View Full Version : Favorite Florida Beaches??
Mogster
02-20-2008, 06:44 PM
We are in the process of planning a short vacation. Our dc have only experienced the very cold and rocky northwest beaches of the Washington coast/Puget Sound area. We want to show them that beaches can indeed be warm and sunny! We would really like to go to FL and just enjoy the beach, collect shells, and relax as a family. The only problem is which beach/area to choose? I have heard that Siesta Key is great for shell collecting and the beaches are beautiful and "untouristy"? Any suggestions would be much appreciated :).
Remudamom
02-20-2008, 06:53 PM
Destin!
Mom2legomaniacs
02-20-2008, 06:55 PM
It has been years, but we went to Fort DeSoto (?). Loved it!
Renthead Mommy
02-20-2008, 06:56 PM
Siesta Key is exactly what I was going to tell you! It has some of the most beautiful sand and beaches in all of Florida!
amanda
02-20-2008, 06:56 PM
We always vacationed in Destin. It is lovely there.
Jackie in AR
02-20-2008, 06:56 PM
Destin!
Yep, anywhere along the northern gulf coast. Beautiful beaches and water. Well, most of the time. When we were in Destin last October there was a red tide for 2 or 3 days.
PinkInTheBlue
02-20-2008, 07:02 PM
I'm only about an hour and half from Destin. It is a beautiful beach and some beautiful resorts and hotels. Check and see if it's seaweed time though. That's a real pain. :)
The beaches are not as nice as they use to be since the hurricanes. They are just nasty Not much to do there anymore. We did like visiting the USS Alabama battle ship and the forts near Dauphin Island. We did manage to find a small strip of beach off the highway that wasn't so yicky.
GothicGyrl
02-20-2008, 07:32 PM
Fort Desoto is not a nice beach, but it does have some historical significance. Anna Maria Island has some nice beaches as does any in Sarasota.
Personally, I think all beaches are nasty ;) but meh.. them's my choices...
Mom2legomaniacs
02-20-2008, 07:39 PM
Fort Desoto is not a nice beach, but it does have some historical significance. Anna Maria Island has some nice beaches as does any in Sarasota.
Personally, I think all beaches are nasty ;) but meh.. them's my choices...
Did it used to be decent, say about 7 years ago? I may be wrong in where we went. I know that it was not crowded. It was calm too because there were breakers (?) or something farther out so big waves weren't an issue. This was great for going with a 2 yr old. I do know that we stayed in St. Pete and drove to this place. Hmm, I really thought that was it. Maybe not!
GothicGyrl
02-20-2008, 07:45 PM
Don't listen to me--I don't like Florida, I'm here under duress ;) (native, born and raised, btw..) and I loathe beaches...
Fort Desoto IS beautiful--for the fort. Which really is KEWL... but there are nicer beaches on the Atlantic side than the Gulf side. Anna Maria is nice, Siesta Key is nice and it has a wonderful little aquarium to visit (mote marine)..
But I don't like beaches at all, so take my opinion with a "native who hates this place" grain of salt. ;)
Mom2legomaniacs
02-20-2008, 07:55 PM
Don't listen to me--I don't like Florida, I'm here under duress ;) (native, born and raised, btw..) and I loathe beaches...
Fort Desoto IS beautiful--for the fort. Which really is KEWL... but there are nicer beaches on the Atlantic side than the Gulf side. Anna Maria is nice, Siesta Key is nice and it has a wonderful little aquarium to visit (mote marine)..
But I don't like beaches at all, so take my opinion with a "native who hates this place" grain of salt. ;)
Well, I'm not a beach person either. That is the most recent visit to a beach for me! I am very fair and get sun poisoning easily. I don't like gritty sand in my bottoms and get skeeved easily at certain things.
One thing that stands out from that beach is this one old man. First of all, I had just had a miscarriage and was recovering emotionally from that. My mom thought it would be good for me to get away. So, ds (2 at the time) and I flew down there to meet her and my sister. Mom's cousin had a place in St. Pete for us to stay in. Anyway, this super tanned old man strutted up and down that beach in a thong! We about died trying not to laugh at him. But the beach was nice in that we pretty much had it to ourselves (other than thong dude!). And thong dude tried to hit on my mom -- he was quite taken with himself. It was a hoot!
GothicGyrl
02-20-2008, 08:01 PM
I love to watch all the overweight foreign men with their pale white skin, come to the beach in practically thongs, because they not only burn easily, but you can tell they aren't used to the sun because the sunblock is whiter than their skin..
People watching on the beach around tourist season (since you can't shoot them ;) ) is funnnnnnnn.
I was going to suggest Siesta Key. The white sand is beautiful. There are several other beaches close by if you want variety. Turtle beach is right down the road and has brown sand and lots of shells. It has a natural look. Lido beach is in Sarasota also. It is less populated but a still has the white sand. Venice beach is about a 20 minute drive and is great for collecting sharks' teeth. Anna Maria Island is a smaller, relaxed town with a beautiful beach, as well.
That's how I was for almost 10 years. Hate FL hate beaches, love my family and friends but was rescued from that place by dh:p
mcconnellboys
02-20-2008, 09:25 PM
Sanibel/Captiva (and surrounding islands) for best shelling around!!!! They're on the Gulf side, out from Fort Myers.....
Regena
Susan in IL
02-20-2008, 09:26 PM
For shells, Sanibel and Captiva. We were there a couple weeks ago taking a break from the cold.
Basketmaker Amy
02-20-2008, 09:38 PM
Fort DeSoto is beautiful...no hotels or condos built on it. It is usually rated one of the "world's best beaches" by the guy who rates such things. (It must be a hard job!!!) It has a nice campground too, if you're into camping!
Angel
02-20-2008, 10:56 PM
FIL lives in the Englewood/Port Charlotte area. The beaches are less touristy (is that a word :)) and much less crowded. This area is about an hour south of Sarasota (we were there once and it was really crowded). Thirty minutes south of Venice, which has some nice little shops. We love not having to fight a crowd for beach space and yet still being close enough to some other "busier" spots in case we want to do some sightseeing. We do go north to Sarasota once during our vacation to a little aquarium called the Mote Marine Aquarium, but after that one visit, we avoid the pretty white beaches up there.
There is a new airline called Skybus that now flies directly to that area for a very inexpensive rate (if you're flying).
We've been there in June, August and November. Loved it each time.
HTH
Angel
Rich with Kids
02-20-2008, 11:12 PM
Does anyone know if GothicGyrl likes beaches? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/confused013.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)
GothicGyrl
02-20-2008, 11:16 PM
pffffffffffffffffffffffffffftttttttttttttttttttttt ttttttttttt ;)
Holly IN
02-20-2008, 11:33 PM
Siesta Key is exactly what I was going to tell you! It has some of the most beautiful sand and beaches in all of Florida!
Yep Yep Yep!! Siesta Key wins hands down. We LOVE it there. We stay at the Island House when we are there. Beautiful place and I highly recommend the Island House.
Holly
Holly IN
02-20-2008, 11:38 PM
I was going to suggest Siesta Key. The white sand is beautiful. There are several other beaches close by if you want variety. Turtle beach is right down the road and has brown sand and lots of shells. It has a natural look. Lido beach is in Sarasota also. It is less populated but a still has the white sand. Venice beach is about a 20 minute drive and is great for collecting sharks' teeth. Anna Maria Island is a smaller, relaxed town with a beautiful beach, as well.
Venice beach is a good beach to go to for a day trip. I still recommend Siesta Key as the main focus for staying. What we did was stayed at the Island House on Siesta Key. Took a day trip to Venice beach to collect shark teeth then went to Jungle Gardens in Sarasota. Also went to Mote Aquarium (it was so cool!!) on another day. We stayed on Siesta key for the most part. There are several places to go to around Sarasota and lots of keys to visit. We visited Longboat Key to go to a krab shack. It was wonderful and worth the drive there to eat at this restaurant. That was how we got a variety but stayed at Siesta Key at the Island House as our home (condo).
Ahhh this thread is bringing back wonderful memories of that place!!
Holly
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