Tell me about your favorite Florida vaction spot.....

[LC]

hubby and I are trying to plan a quick 3-4 day getaway. Want to fly direct from Charlotte, to somewhere in Florida that's not difficult to reach. Criteria: nice beach, beach bars/restaurants/, not super touristy. Ideally, we'd like to go somewhere that we park our car, and then walk to most everything. Limin' is the key activity. Would love to hear recommendations from you guys....I know that people who love STJ will more than likely have the same taste and style as we do. Thanks in advance!

[liamsaunt]

http://www.tween-waters.com/

[Boston Mike]

My favorite trip to Florida was flying into Ft. Lauderdale and staying a night at the hard Rock in Hollywood. Next morning we jumped into the convertible and took the long drive down to Key West. Not so much a beach destination in Key West but we went down to experience the acoustic music and the atmosphere of Duval. Would I do it again? YES!

[SS in NC]

Hi LC,

Delray Beach...I'd say 30+ crowd, "a little older"... (kids tend to go to South Beach,West Palm Beach and Ft Lauderdale to party)

Can fly into either FLL or PBI, it's in between. There's a Marriott on Atlantic and A1A (beach is across the street). Atlantic Ave will keep you busy for a couple of days and there's a good variety of restaurants and the beach is very nice.

Can't beat the view from Boston's balcony...

PS: Great sushi bar in Pineapple Grove...

Enjoy your trip, wherever you happen to go...

[lprof]

You can fly direct from CLT to SRQ (Sarasota) in under 2 hours.
Although I have not been to Anna Maria Island, it sounded interesting in a recent OT thread
http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... ida+island

http://amisland.com/annamariaisland.html
http://www.annamariaislandchamber.org/list.cfm?cat=47


Direct flights are also available CLT to JAX (Jacksonville) in under 2 hours. A 20-30 minute drive north takes you to Amelia Island with many choices of activities.
http://www.ameliaisland.com/

[mindehankins]

This used to be my "go to" place: http://lidobeachresort.com/
Fly into SRQ and rent a car or they have a shuttle. They have a few dining options on premises or you can walk or shuttle to St. Armand's Circle to eat or shop: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_R ... orida.html We always spent at least one day at Mote Marine Aquarium and do an excursion with them: http://www.mote.org/, but you could also be very happy just lying on the beach. And the sunsets are beautiful!

[augie]

You can fly into Melbourne directly from Charlotte now. I'd rent a car and take the short ride over the Indian River to Indialantic and stay either there, or in Melbourne Beach, just a bit south on A1A.

Depending on where you stay you can walk to some beaches, bars, and restaurants, and if you don't mind a short drive (usually in very manageable traffic) you can expand on those options a great deal.

It's not a huge tourist destination (but Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral are just up the road in case you do get the touristy "itch").

Depending on when you're there you may even get to walk outside a watch a rocket or shuttle launch!

[Connie]

Before we discovered the Virgin Islands, we spent many vacation in Sanibel/Captiva. To me, one of the best places in Florida to take a vacation.

If you rent a condo, most likely the owner will have bikes for you. We would park our car and take those bikes everywhere. They have wonderful bike paths throughout the Island, so it's very safe.

The beaches are very nice and known for their seashells. Just mounds and mounds of them. It's addicting and I have the shells to prove it.

Perwinkle is the "main" road if you want to call it that. You can ride your bikes to the restaurants and shops.

The other think I like about Sanibel is there are no high rises. It's very lush and alot of it is part of Ding Dong National Reserve.

At night we would go out on the causeway and watch the sunset, just beautiful.

You can also drive over to Captiva and just drool and the multi-million dollar homes. Get something to eat and just stroll around.

There's been alot of people who we've taken to Sanibel and they all have loved it.

Good luck in your search.

p.s. Also LOVE the keys, but I don't think you have enough days to really enjoy it. You'd be too rushed, but it's something to look forward to in the future. Everyone should drive the keys at least once in their life )

[LC]

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations! Now I'll waste a couple hours of work looking at these destinations....
Should have mentioned in my original post - we love the Keys! But don't think we'll have time on this trip.

[hawksnestbay]

The Ding Dong Reserve is in Key West.

The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve is on Sanibel.

But don't go there, because if everyone who goes to St John ends up on Sanibel, it will be to crowded for me.

Try Orlando.

[P-600]

Just got back from ten days in Tampa visiting my daughter we did day trips to Clearwater, Treasure Island and St. Pete Beaches but our absolute favorite was Siesta Key. You could fly into Sarasota. Nice island feel great bars/restaurants on the street the beach was absolutely gorgeous and the water was amazing! Dolphins jumping--so nice! Can't wait to go back and stay a few nights.

[Chet]

Before you go, stock up the Plymouth Gin and John D. MacDonald books

[michele]

Depending on what you are looking for, we loved Seaside. It is so small and quaint. If you want more action, it's an easy 15 or so minute drive to Destin

[XOXO]

But don't go there, because if everyone who goes to St John ends up on Sanibel, it will be to crowded for me.

Try Orlando.

HA! This it hilarious!

I just wanted to save this because of all of the suggestions. Mindee mentioned lidobeach before and I thought it looked great. Also, Siesta Key looks awesome too LC. Please do a trip report when you get back! I hope you have a great vaca.


Gina

[Terry]

Mindi is right. Lido and Siesta are the best. Venice is a secret that a few of us will keep between us.