dwoodliff

I want to try and sell my almost-adult kids on vacationing in Florida next year. They have no interest in WDW. They prefer a more unstructured environment, such as a beautiful beach resort. To keep the vacation interesting, I usually try to alternate outdoor days with days of doing things like shopping, museums, visiting tourist attractions. Where would you recommend that we go? Also, costwise, how does spending 4-5 days at a resort on the Florida Gulf coast compare to 4-5 days on the Caribbean?

Donna

dln

Donna, I have a 17 year old son and 15 year old daughter. Since they've been babies, we've been bringing them to Florida. The only place they've complained about is Naples (too many old people is what they think, but my husband and I are perfectly happy with it--does that make us one of the "oldsters?"). Anyway, we've visited South Beach Miami, Sanibel, St. Pete/Tampa, and Key West, and on the Panhandle, Seaside and Destin. We do pretty much the same as you, with alternating the shopping/culture/sun. You sort of have to do that with kids, don't you, to keep the peace. All of the places I've mentioned have lots of tourist information available. We've never been to the Caribbean, so I have no frame of reference, but I will tell you that you that Seaside tops the expensive list. A cottage there for a family of four runs about $2500 and up a week. Worth it, though.

dwoodliff

dln: Thank you for the list. I will take the places you mentioned, and start doing some research. What I have in mind is an all-inclusive resort like we stayed at in Cancun. I'm not sure about a cottage. Is what you are describing like an individual cabin, located at a resort? Are there restaurants and shopping areas "on-site", or do you go "into town" for that? Are any of the places you mentioned really good for snorkeling? I suppose we could go back to Cancun, but we've been-there done-that, and would like to go somewhere different.

Donna

swimmer

Donna,

We've been on family vacations in three different locations in Florida--loved all of them, but the Keys are most like the Caribbean (we have been to the Bahamas). The water is the same (warm and gorgeous aqua colors), and the snorkeling is wonderful. You could break up the trip with a stay in S Florida (Ft Lauderdale or S Beach/Miami), and then some time in the Keys.

Most of the Keys centers on outdoor activity. You should get out in/on the water. Great snorkeling (Pennekamp State Park, Looe Key), great kayaking (lower Keys), beautiful parks (Bahia Honda State Park). Check out the Dolphin Research Center. As everyone seems to point out, it is NOT a theme park, and is very different than other "swim with the dolphin" places nearby. The dolphin encounter is something teens will love, if they love animals and would be comfortable. They have a website.

Key West can supply several trips to museum or historical places. At night, it is a definite party place, and with kids, I think is only appealing for a couple of days. Just my opinion--we stayed in the middle Keys.

We ended our trip with a stay at Lago Mar Resort in Ft Lauderdale. It is a resort with just about everything (pools, lovely grounds, spacious rooms, private, large beach, games, etc), but I don't know if they offer all-inclusive packages.

More details if you are interested.

Larry1

I agree with Swimmer- sounds like a south Florida-Florida Keys vacation would fit your requirements nicely.

placeu2

Not great snorkeling at these locations but I would cast my vote for Sanibel Island. Laid back, no chain restaurants, Ding Darling. Great biking, walking, shelling. Potential downside is that the beach is lots of small shells, not the sugary sand of other places.

Second place if you like more activity and a great sandy beach, I would say St. Pete Beach to Clearwater strip. More teenagers/young adults and nightlife.

dln

Donna, Seaside is a self-contained resort town. The website is www.seasidefl.com. You can take a virtual tour, look up the events calendar, etc. When we go to Seaside, we bring our bikes (though you can rent, but we always drive, so it's no trouble for us) and we park our car for the week. There are activities for everyone at Seaside--concerts on the lawn, shopping galore, classes of all types, wine tastings, movies, etc. I would challenge anyone to be bored at Seaside. Remember the movie, The Truman Show? It was filmed at Seaside. No snorkling, though, but you can go canoeing on the lakes or deep sea fishing on the Gulf of Mexico. At Seaside your rental choices are mainly "cottages" (houses) but there are a few townhome condo rentals.

Sanibel is an island, so everything is on the island: restaurants, theatre, shopping, nature preserve, bike paths, etc. Like Seaside, there's enough to keep you busy and entertained so that you need never step foot in your car, unless you wanted to explore further afield. If you rent a small boat, it's really wonderful finding all the inlets and watching the wildlife. The rentals on Sanibel are mostly condominium units, some resort-like with all the amenities; others not. Sanibel has an excellent tourist board to point you in the right direction.

The other places I've mentioned, Miami and St. Pete, are of course cities so you'd get the full compliment of city amenities, PLUS beautiful Florida beaches!

I have to confess I wasn't bowled over by Key West. I thought it was crowded and touristy and small, but I did love the long drive TO Key West. Talk about magnificent! I seem to recall reading about a good resort half-way to Key West; I believe its name is Hawks Keys or something like that. You might want to look into that.

Hope I've been helpful.

JJ5

My young people loved the Sarasota area, especially around St. Armaud's Circle. Longboat Key, Siesta Key etc. are all very close. There are lots of trendy shops and good restaurants in this area. I could walk to all when I stayed right near the Circle in a condo. There were quite a few young people compared to the other Gulf side locations.

Gulf water is shallower and without the Atlantic wave size for the most part. I've been to most of the above Florida places and for the money/ valuewise- I myself tend to like the Gulf side or Panhandle better than the Atlantic side-so do my 20 something kids.

Sanibel is nice, but that entire area has gotten extremely crowded. It was way too crowded for my taste everywhere last time I went.

Postal

If a good beach is important to you, as well as nightlife and excellent restaurants, I vote for Fort Lauderdale. Everything is great, you can be in South Beach in 30 minutes, and you can drive to the Keys in three hours if you want to check them out.

swimmer

We stayed at Hawks Cay Resort in the Middle Keys. That is my suggestion for a large (but peaceful, off the highway) resort for the Keys.

We ended up on the very beautiful, large sandy beach at Lago Mar in Ft Lauderdale, but we missed the warm, clear, calm waters of the Keys.

It was great to do both.

We have also vacationed as a family at/near Clearwater Beach. It was nice, but you might decide if you prefer to spend more time at the beach and near the water, or in and on the water. If it's the later, it's the Keys, hands down.

floridawannabe

We LOVE THE FLORIDA KEYS, there is so much to do there. Start in Key Largo and work your way down to Key West.

Key Largo, stay at the Howard Johnson hotel, they have a beach that is on the ocean, and a little spot for snorkeling. You'll see some neat sea life, such as horseshoe crab, maybe a manatee depending on the time of the year, and a barracuda. Neat area. Key Largo also has John Pennekamp State Park, another neat area, you can do snorkeling from the many beaches there, or take a boat ride. We took a chartered snorkel trip with Captain Slate. He's the key that feeds sharks, and eels. If you scuba you can be down in the water when he does this, if you only snorkeling you can watch safely from a distance on top of the water. You also will visit Christ of the Abyss, a Jesus Statue that was dropped in the ocean, with fauna and flora growing by it, with many fish.

In Marathon Key, you can visit a neat place called Theater of the Sea. It's a mini Sea World, dolphin and seal shows, turtles, etc.

There are cozy ma and pa motels along the highway heading down to Key West, as well as big hotels. Stop at the many different keys and find fun things to do and or see.

Key West is a great place for several days. Stay in the heart of old town near Duval Street. Visit the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Ripleys Believe it or Not, Lighthouse museum with fabulous views of Key West Harbor, Key West Aquarium, touch tank, shark feedings. Tons of shops along Duval street, bars too. And the most fun you'll have is at Sunset near Mallory Square. Here they have a carnival like atmosphere. Street vendors, street performers, musioians. Love Key West. Have fun, visit www.flausa.com