My wife and I will be traveling to Florida by car in May and would like to have advice as to what is the best place to visit to lounge on the beach, have great food and a nice place to stay.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you don't mind a crowded beach, I say go to South Beach. If you want something not so crowded, but still a lot of people around, go to Ft. Lauderdale. The Sheraton Yankee Traitor in Ft. Lauderdale is a nice place to stay by the way. If you want some quiet time and no crowded beaches, I say go to Sanibel Island on the Gulf side. It's really an incredible place. It is the seashell capital of the world. Great place. Hope this helps.

Sanibel !!!
In my opinion a paradise does not include crowded beaches and noisy nightlife !

I suggest Sanibel or Captiva. Sanibel is beautiful. But there is more of a current around the island and the water is more stirred up. It's still alot of fun searching for seashells and we've seen lots of dolphins leaping out of the water just 20 feet from the beach edge. Captiva is our all time favorite. It is very tropical and quieter than Sanibel . The water is turquise and crystal clear. We go on the beach at the second public beach on the island (the farthest one from the bridge) We hope you will like it. We have relatives down there, so I can't suggest a place to stay! Have fun. You'll love either one.

Try Siesta Key In Sarasota. The beach is always rated one of the top 10 in the country. The sand is like powder.

There are plenty of great restraunts in the area