Travel to Florida Advice?

[Hoodone]

A friend of mine here in Calgary wants to take her family to Florida next year. She has three girls, a ten-year-old and nine-year-old twins, and her husband would be going, too. They plan to stay at Mouse World for four days then go to one of the coasts for another few days. She wanted some advice on where to go. Well, I may be American, but don't know much about Florida. Does anyone have any thoughts on Atlantic vs. Gulf side, where to go, what to do, etc.? Really, any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

[luckylori]

We just got back from Florida yesterday. The closest beach to Orlando would be Daytona. That's a very busy beach. It would depend on how commercial of a beach they would like, and how far they don't mind going.

[Kristilyn1]

Personally, I would recommend the beaches on the Gulf side ANY day over the Atlantic side. The beaches have the pretty white sand and nice warm water.

In terms of which beaches, I guess it depends on what they want to do.

Kristi

[clairea]

Like Kristi, I would definitely recommend the gulf side over the Atlantic side. They might want to consider the Sarasota-Bradenton area. It is only a couple of hours from Orlando, on the Gulf Side. There are several keys off Sarasota that have hotels and condos for rent. They are nice, fairly quiet beaches.

Claire

[sassysu3]

If they do go to the beach on the Atlantic side, Coco Beach would be a bit closer, and there will be more a family oriented atmosphere than Daytona. There's Kennedy Space Center over that way. It would be great if there was a shuttle take-off scheduled. They are amazing to see!

Clearwater/St.Pete area is fun on the gulf side. If your friends decide to travel down to Sarasota area, Siesta Key has a beautiful beach, great shopping and eating choices.

While in Orlando, there's tons of fun for the kiddies along International Drive, but it's a pretty busy area. Disney may be enough fun for them. Downtown Disney offers a variety of things to do and see. Disney Quest in Downtown Disney is a five floor virtual reality attraction. DS would go over there with friends, and they would play those games for hours!!

Just a few thoughts to start with :p

[Escher]

Mouse World, huh?

While there perhaps you can eat at McDowal's.
(Coming to America, anyone?)


I enjoyed looking at the gators in the everglades......I would suggest makeing a point to see some of the natural vegetation/wildlife, instead of just going to the man-made arena's....

[Grace]

I absolutely agree on the Gulf side over the Atlantic side. Atlantic side has cold water and is very crowded IMO (at least where I've been - Daytona). We LOVE Sanibel Island and Ft. Myers Beach! Dolphins, warm water, peace and quiet, nature preserves, FABULOUS restaurants, bike paths everywhere (and some hotels offer free bikes to borrow to run around on the island with). It's wonderful. We go every 2nd year or so.

[Robyn1007]

I'll second the reccomendation for Ft. Meyer's Beach. I have family that own and inn there and we have been there a few times. They also have a couple of restaurants. The beaches are great, the water is beautiful and people are friendly. PM me if you want more info on the inn or restaurant, I'll be happy to give you the names.

Robyn

[phantomcg]

On the Atlantic side, I'd suggest St. Augustine - it has a wonderful (7 mile, I think) white sand beach that it just perfect for walking on. And the town itself is quite historical (oldest continuously occupied city, or something along those lines).

Cheryl

[Hoodone]

Thanks, everyone, for your recommendations. Just having some names of beaches is helpful as a starting point. Now that I'm freezing up here in Canada, I may have to go to Florida, too!

[funnybone]

We were in Disney this past spring and drove to Clearwater for a day. We've been there before and always enjoyed the area over the Atlantic as well. Lots of Canadians head down to Clearwater/St. Pete's.