out around Longboat Key, Siesta Key and St. Armands Circle. The restaurants are good and getting better, the shopping on St. Armands is wonderful, and the sands are incomparably lovely. You might also enjoy visiting the Ringling Museum, going to Van Wezel if there are shows, etc. Which part of November? -- early could be gorgeous, later could get a mite nippy.

hugglynn

We got to FL every year over Christmas and pick a different town each year. We pretty much like anywhere on the Gulf Coast, but the Siesta Key, Longboat Key, St. Armands area is very nice and you have the luxury of large-town feel with Sarasota being so nearby. It's going to depend if you want more a more busy, city type atmosphere (Miami, Lauderdale) or laid back such as some of the Gulf Coast towns. Naples, as someone else recommended, has the flair of an upscale town with large town feel.

Janny

I was wondering if

cookie707

My husband and I visit Longboat Key (the Longboat Key Club--www.longboatkeyclub.com) every summer with or without our son. We've been coming here for 15 years (we're in our 40s now). This is the place to go for pampering (affordable) without feeling like you're out of your league! It's a resort--so there's golf, tennis, sailboat rental and lots of beach to roam for very long, undisturbed walks. We always try to reserve a room in Building 4, because the rooms face the Gulf of Mexico directly and you can hear the surf--they don't usually set out the beach chairs at that end of the beach, so you see total nature! We save all year to stay at this resort. Have also stayed at The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, but it's too big for our comfort, and there are only a few casita-type rooms directly on the beach. From the rooms, you can't see the beach, but you can walk to it within minutes. Both resorts have wonderful restaurants too, but St. Armand's Circle offers everything and anything in all price ranges for eating. Tommy Bahama's Cafe is one of our favorites. Lots of unique shops, and don't forget to have ice cream or fudge at Kilwin's (next to Tommy Bahama's)--the best ice cream around!

The Longboat Key Club is our long lost paradise--we'd rather go there than to Hawaii (we've been to Maui, but Longboat is so much closer and less expensive and just plain wonderful)!

Hope this helps if you decide to stay closer to Tampa (about 1-1/2 hours from Tampa International Airport).

Lilley

Thanks for the advice. If we decide on Ft. Lauderdale (found some cheap airfare) how long would you recommend our stay? We were considering 4 days.
Maybe a Sunday-Thursday. Is this long enough?

Paul

Of course, the length of your vacation is up to you, Lilley. But coming from a Michigan flight, I would definately make it a week. But then again, I enjoy *both* chilling out and sightseeing... so there is never enough time for me!

Happy Trails,
Paul

clairelong

We stayed from Wed. through Sunday and it was plenty of time for us.

Janny

I like doing the weekday thing preferably. Less crowded than the weekends!! Trust me, I notice the difference.

carenrl

I agree with Andy--Naples gets my vote--it seems to have much of what you're looking for. I've stayed at the Registry and it's top rate. On the east side, you can station yourselves in either South Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or Palm Beach, and travel up and down the coast. There's a little bit of everything. I'm not a fan of FL vacations, but I have family there and have visited numerous times.

Wherever you go, if you choose to drive (and you'll most likely need a car) please be careful--the drivers in Florida are notoriously BAD. It's the one area where I would definitely shell out the extra bucks and opt for the collision waver when renting a car.

Carib_Ruby

I also say Naples, you can relax on very beautiful beaches, rent your own boat and take it out for a picnic on secluded inlets, eat in some fantastic resturants, get the fishing experience at the pier while watching the pelicans dive into the water, walk around and shop in beautiful downtown Naples (dont think downtown like a busy, inner city downtown, more art gallery's neat shops etc)

The Ritz is a beautiful resort, the Registry is nice too, just note that to get to the Registry's beach you have to take a short tram ride (which is neat in itself as it takes you through the mangroves)

I can't see how you could go wrong chooosing Naples, you could always take quick a quick trip to Marco, Sanibel/Captiva

Ruby
[email protected]

Luzianne

There is only one place - Seaside.

www.seasidefl.com

Nice and relaxing. No jazz clubs, but you can definitely eat, relax, look at the ocean. White sand, blue-green water. Seaside spoiled me and now I compare all beaches to Seaside and none compare, IMO. Can't stand the Atlantic-side beaches now - brown water, brown sand - uck.

clairelong

The beaches are white sand in fort lauderdale and miami so don't know exactly where Luzianne is talking about. That's Texas...we have the worst beaches ever!

Luzianne

I am talking about the Panhandle of Florida. The beaches I went to in Fort Lauderdale had BROWN sand; no comparison with the Panhandle beaches. All the other Atlantic side beaches I have been to (Daytona, Cocoa Beach), Deerfield Beach) have brown sand.

J_Correa

Speaking of the Panhandle - it looks like my husband and I will be travelling there next spring for a wedding. We've never been to the area, so we are thinking about making a 7-10 day vacation out of it. Any ideas about where we should go and what we should see? We like the outdoors, good scenery, historical sites and museums, good cheap eats, relaxing, and hanging out. Definitely not big on shopping or expensive restaurants.

We are thinking Gulf Coast Nat'l Seashore, Pensacola. Also considering taking a few days and drive over to St. Augustine and Amelia Island. It looks like a fairly long drive over to that area from the Panhandle - anything good to see along the way?

The wedding will be near Panama City, so we will be there for a couple days.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.