Sarasota or the Keys
 

Need help finding a month-long (February) vacation spot for my family in Florida. We want to be on a beautiful beach, near a golf course. We will have a baby with us and need a 2 bedroom accomodation. Any suggestions as to where there would be activities for all of us? We would consider Pompano and area if someone thinks that would be better. Thanks for any help you can give us.

If it's a good beach you want, eliminate the keys. As the keys are coral, all the beaches are man-made with imported sand. Most are very tiny.

I agree with Susan, Key West does not have good beaches, and I think only one golf course on the island.

If you're looking for beautiful beaches and golf you can't go wrong with Sarasota. If you need a place for a full month, you need to book it now. February is high season and nice beach rentals are hard to secure. I suggest that you contact a realtor in the area that handles rentals. You can probably find some on the www. ALWAYS check beach rentals out very thoroughly before you sign a rental agreement. I recommend Longboat Key for the beach and the golf. There is a good selection of restaurants. Plus St. Armands Key just to the south has great shopping and Anna Maria Island just to the north has more beautiful beaches. Tampa is an hour north and Orlando is two hours east. I don't know if the Longboat Key Club is in your budget. If it is, I would highly recommend it. It is a full service resort on the beach with golf, tennis, health club and restaurant. Look up their website. You need to be aware that LBK is not child-oriented, however, since your child is a baby, it shouldn't be hard to entertain her (or him).

Isn't the Sarasota area usually too cool for swimming in Feb.? <BR>

Sarasota has beautiful beaches. In the month of Feb. the weather is quite variable and it can, indeed, be too cool for swimming -- either because the air is too cool or the water is too chilly (rarely goes below 70 but can) -- but it can also be very nice. As long as the weather's reasonable, however, it's great to walk the beach, build castles, etc. Sarasota also has a number of non-beach things, including the circus museum, Ringling museum, Selby gardens, a sort-of mini-zoo (forget the name), etc. St. Pete is not too far, nor is Busch Gardens in Tampa. If you are lucky enough to have an entire month, Sarasota's a much better choice than the Keys, esp. for a young family.

I agree. For a family, Sarasota is better. Also, my vote is for Siesta Key. It is more family-oriented and more reasonably priced. You can still drive over to Longboat & Anna Maria, etc. for sight-seeing & dinner

Chances are Sarasota will NOT be warm enough for swimming in February. Even if the air is warm, the water will be quite chilly(low 60's). Florida's weather has become most erratic in February, and it's not unheard of for that part of the state to have frost warnings in Feb. <BR>If you want warm weather go to the Keys. And by all means rent a boat for a day or two because the beaches there are not spectacular. You'll need a boat to get out to the nicer water, because the beach is made of crushed coral that is trucked in. Consider a trip to John Pennekamp in Key Largo, the nation's only underwater national park. Snorkeling is spectacular, and the kids will love it. <BR>

Hey, I'm the REAL Sal at [email protected] and I've never been to Sarasota. Why can't you use your own name?

Bonnie you might want to consider Naples or Sanibel Island as well. Plenty to due and it is further south than Sarasota.

Hi Bonnie. <BR>We live in England and have visited Florida 6 times. <BR>We have been to Sarasota but much prefer Naples. <BR>Naples is a wonderful place, quiet , relaxed and the people friendly. <BR>The only problem you would have is there is not enough there to keep you entertained for a month. I would still choose it ahead of Sarasota though. <BR>In our opinion the best beach in Florida is Clearwater. <BR>Also if you stay in the Clearwater area, you have St.Petes and Tampa nearby. <BR>Anyway it is your choice, have a great time. <BR>Probably worth considering as you are going for a month.

Bonnie, for more information on Sarasota, check out their web site at www.SimplySarasota.com <BR> <BR>I thing Sarasota is the best choice for you, they even have a childrens (Hands-On) museum call G wiz.