where, which beach to recharge in Florida?
 

We are looking to take a vacation in May. We have already been to clear water and st petersburg and are looking for something more quiet and relaxing with miles of beach.
we are looking for a hotel on the beachfront.
Is there a number one beach in any area of florida which is affordable and a place that most ppl would recommend visiting?
We have a budget of a max of $100/night for accomodation and we are planning to be there from may 8-13.
So right now what we are looking for suggestions for a beach front hotel anywhere in florida which is quiet and realxing and picturesque. Please advise?

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL. 5 miles from city of Ft. Lauderdale. Small beach community, affordable motels, no motel can be over 3 stories, most of them have kitchens. i'd suggest coralkeyinn.com

Go also to: www.lbts.com
its a nice quiet walkable beachtown with a publix grocery store and small mall within walking distance of the place i recommended.

We think that Indian Rocks Beach fits your request for a quiet, affordable spot with miles of beach. Low rise buildings and limited beach access keep the area uncrowded. Check out Sarah's Seaside, a weekly rental place right on the beach.
www.gulfsideresorts.com has pictures and info about the beach there.

I wish I could give some more specifics, but I think your post just cries out "Anna Marie Island" off Bradenton. It is soooooo relaxed and a beautiful beach. May might even yield up some small cottages on the beach for that price expecially if you are staying a week.

Try the "forgotten coast" up in the panhandle. It's becoming less and less forgotten, but it still pretty quiet. It extends from St. George Island/Appalachicola to Mexico Beach. St. George & Apalach are pretty expensive, but Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach are much more reasonable.

I think the Ft. Lauderdale idea sounds good. It is far enough south that you should definitely have warm weather in May. There was also a thread a few weeks ago about how it is very reasonable to fly into Ft. Lauderdale. I don't know where you are coming from but a lot of discount airlines like Independence go there. It is much cheaper than flying into Miami for example. Have a nice trip!!

Try for Lido Key. There are some very high end properties there but also some mom & pops. If you can find something on the backside of the island, you will cross the street to get to the beach but save tons of bucks. I stayed at the Radisson, maybe by some fluke they have $100 rooms. From there you can walk to St. Armands Circle, and the Ringling Museum and Home are nearby, as is Marie Selby Gardens, with its quaint old garden houses.

I agree about Lido. There is an oldstyle condo place I've stayed I think called Gulf Tides...

Go to Northwest Florida. Specifically, the areas of Seaside (www.seasidefl.com) and Watercolors are beautiful. These are the original planned cottage-style communities. They're about thirty minutes from Destin.

I don't know where you're coming from, but you can fly into Panama City and they're forty minutes from there.

In my opinion, they have the best beaches in Florida (and my parents live in the Clearwater/St. Pete area).

We spent the first week of May last year in Ft. Walton Beach in the Panhandle area. The weather was great, high 80's to mid 90's during the day but didn't feel like it with the ocean breeze. Nights were balmy in the 70's. This was heaven for us coming from the Boston area but it could be too warm for others.

We chose the Radisson in Ft. Walton specifically because it was beachfront. Had a nice swimming pool and lazy river around a portion of it for the kids. The beach was just a step through a gate and the ocean was about 50 yards from the pool area. Decent accomdations, everything was spotless. We had no problems or complaints with the hotel at all. GREAT drinks at the pool bar. Lots of military personnel staying at the hotel which fascinated the kids and they were great talking with the kids too. Everyone we met were super nice and friendly.

The area this hotel is in is built up and sort of congested but to be honest you never heard traffic from the pool area, beach or rooms. It was amazing. The only noise we heard was the F15/18's doing their flyovers from the AFB but that was cool for us. We ate out every night locally as well as about 10 minutes away in Destin. Lots of food choices and MANY high rise condos there.

I have been to Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Longboat Key and they are a nice places too. But I absolutely fell in love with Destin/Ft. Walton. It's been almost a year since we've been there and I would go back in a heart beat! I can't explain it but the color of the beach sand and ocean are just so much different in the Panhandle. I would love to find a beach side town in this area that is quiet and mellow with all the noise, excitement and chain restaraunts my family needs within an easy drive of 15-20 minutes.

I stayed at a Ramada Inn (yes, a Ramada, and it was NICE!) facing the ocean in the Destin area for only $57 per night. It's on the ocean front, the room had a small refrigerator, a balcony and it was beautiful, quiet, no skeeters so I propped the door open on the balcony at night to hear the ocean waves. Got that rate off travelocity, I think.

I prefer the west coast of Florida--Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice. Venice is a very quiet place and they have a great beach known as "sharks tooth beach" because you can find petrified sharks teeth at low tide. I think that beach is called Casperian beach in Venice.

And if you are coming in May, that is sort of off season, or getting toward the very end of high season. Key West is nice when it's not crowded, and there are some amazing sunsets there (well, everywhere in Florida, really!).

One of my very favorite trips ever was before I moved to Florida, I flew into Miami, rented a car, and drove down the Florida Keys. It was gorgeous, relaxing, the water is 2 different color blues on each side of the 2 lane highway....driving with the tunes blasting in tropical air...nothing is better. Have a great trip!