bmaring

I know that is a very broad question and depends on the person, but I'm hoping you guys can help me narrow our search down. We are in our late 40's and not interested in the Miami hip scene. We love to sightsee, lay around the pool (but not for the whole vacation), eat out at good restaurants, and shop. I'm sure my husband would love to go to the space center. We both love the blue water of the carribean, but aren't big on hanging out in the ocean. Our favorite vacations have been to San Francisco and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
We've never been to Florida and it's a little overwhelming trying to decide where to go! I'd love to go to Key West, but not sure it's in the budget this year. We'll be bidding for hotels through Priceline.
Thanks for any help you can give us!!!

bizburns

I think I could help you with some ideas, but need information:
Where are you flying into? Are you renting a car? How long do you have?
Just some thoughts:
You may want to research St. Augustine! It has fantastic history - wonderful tours - very quaint - good restaurants and shops. You could then take A1A down the coast through Daytona - see the Ponce Inlet lighthouse and museums there - If you're a NASCAR fan, Daytona USA is a must, plus touring the track. Then head onto Kennedy Space Center - that is an awesome place to visit. You'll need an entire day just for that . .
If you're not interested in theme parks, avoid Orlando!
The Tampa/St. Pete area has some nice shops/restaurants - Clearwater is a very popular spot . .mostly beachy stuff to do there . . .
It is a very long drive to the Keys from Central Florida. Most people do not realize how long it takes . . However, the Keys are a lot of fun, especially if you love the water and doing things outdoors.
Hope this helps.
Elizabeth
PS The panhandle has some beautiful areas as well . . .again, mostly beaches . .

bmaring

Thanks Elizabeth!
We haven't decided where to fly into, thought we would wait until we picked an area to visit.
We are hugh NASCAR fans! So that was a great tip. We like theme parks, but I think we'll skip Orlando for this trip. Wait til we have grandkids for that one.
I had originally thought of the west coast of Florida, but after looking at a travel guide I thought the "gold coast" area looked really interesting. That's why I came here for some help from my Fodor's friends. I'll check out St. Augustine.
Lighthouses are a running joke with us. I really want to go to one, but everytime we've tried to go to one, it's closed or something.
Thanks!

bizburns

If you guys are huge NASCAR fans, you will really enjoy the track - Daytona USA, that is like a NASCAR museum.
There is also a lighthouse just south of St. Augustine, so that is two within driving distances of eachother. I know St. Augustine's has a website.
You will probably do best to fly into Orlando, you can hit the 520 and go straight to the Cape, then north to Daytona and St. Augustine.
Have fun.

mersingary

The Panhandle has some beautiful white sand beaches and blue water. There is a Naval station in Pensacola that is free to tour and there is a lighthouse on the property! There are many great places to eat in Pensacola beach, Destin, Ft Walton beach and Panama City Beach.

LLindaC

I love the West coast, but think you may be happy with the above suggestions. St Augustine is lovely..we stayed at Sawgrass Marriott resort a couple years ago and loved it. Beautiful area- Ponte Vedra beach- some very nice resorts there. Depending on when you go, you can get a good deal. We went to the Space center last month and totally loved it. We stayed overnight in Juno Beach and thought the area was gorgeous...no high rises, strict zoning...very pretty. You won't find the turquoise water anywhere in Florida except near the Keys.

mrt

You did not indicate when you are going. The time will have a significant affect on the hotel rates being charged. For example, a room in Naples over Easter is about 2-3 times more than it will be in May or June. Give second thought to bidding on Priceline for this type of trip. You could get stuck in a dive. It would be better to pick your area and then go through Travelosity to find a desirable hotel. At least you could look at the hotel and description to get an idea what it offers.

Key West won't be any more expensive than other aears depending upon the level of quality you desire. Key West is a lot of fun. It offers sightseeing tours, bikes, a fort, and neat restauarants, bars and stores. You could fly into Miami and drive down. it is a great drive if you are not in a hurry.

321go

Given what you've said you're interested in doing (shopping, restaurants, sightseeing, the space center, NASCAR), then bizburns plan is a great one for you. The Ponce Inlet lighthouse is beautiful and has some very interesting exhibits in the other buildings. St. Augustine is great for sights, restaurants and shopping, and the space center and Daytona are easy day drives away.

bmaring

Thanks Everyone,

I think we're shooting for a week in May this year. Since we don't have small kids, we'd rather not vacation during the peak travel times for families. I guess I'd better be making some decisions or we'll have to wait until the fall.

We are really thinking about St. Augustine. I thought my husband would jump on Daytona, but he seems to be more interested in St. Augustine...does that mean we're growing up? LOL

I've had really good luck with Priceline in San Fran, St. Louis, Chicago and New Orleans, but it looks like there is only one resort in the area, then the star level drops to 2.5. PL is offering The Renaissance Resort at World Golf village for the same rate Marriott offers it on their website. So, we would just book direct. We are so not the golf type, but we try to avoid the motel chains with the hard beds.

It does look like Orlando has the best flight schedules from KCMO. So we'll be renting a car for the week.

I tend to get obsessed with this part of the trip...I love to plan! I even enjoy helping others plan their trips. Not sure if they enjoy my help or not. LOL

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.

PS - I still haven't totally ruled out the Keys, I'm just running out of time tonight to search the internet.

strass

My husband and I are actually heading to St. Augustine for a long weekend in early May. From my research, it seems like B&Bs or inns are the way to go... there's a huge selection of them, and you can stay right in the old historic city center. (We're anti-chain, too!) I hear good things about the St. George Inn, and we're staying at the St. Francis Inn. Tripadvisor.com has lots of helpful reviews.

Orlando_Vic

bmaring-
The World Golf village is way too far away from St. Augustine for you to enjoy it properly, particularly if you don't enjoy golf. The only thing nearby is I-95 and the two outlet centers.

If you don't want a place on the ocean, at least get close to the historic area. Don't worry about motel chains. There are plenty of good B&Bs. One of my favorites is the Old City House <http://www.oldcityhouse.com/>. It's also a nice place just to have dinner!

bmaring

Thanks everyone!
We've had to modify our travel dates to early June. Doing so tripled the cost of airfare into Orlando, so now we will fly into JAX, which is probably better anyway.
We have also decided to go to Savannah. We are big fans of Paula Deen and want to go to her restaurant. Is this a doable trip or will we be exhausted? When we vacation we like to see everything we can since we might not make it back to an area.
I don't know how much time we will need for each leg of our trip, maybe you guys can help me out.
Here's what we want to do: Space Center, Daytona Beach and Daytona USA, St. Augustine, and Savannah, GA.
My husband wants to stay in hotels along the beach as much as possible. Any recommendations? We don't need to stay on the beach in each location, just whenever possible. We don't mind chain hotels, just not the lower end places with the really hard mattresses.
Thanks again for everyone's help!
Bonnie

Orlando_Vic

For hotels along the beach in St. Augustine, try Beacher's Lodge <http://www.beacherslodge.com/> and ask for a 3rd or 4th floor king unit (for best ocean views). Daytona Beach is 45-55 minutes to the South. The historic area of St. Augustine is 15-20 minutes to the North.

Dori

My boyfriend and I are in our 40's (not huge beach people either) and just got back from St. Augustine a few weeks ago. It was perfect for what we were looking for. Bars, restaurants, sightseeing, shopping, quaint and quiet. It was also very affordable. We went during midweek. We stayed at the St. George Inn and highly recommend it. The room was large and spotless. Great location too. We flew into Jacksonville inexpensively and used a shuttle service from there. There is no need for a car in St. Augustine, unless you plan on going somewhere after that.

strass

Hi Dori,

Did you hit any beaches while in St. A? My husband and I have been planning to rent a car when we go in May, because we'd like to visit a few beaches in the area and assumed there wasn't convenient public transportation to get to them...

Dori

St. Augustine is right on the water. We bought a trolly pass for unlimited rides for $20/each while we were there. I remember there was one stop where you could transfer to a shuttle that took you to the beach. I believe you use the same pass (no one ever asks to see it by the way). We used the trolly twice just to get a feel, but the town is compact that you could easily walk everywhere, including the stop for the beach.

jessyjames

Another vote for St. Augustine