West Coast Florida recommendations
Discussion
I'm going on a road trip in Florida in October, and will have 3 days to spend on the Gulf Coast. The question is which town would be best to use as a base for exloring the local area?
The short list at the moment includes Sarasota, St Petersburg or Tampa.
Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences with any of these towns?
The short list at the moment includes Sarasota, St Petersburg or Tampa.
Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences with any of these towns?
The Moose said:
It depends - what are you looking to do?!
At the moment we are trying to figure out which town is best to use a base for the 3 nights that we have on the Gulf coast. We've never been to any of these towns and don't know whether they are good or bad, crime rates, neighbourhoods to avoid, etc. We plan to visit some of the beaches and see the local sights, and we will have a hire car so there is no problem with getting around. We're not too fussed about restaurants or night life, therefore we don't need to stay in party areas. In fact, the quieter the better.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn at Rocky Point, about 10 mins from Tampa airport. It's just off the main drag between Tampa and Clearwater but was really quiet and felt safe. Easy access to Tampa (Busch Gardens!) and Clearwater beach. Have stayed at St Pete's Beach too which was excellent but that was 17 years ago so don't know if it's changed much in the meantime.
I'm guessing this is about to be moved to 'Holidays & Travel', but in the meantime, understand that gulf coast towns and cities that are South of Tampa tend to be retirement communities, with the exception of certain parts of Clearwater and the east side of St. Pete. So, Sarasota, Ft Myers, Cape Coral, Port Charlotte are all filled with blue haired old gimmers with New York accents.
North of Tampa is scary red-neck territory.
Tampa itself is a nice mixture of classy, cosmopolitan and downright dangerous.
For peace go to Ft. Myers or Sanibel. For pace go to Tampa (Bayshore, Hyde Park or Davis Island, if downtown ain't your thing).
North of Tampa is scary red-neck territory.
Tampa itself is a nice mixture of classy, cosmopolitan and downright dangerous.
For peace go to Ft. Myers or Sanibel. For pace go to Tampa (Bayshore, Hyde Park or Davis Island, if downtown ain't your thing).
Clearwater and St Petes for more tourist oriented, but more so in Clearwater
Clearwater has pure white sandy beaches, with deckchair/umbrella rental on the beach. Boat trips from the waterway behind the beach. Public parking is available. Most hotels are over the road from the beach though.
St Petes has pure white sandy beachs, but a few shells as well. You can rent loungers/umbrellas on the beach. Very little public parking, but is available in the hotels. Hotels are right on the beach. You can do boat trips from Johns Pass, which also has some nice tourist shops and resturants.
Well worth a visit for the sunsets alone
Clearwater has pure white sandy beaches, with deckchair/umbrella rental on the beach. Boat trips from the waterway behind the beach. Public parking is available. Most hotels are over the road from the beach though.
St Petes has pure white sandy beachs, but a few shells as well. You can rent loungers/umbrellas on the beach. Very little public parking, but is available in the hotels. Hotels are right on the beach. You can do boat trips from Johns Pass, which also has some nice tourist shops and resturants.
Well worth a visit for the sunsets alone
The Moose said:
From what you've said, have a look at marco island. Nice play to chill out, not too party-y! Nice people. Reasonable food. Etc
Have spent a couple of 2 week holidays on Marco Island and can recommend it. Our daughter was working at the Marriott hotel so we got 80% discount on the room price. Great drive through the Everglades from Miami. Close to Everglades. Naples is less than 20 minutes north of Marco and has cheaper hotels.
Sanibel is lovely, really relaxing, some good restaurants and nice beaches. The Mad Hatter in Captiva is a great place to eat - budget for around $250 + though. If you want more to do, Fort Myers has some good hotels, restaurants and plenty to do. Naples is also a good place to stay - Inn on 5th was a very good hotel with lots os nice restaurants within walking distance, a great beach and loads of places to hire aboat for the day / fishing trips.
We normally fly in to Miami and drive across the Tamiami Trail. We have been going to Florida for 10 years now - sometimes with the Kids and doing the usual Disney stuff but often just myself and the enemy - never had any problems / trouble and always felt safe.
We normally fly in to Miami and drive across the Tamiami Trail. We have been going to Florida for 10 years now - sometimes with the Kids and doing the usual Disney stuff but often just myself and the enemy - never had any problems / trouble and always felt safe.
Longboat Key, stay here... http://www.longboatkeyclub.com although not sure they will rent for less than a week, may even be less than a month, not sure. Lovely quiet and relaxing place though and only just across the bridge from Sarasota.
Adenauer said:
pb1695 said:
We normally fly in to Miami and drive across the Tamiami Trail.
I'd avoid that road like the plague at the moment, LOADS of major roadworks going on there when we drove along it a few weeks ago._________________________/-----------------------------------
My record is 3 miles... 3 miles not touching anything in the car other than the seat
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