Suggestions for beach towns on FL west coast?
 

Does anyone have recommendations for some of the best beach towns on Florida's west coast - Tampa and south?
Also, any suggestions on condos for 2 people for the last week of Dec?
Thanks in advance for any input.

I'm not sure what sort of a budget you have to work with....so I'll recommend Sea Club Resort at Indian Shores/Clearwater Beach. Nice condos, great value and two minute walk to the beach.

Don't wait much longer to book something!

The barrier islands running from Clearwater south have excellent beaches, especially Clearwater Beach, St. Petersburg Beach, and Pass-a-grille. Sarasota also has excellent beaches, especially Sand Beach.

Have you even STARTED trying to GET a reservation anywhere for that time period?

Last week of December 2016? That's in two weeks, so choices will be limited. You've received very good suggestions so far.

The Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach has condo units, if price isn't much of an object. The Sand Pearl might as well.

The Alden Beach Resort is a much more modest property, but clean and updated and right on the beach, and it also has two-room kitchenette units.

South Seas Resort-Captiva
Cedars West Condos-Longboat Key

"Does anyone have recommendations for some of the best beach towns..."

Yeah, I live over on the "better" coast of Florida and here is my further recommendation at this point in time:

The "best beach towns" are any of those in which you can still GET a reservation.

Thank you all for your input. Here's hoping we'll find something. This forum has been very helpful in the past.

Could someone please give me the names of condos on the beach in any of these places: Boca Grande, Anna Maria, Pass-a Grille, Siesta Key, Venice, or any other? Also, do you have suggestions for vacation rental companies in these areas?

Use VRBO.com and plug in your dates. Or look at AirB&B.

Or call a real estate agent.

Many of the rentals on VRBO are actually represented by realtors--that is, they handle the transaction. So I'd advise looking at VRBO first.

What is the best way to find a list of real estate agents who have beach condo rentals on the barrier islands?

Google?

VRBO!

Sanibel and Captiva.

Thanks so much for your input and suggestions - so helpful!

Your last reply, bcsa, sounds pretty passive aggressive to me and is completely unwarranted.

You are asking people to find you a place in a strip of property that is what, almost 200 miles long with no information about budget or interests. Tampa and Marco Island have very, very different weather, activities, and vibes.

You were given about as much information as anyone can give you under the circumstances. We are not the ones who left this until the last minute, you are.

Um, for the record, I don't see any passive aggressive remarks...

I agree. Why would someone think "thanks so much for your input and suggestions -- so helpful" is anything but what it sounds like -- a thank you for helpful suggestions? Are we missing something?

Read what we wrote: get a guidebook, go to a real estate agent, look at VRBO. Is that helpful? It's all you can do with the info we were given, but it isn't anything you would be thankful for.

Perhaps I am corrupted into cynicism by living in a part of the country where suburban matrons say "Why thank you for telling me that!" with exaggerated politeness whenever someone points out that they have 18 items in the "12 items or less" line.

If I am cynical, I apologize. I'm working on it, really.

Would it be passive-aggressive if I said some people have become obsessed with labeling posts as passive-aggressive?

Do real estate agents really help people find short term vacation rentals in Florida?

I agree that VRBO is a best place to research. Find something you like, google the phone number listed and it should provide you the name of the rental company. You can then go to their website to see their other listings.

We have enjoyed our trips to Anna Maria Island (quieter) and Fort Myers Beach (more to do) in the past.

Using suggestions given on this post, we did find a real estate company that founds us a short term rental on Anna Maria Island. We are looking forward to exploring that beautiful area. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to offer suggestions and ideas.

"Do real estate agents really help people find short term vacation rentals in Florida?"

Yes, absolutely. Small agents and whole departments in large agencies. Same in Nantucket.

<Do real estate agents really help people find short term vacation rentals in Florida?>

Yes, as Ackis says, they sure do, and they have their listings on VRBO.

Interesting. Did not know that. Are these the same kind of agents who sell properties and/or place long-term renters, or do they focus solely on vacation rentals?

There are some real estate firms that ONLY do rentals (short or long term) and many major realtors have separate divisions just for seasonal rentals. One of the advantages of renting via them is that there will be a local agent to handle issues for you -- often much easier and more efficient that relying on an absentee VRBO owner.

Yes, what Neo said. The last time we were on Amelia Island we dealt with a realtor who divided her time between selling, renting long term and renting short term.