Need Florida Destination Help
 

We are 2 families with young kids ranging from age 1-7 looking to travel the week of February 27-March 6. We would like a destination that is no more than a one hour drive from the airport. A lot of things are booked (not a surprise, just upsetting!).

Ideally we would rent a 4-5 bedroom house - price range about $2500 - $5000 for the week. We would like to be within a 10 minute walk to the beach. We're not a huge fan of Miami Beach or Ft. Lauderdale - too many high rises, etc. We like areas with pretty beach, soft sand, not too congested or overly touristy.

Captiva would be perfect except that there isn't much available right now. I'm guessing that there must be other good destinations that I don't know about, which may still have availability.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Marco Island comes to mind, given the age of your kids. Friends rent a house there with a pool at roughly this time of year and have all their grandchildren come. Lifestyle is more casual than Naples, and there are beaches without high rises, though no thanks to the developers. Lots of kid friendly places to eat, though fewer "date night" choices. Both it and Sanibel and certainly Captiva are more than an hour from the airport.

Are you bringing a mother's helper? A high school or college girl could be worth her weight in gold on this kind of trip.

Consider the Indian Rocks Beach area between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. Meets your criteria as less than an hour from Tampa airport. This is a very nice beach area. The residential area is homes and condos. Check out availability at www.vrbo.com

I live in Miami however I would recommend beautiful beach destinations in the West Coast for instance Santa Rosa, Westin, etc. there it seems to me the beaches are ideal for families with small children. Check the weather and if it suits you they are really, really beautiful and it is in away going back in time to a luxury that is hard to find elsewhere. But luxury I mean to be
closer to nature and enjoy a richer life.

Have you looked at Anna Maria Island? Or Longboat Key? Very laid back, lots of families, beautiful beaches. You'd fly into Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ).

I also would highly recommend Anna Maria/Longboat Key. Great for a family trip; non-commercialized, non-touristy, nice people,close to groceries, etc, miles of beautiful beaches. My family stayed a week last March on Longboat Key & had the beach to ourselves mostly. I'd recommend making reservations soon! And, if you can't find what you're looking to rent, contact a local realtor~we did & it worked out well!

Thank you all! I will look into those places today. Right now we're thinking of Captiva (finally found a place!) and North Captiva. Naples is also a possibility.

Marco Island is a little too built up for us I think.

Longboat Key sounds a lot like what we're looking for too. Thanks for the suggestions!

Captiva is a great choice... if you get tired of Sanibel/Captiva you have plenty to see within an hours drive... you can even drive to naples for a day... have fun!