I am staying at Ritz Naples at the end of June. How are the beaches at that time of year. I will have a 5-year-old with us and he will not go into the water if the waves are big. I’ve heard that it rains a lot that time of the year in Naples. Does it mean that water is murky because of the rain. How about mosquitoes or other bugs. Are the beaches clean? How do they compare to Hilton Head beaches.
Thanks

Looks like u should stay at home. Be a lot less stressful.

Hi Alex. The Ritz in Naples is beautiful. The beach there is very nice. That's low season for Naples so it will be quiet and you won't have traffic problems or waits in resyaurants.I used to go every summer, and I never remember any waves unless a tropical depression was going on, and that can happen in June (hurricane season)In fact, those Gulf waters can be smooth as glass at times.There's almost always an afternoon storm around 4.Hilton head has a much wider beach- but more tides and undertow. Naples area has whiter beaches and more shelling.(your 5 yr old will like that)Water isn't extremely clear in any part of Florida- not like the Caribbean. I suggest taking your son to the Imaginarium hands-on Museum and Aquarium in Ft Myers if possible. It is a very cool place for kids of all ages (including adults)Have fun!

Tammy or Wilma, may be you should decide your name first.

Thank you Linda.

Touchy...touchy...touchy, Alex. You're the one who asked!

Alex, I am going to go out on a limb here & say what everyone is thinking: Your main focus is...you! So wherever you go it is going to be extremely difficult for you to enjoy youself. Am I correct in assuming that the 'five year old' you will have with you is not your 5 yr.old. "I will have a five year old with us." You seem to include the child in the same category as rain, murky water, mosquitoes and bugs...
i.e., just another impediment b/t you & your idyllic holiday.
Correct me if I am wrong.
Stan

Lighten up people! Are you parents? Maybe he has a business meeting and has taken his last vacation days this year to treat his family, and wants to make it worthwhile. I have one daughter who will go anywhere, yet my youngest one (8)will whine and complain endlessly if she has a bug on her, if a wave hits her in the face, etc .She wanted to leave Disneyworld to go back to the pool at the hotel, LOL! Some kids are like that.Especially 5 year olds! Take some Avon skin-so-soft bug repellant, a nice float for the ocean, then check around for things to do with kids online at Ft Myers, Naples and Marco sites. Please people- don't judge him for asking the "what if" "worst case" questions. Try to offer him some constructive help on making this time special. That's the Christian thing to do!

Sorry, Linda...you lost me with your conclusion. Christian or Atheist, if you are predicting disaster or forseeing disaster on a family trip or business trip, it will FIND you! Either take the kid and accept the inevitable or leave the kid at home!

I thought Alex was a woman! (Not that it matters...but maybe it does...) Somehow I have a tough time imagining a guy worrying abour murky water, bugs & mosquitoes!!!!

I am sorry I professed my religious beliefs. I meant the RIGHT thing to do. You have the right to your opinions, but if you aren't parents, you cannot understand this issue, sorry.Alex, if you're a woman I'm sorry assuming you were male. (one of my best male friends is Alex!)

geez, you guys are harsh...just because someone wants to know what they are getting into, doesn't mean you have to name call...I thought this forum was to help people, not insult them...grow up!

Linda:

Well, aren't we just holier-than-thou? I love it when you hypocrite bible thumpers start pontificating on "the Christian thing to do."

You are so mean! She was being very nice and everyone else was being a jerk. Why in the world would you call her a hypocrite? And Bible-thumper? This is a travel forum- she was the only person who gave good advice the rest of you are acting like it's amateurpsychology.com

Well, amen Fla mom. OOOOOPS did I offend the person who is not here to travel but to vent his anger?

You guys are unbielevable. Excuse me for not being clear. English is not my primary language. "us" is for me and my wife. I could care less about big waves, merky water, and bugs. I want to make sure that my son has a good time.

It's okay, Alex. Email me and I'll send you some good sites on the area. I am not bothered by small people.

Hello, We have gone to Florida in the Naples area for two years now. Once in May and another time in July. May was beautiful sunny. July we had rain storms. We have two children who are 5 and 6. They loved it. We brought lifejackets for the kids. Waves were usually not that big. For what it is worth, I have a picky 5 year old boy. We basically just did the pool and beach thing.Good Luck. Have fun.

The beach at the Ritz is great. How high the waves are depends on the day and the westher, but the little guy should have fun sitting at the edge fo the water, regardless.

The shoreline here is very straight, so the waves are the same size all along the immediate area.

Just north of the hotel is a state park, and the shoreline in the park is, for lack of a better word, wiggly. Here you can find inlets and more sheltered areas, where he'll be able to walk in the water without being knocked over and buried in the waves. Seems resonable to me that a five year old would be reluctant to have that happen.

As for bigs -- well, five year olds, and grownups alike, it seems to me, just might have a reasonable aversion to getting bitten, enduring bits of pain, and itching for their vacation.

The bugs to watch out for live on the surface of the sand, so the trick is to have a beach blanket or a big towel, and sit on this, rather than directly on the sand. If the towel gets wets, so what? On all my trips, the bugs were scarce enough that this "sit on a blanket" trick was all that was needed. Walking on the beach to and from the blanket or to sightsee was no problem.

"Murky" is to harsh a word to describe the water. I never had a moment's hesitation going into the Gulf, and my relatives who live in Naples, and have a pool, go swimming there without any worries, and the dad in the family is a doctor. Don't worry about that.

The braches are clean, especially at the Ritz, where the hotel works extra hard to make sure the strip in front of the hotel is attractive to its patrons. Beaches are public, by the way, and the hotel does not own the strip in front of it.

This is my favorite part of the naples beach area, becasue I can use the beach, and then just walk onto the hotel property to get a drink, have lunch, etc.

For a little kid, he'll have a great time, and his parents won't have to worry.

White sand reflects the sun. Douse the kid in sunscreen, and re-douse him after he comes out of the water.

Rains in the afternoon, often very hard, and this scares adults, too. But the rain will stop after a few minutes, the sun will come back out, and it will be a little cooler.

BAK