What's your cheap beach getaway?
 

I'm exhausted, stressed, and on the verge of losing my mind. Need some R&R, but the budget is low!

What's your cheap beach getaway for Mar-June?

South Padre Island in Texas, but not in March due to spring break.

Jayne - what is it about south padre island that you like? is driving mandatory?

i would love to find a spot to bum out, have cheap local eats, and not have to drive...i'm asking for a lot...i know...*sigh*

South Padre Island can be fine in March as long as it's not the week of University of Texas's spring break. I was there the last week of March last year & stayed a mile up from the biggest resorts - the beach was fairly quiet there. Plenty of Days Inn / Super 8 type motels that are very affordable to stay in. There's a bus that takes you up & down the island so you wouldn't have to drive. There are many cheap local restaurants - great Tex Mex food.

What's your home base? If the budget is low, airfare is definitely a factor.

Treasure Island is very reasonable. You could fly into Tampa, take the shuttle to the beach, then use the beach trolley to go north and south along the barrier islands. Lots of restaurants and shopping all along there.

JGirl, I would like to suggest Biloxi/Gulfport in Mississippi. The sand beaches are beautiful and great for sunbathing, even though the water is not "pretty" due to the barrier islands. However, if you want beautiful clear blue water with a surf all you have to do is take the day excursion from Gulfport to Ship Island--it's as beautiful as anything in Florida. The Mississippi Coast area is considerably less expensive than other more well-known resort areas, and there's plenty of nightlife with all of the casinos. Give it a shot.

Oh, forgot to add--there are several shuttles that travel around the area delivering people to and from casinos, shopping, and hotels. Also, even though it's a small market there's lots of air traffic into the GPT airport.

Anywhere Florida the first week in June is low season.

Actually, GoTravel, here in Naples some places do lower rates in May and then raise them again slightly starting Memorial Day weekend. This is especially true of weekly condo rentals. Seems there is real down time in May until school vacations start and the families arrive.

JGirl,

South Padre Island is the best beach in Texas. I can't answer the car question...I always drive down so never thought about it, but here's a link to the official tourism website, where you could probably get the lowdown: http://www.sopadre.com.

If you do go and want to be right on the beach, be sure and stay on Gulf Blvd. We always rent a house from Furcron Realtors: www.furcron.com. If I were going on the cheap with just one or two people, I would check into the Island Inn, which is very small, right on the beach, and has a cute little grass hut bar (the Wanna Wanna)that also serves pretty good food. We always eat there at least one and also go down for drinks. It's so nice to just wrap a towel around yourself and stop in for a cold one...
http://www.islandinnpadre.com

wow - thank you all for your input. I briefly checked out SPI as well as Biloxi, but I think I just might try Treasure Island. Seems the airfare to Tampa right now are the best of the three from NYC.

I squeezed in a few searches for Treasure Island accomodations - any suggestions for a dirt cheap and clean motel/inn with firm beds? Like...$50 a night??? heh

hmmm, what about Anna Maria Island? Is it hard to get to from Tampa International airport?

Wondering if I might be able to find accommodations there with my scrawny budget.

Jayne1973: Island Inn looks very interesting! Can you tell me what airport is closest to South padre Island? Thanks in advance.

JGirl, you are rock bottom at $50/night in TI. They just tore down the Surf which had terrific places at that place (all 1950's furniture, funky). If that's all you're willing to pay no one could guarantee that it would be great. Try the Thunderbird and see what rate you would get. Also try Best Western Sea Castle where they have both gulf-side and bayside accomodations, separated by Gulf. Blvd. Rates might be cheaper on the bayside, where you'd have to walk across the street to get to the beach. Also try the Jefferson, the Sands. Keep in mind that the beach is very wide here, so it's a short trek to the beach through sand dunes. Some people prefer to be closer to the beach, and if you do too, then look on Sunset Beach.

Try Sunset Beach's Blue Water Cottages. This place will likely be clean but you might find some furniture that looks like it came out of a trailer park. But you'll have a kitchen and I think they have a pool.

To keep it cheap, you could get away without having a car but that would only be worth the fare from the airport to the beach if you're going to be there for at least three days. And then you'll be confined to the beach. There's plenty there in terms of shopping or restaurants, and there's a beach trolley that runs along the beach. But personally, I'd go for a car rental -- Florida is not geared to mass transit.

Here's a link to some places along the SP beaches: http://tampabaybeaches.com/scripts/g....cgi/accoms/ti

ccolor: The closet airport is Harlingen if you are flying Southwest Airlines. Brownsville is the other nearby city.

JGirl -

You can fly into Sarasota. It's closer to Anna Maria.

I'm thinking about next month - I know it's cutting it very short and it does seem as if many places are booked. It just dawned on me now - is Spring Break still going on towards the end of March?

We are going as first timers to a condo 6 - 13 Apr. Flying DAL-HRL.
Best auto rental I found (11 Jan) was National $157.83 (incl $52.+ tax and fees).
M

Since Easter is the last Sunday in March (the 27th) I would expect that many schools have spring break the week before or week after.

My cheap beach getaway is to walk about 150 feet down our street to one of the nicest beaches in Florida. I know you can't do that, but you could find reasonably priced small motels in St Pete Beach. You might have to get here to do it, but one you might try has a website, normally not indicative of a low cost: www.innonthebeach.com.

My cheap beach getaway is Mexico from Seattle... but it sounds like I'm on the wrong coast here!

I spent a lot of time researching St. Pete Beach, T.I. Clearwater, etc, with much help from my firends here. I dont think you'll find anything you would want to stay in for 50/night in March. You should plan on @100/night for basic accomodations. The last week of March is a big vacation week for schools still. Also many colleges with large education departments will schedule their vacations to coincide with the public school vacations where their student teachers teach. If budget is on your mind, wait til mid april when the rates, crowds, and probably airline rates as well, will drop.

I just got airfare on Delta- Indy to Tampa for $135 for the last weekend in April. New Orlans was upwards of $500, Miami was about $300, and Orlando was about $250-270 so I am doing the happy dance. Now to figure out where to stay...

We stayed at the SeaSide Inn in Bradenton Beach in Oct. for 125 a night. King bed, private patio right on the beach. It is higher this time of year but a queen room on the first floor is now 130 a night. It is right on the beach. We really enjoyed it there. They bring coffee and a paper delivered to your patio every morning. It was the best bargain in the area. There is a great breakfast and lunch place with veranda seating further south on the same side of the road as the SeaSide.
Hope this helps.
Louise