cheapboxofwine

I'm seeking recommendations about the following cities in Florida.
St. Augustine; Vero Beach; Ft. Pierce; Daytona Beach; Ft. Lauderdale. We are traveling down the IntraCoastal Waterway and intend to dock and live on our boat somewhere this winter with our two children ages 4 and 6 for up to 4 months. I received the above cities from a boater's forum but am seeking addt'l advice...so... just family friendly cities on the East coast of FL for this younger age group would be great. Transport, museums, things to do and see, and a relatively healthy environment are important. Thanks.

321go

I think St. Augustine would be my pick for kids. Exploring the Castillo San Marcos http://www.nps.gov/casa/ is interesting and if they're having a firing of the guns (cannons) demonstration, or if the re-enactors are there it really brings history alive. Also along that line there are a number of restored buildings/museums (http://www.oldcity.com/attractions-s...nformation.cfm). There's a lighthouse, an alligator farm (which is actually more than that), nice beaches, and for camp value ;-) Ripleys Believe It or Not!

Others here can tell you more about Daytona or the other cities you mention.

Ralphie

I agree that St Augustine is the best choice for what you're looking for on the east coast. Ft. Lauderdale would be a distant second, IMO

GoTravel

I think both cities would be great. Ft. Lauderdale is a city that you can get around by boat whereas St. Augustine is not. You can literally drive your boat downtown Ft. Lauderdale and there is tons of shopping and dining you can do by boat. Las Olas is also totally accessable by boat.

Ft. Lauderdale would be a much better city to be in without a car than St.Augustine.

Also, Ft.Lauderdale is much warmer.

Another thing is that Ft. Lauderdale is much easier access to Miami and the Keys which would be great day or overnight trips.

What kind of boat? Power or sail?

OO

I would choose Lauderdale, if only for the winter temperatures. St. Augustine will be a little chilly. It's a relative thing...if you live in Tampa, St Augustine is chilly. If you live in Naples, Tampa is, if you live in Baltimore, St. Augustine will seem warm--for a while anyway. St. Augustine will be much cooler than Lauderdale. Is your boat heated?

Lauderdale is a boating city, and as GoT says, you can get anywhere by boat around the canals...and what boats they are! Not sure what transient docking is like, (cost-wise) but am sure your boating community has addressed that issue. My guess is you'd need to make advanced reservations somewhere because of the heavy winter traffic.

It sounds like a terrific way to spend the winter in any case!

Brutforce

Certainly St. A of the places mentioned. You may also want to put in @ Amelia Island, which I would prefer to St. A.

GoTravel

Fort Lauderdale cracks me up. There is literally a doctors office in FLL that you can dock up to. It is the most boater friendly city in the US by far.

The banks even have boat slips.

cheapboxofwine

Oh, thanks so much for all your replies. I'm beginning to feel much more hopeful about St. Augustine since that is where I think we'll tie up our sailboat for a while anyway. First, we have to get in an obligatory trip to Disney, but that's a million more questions!

OO

Do you have heat?? Ours doesn't...it did at one time, but was removed before we bought it. You will need it for sure in St Augustine! That is my only concern for that area. You'll pretty much need heat every evening at least.

GoTravel

The temps between Fort Lauderdale and St. Augustine will be quite large. Nightime and daytime temps in the 50s whereas FLL will be in the 70s an 80s.

321go

The OP said that they will be in Florida "this winter...for up to 4 months." So temps will vary by timing and location.

cheapboxofwine, you can check on averages for each of the cities you mention here: http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

For the first two weeks of January, St Augustine's average high is 66. Ft. Lauderdale's is 76.

GoTravel

321go, the huge difference here is not the air temps but the ocean water temps which affect the air temp.

St. Augustine's ocean water tempurature drops to the mid 50s in January and February which will be very cold even if the air is in the 60s.

Ft. Lauderdale's water temp doesn't really drop below 75 degrees.

I've lived on a sailboat for weeks at a time in all weather.

Fort Lauderdale is a much better choice in terms of weather December-March.

321go

GoTravel, I'm not disagreeing with you (I agree that Ft. Lauderdale is warmer); I'm providing info to the OP.

cheapboxofwine, I have relatives who sail up from the Caribbean most winters - they usually take a couple of months and go as far north as the Florida-Georgia border. They very much enjoy it, and I hope that you do too.