Sanibel and/or Captiva Islands?

[loria]

Well LysaC, it looks like the stars have aligned and you must return to StJ!

[LysaC]

loria- i just got chills reading your last post.

you just might be freakin' right.

i'll have to do a hard sell on hubby this weekend and some fancy reservation work before it all goes away.

again, thank you all! this isn't the first time i've made these sort of inquiries and i'm amazed that ya'll keep putting up with me for them .

i need a vacation to look forward to...

[California Girl]

Lysa - You simply must do it! I mean now that loria has gone to all that work and all!

Loria - you're an awesome addition to this forum!

[loria]

Lysa - You simply must do it! I mean now that loria has gone to all that work and all!

Loria - you're an awesome addition to this forum!

wow, really? thanks

PS. LysaC--why not make this your christmas present to your husband? that way you can plan it all and he has to go!

[KatieH]

Lisa - I had the same dilemma. Sanibel or St John for 2009 March break? The airfare (nonstop) Bos-STT was actually cheaper than BOS-RSW.

The accomodations - $1800 per wk in STJ (we're going cheap) vs $2400 per wk for a beachfront condo on Sanibel. The Jeep rental on STJ is more, and it's also more because I can't travel all that way for only a week (crazy - I know) so we're staying 12 nights.

The STJ trip for 1 week would be about the same as Sanibel, but on STJ I won't be worried about the weather and water temps (though last March was a little cooler than expected).

I still want to make it to Sanibel, but not next March. If it were only the two of us, and no Remora, I'd opt for Sailview ($945 per week!!!!) and book those tickets asap.

[Nic in KC]

Just chiming in that you seriously can't beat Sailview for the money. I will get a full trip report done soon. Life never turns out how I plan it when we return from vacation.

[LysaC]

sorry folks. sailview is not available in the timeframe we have for vaca.



i pitched the vaca sale to hubby and he's into it even though he's kinda freaked out about spending the buckage.

i did a lot of research the other day and found out that a trip to sanibel vs a trip to st john will only save us @ $300-$400.

so hubby says we might as well just go to st john and not worry about the weather.

and i said "that's exactly what those darn forum people said!!"

after you factor in that we want a kitchen(ette), a direct flight on fri or sat, a rental vehicle and have to pay our pet/housesitter, the prices range from $2500-$3500 for sanibel and $2800-$3800 for stj.

hubby also mentioned the florida keys so i'm looking into that a little too. the prices fall just in between sanibel & st john.

[Lulu76]

What if you stayed at somewhere like Serendip or Hillcrest that's in town reasonably priced and only rented a jeep for a few days. That might help with costs. (Of course, it's harder to rent Jeeps for less than a week in high season.)

We got a good deal on the car rental at Paris. They were more than $100 cheaper than everyone else, but that is an off-season special.

[loria]

oh darn, their calendar was open for precisely that time period when i checked--
there are other places in the 1100-1200 range that i have seen--just keep checking!!!!!

[Lulu76]

One of Hillcrest's suites is available and it's $1700/week. She does have something on there about a special, but I was really unclear as to whether you could use that during season or not...

[LysaC]

I actually found a couple of really cute new small cottages in Coral Bay for pretty darn cheap. I have them saved in my favorites for now! Hubby is still freaked out about spending this sort of $$ during a recession. I can't say I blame him but the desire to vaca in a tropical setting trumps that for me.

I did a lot of research on the Keys yesterday but I get a feeling of claustrophobia when I look at these places. Attached cottages or condos, a "whopping" 350 feet of waterfront, right off RT 1. And you know these places will be crowded in January. Kinda yuck if I'm going to spend that sort of money.

See, I'm in sales and hubby has a dog b'dness and so we always have to be "on" for clients. so we like to avoid people and small talk during vacation if we can. I know it sounds snobby but it's the truth. We like to be free of expectations and obligation and we like quiet and freedom. Can you tell we are Coral Bay peeps?!

Oh, and I emailed Serendip a day or so ago. I'll try to call 'em this weekend. I'm assuming they'll be booked but it's worth a try. They have a really cute studio that fits our needs and a friend of mine recc'mded them- he used to live on STJ and stays there when he visits.

[Lulu76]

I thought about cancelling our trip a few months ago because of the economy. It does seem foolish to spend that much during a recession. However, I would've lost too much to not go. So, I've just pinched pennies and we're going on a bargain trip, but I think it's going to be really great, just because it's St. John. I don't care about much else if I get to be there.

[Kathyzhere]

Hi LysaC,

Good to see you're still working at it! I'd say
just keep up the search for a budget place on STJ
and it'll ALL be GOOD

The Keys are a great option, but as you mentioned
the crowds will be there and there aren't really any pvt beaches to speak of.

Hey I saw the cutest lil' place on STJ but can't remember where; it's called Snail's Pace or something like that?!
It's quite new and sooo cute. You can probaly find it online thru a search...snail's pace or snail's place.

Good Luck and you're getting closer to sealing the deal sounds like.

Enjoy,
Kathy

[Kathyzhere]

My mantra is...one cannot afford NOT to take
a vacation...repeat every time you think you're
feeling guilt cuz of the economy, etc!!

Tis very important for our minds and bodies to
experience life out of the day to day grind

Enjoy...