Plan to go to Florida late June and looking for a beach house preferably on a nice beach. Or if can't find a house, someone suggested the Sea Captain's Resort in Clearwater. Any ideas?

Where in Fla? For how long? You mentioned Clearwater, but are you considering the East Coast of Fla. too? I have a friend who owns a condo across the street from the beach in Melbourne Beach -- nice place, I've stayed there -- about 90 mins. from Orlando. If you're interested, follow up this post with another giving an email address where you can be reached, and I'll hook you up.

If you're going in June you should consider the panhandle area -- not as hot & humid and much fewer bugs. Destin is nice, as is Sandestin and Seaside. Panama City Beach, especially the Thomas Drive area, is also nice -- but crowded. The panhandle beaches are the best in Florida, if only for the warmer months of the year. Run a search on Yahoo and you'll find plenty of info.

I agree with Ted. The Panhandle has the best beaches--beautiful white sand, emerald green water and tons of condos/beach houses to choose from. St. George Island in the Panhandle is also a very nice beach.

My aunt rented a beach house with frineds for a four day Thanksgiving weekend on St. George island. They all loved it and plan to return. It's all residential - no big resorts or hotels. One third of the island is a wilderness preserve and has a pristine 9 mile long beach with lots of birds. I've checked online resources for rentals and there are many options, especially if you're looking for multiple bedrooms. I was hoping to find a single room (for two people) but most or all of the rental offerings appear to be multi bedroom condo's.

St. George Island is so peaceful...white sand, quiet...stay on the Plantation...it's more private. Destin is called the Emerald Coast because of the beautifully, colored water. Destin is more resort oriented, but there is more for kids to do there. If you want a quiet get away, I'd stick w/ St. George.

As a resident of Panama City, I thrid the vote for the Panhandle. Although I take exception to the Emerald Coast comment, this whole area is the Emerald Coast, not just Destin. Anyway, the entire area is known for their "sugar sand" beaches and green water. We do have less bugs than most areas and it stays a little less humid, but it still is hot and buggy (welcome to FL). Although June is a pretty good summer month to come - July/Aug tends to be the worst. As for area, it all depends on what you want to do. Pensacola has a hopping night life and lots of stuff going on almost every weekend (like arts and crafts fairs, Bushwaker festival, music fests etc). But the beachs are a little more crowded, and with all that partying it tends to be pretty racy at times (I'm thinking if you have young kids). Destin/Sandestin are both very nice, but kind of the "resort" feel to it. Which is great at times, but personally not my cup of tea. Good resturants/bars in the area and is more family orriented - Sandestin is more pricy than Destin.
Seaside is wonderful (as is the other little "seaside look a likes") but is very expensive. There is not as much "night life" Red Barn not withstanding, and is more orriented towards familys/honeymooners/etc that want to get away and be by themselves on the beach for a while. Panama City, while I live here I don't reccommend unless you are into the "Spring Break" type of vaccation. The beach itself is nice and there are lots of places to stay, and it is cheaper, but we aren't called the "redneck rivera" for no reason. Lots of tacky tourist traps, no cultural events to speak of, large night clubs (we have the dubious distinction of having the largest in the world, Spinnaker) and we tend to get young college kids, or rednecks down here. Going further east, Mexico Beach is nice and quiet - see their website www.mexicobeach.com - with no crowds, friendly locals, but no night life really (there are only two "bars" in the area). Cape San Blas which is right there also has been the "best beach in the world" by the beach dr the last two years and is very nice with houses to rent, again with no night life to speak of. St George which is also right there is the same as Mexico Beach and Cape, and so is Apalachicola, although there are some night clubs on St George and in Apalach. The Mexico Beach website will link you to all those places. Good luck!

You might consider Amelia Island, about a 45-minute drive from the Jacksonville airport on the northeast Atlantic coast. Amelia Island Plantation is a big resort but they offer lots of accommodation choices . . . great beach, nice restaurants, b&bs along the way, as well as private homes at Fernandina Beach. A short drive (45 minutes) to Cumberland Island, or Jekyll or St. Simons islands just across the state line in Georgia -- Jekyll has an excellent musical theatre festival in the summer, St. Simons has lots of historical interest, Cumberland is a state/private nature preserve accessible only by ferry or private boat, and the location of the JFK Jr. wedding a number of years ago. Lots of options, and overall probably less crowded than the Gulf Coast.

There are several websites for renting vacation homes....just about anywhere in the world.
Once you decide on your specific destination, use the Google Internet Search Engine at: www.google.com
Then, type in your search words

city name vacation rental

You can also do it now, just using:

Florida beach vacation rental home

If you must have ocean front, specify that in search phrase

I'd stick with the Gulf Coast beaches. The atlantic side is a whole different story...the sand is coarse and dark and not as "feet friendly"! Any of the above suggestions for the Gulf Coast are great. Except, I would steer clear of Panama City. It's too touristy and I found it to be dirty and too full of the MTV scene, sorry to say.

deedee is mostly wrong about Panama City Beach. Yes, the MTV scene predominates in March & April, but after Memorial Day the families move in and PCB is a nice spot for a fun-filled family vacation. Is it touristy? Yes, because it caters to tourists. Lots of shopping, waterfront restaurants, an amusement park, watersports, boat rides, dolphins, etc. A rented house (or condo) on Thomas Drive is a GREAT place to spend a week or two in the summer.

Try VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owners). We've used the site to rent two condos and a beach house -- never had a problem.

I like 'vacation rentals' over hotels.
Yes, www.vrbo.com is a good one
(vacation rentals by owner).
There are also several others. To find them, use the excellent Internet Seach Engine, called Google at:
www.google.com
Then, type in your search words/phrase; something such as:
Florida vacation rental
It will respond with several websites.

I tried the google.com search. Went to at least six sites that came up. IMHO none came close to VRBO.com