Love, love, love it. We went here for the first time this year but my mom and sister have gone for years. Nothing very fancy and the beach is beautiful. We stayed at the Surf Songhttp://www.surf-song.com/. It is not fancy but it is very cheap. Lots of Canadians there. I really liked the Surf Song but it is not a 4* resort. Far from it. It is plain, clean and right on the beach. If you wanted something a little more upscale try the place next door. It seemed really nice.
I live right by Mad. Beach. It is a great spot. I always comment about how nice it is because it is so low key. If you want more hotels and touristy excitement, St. Pete Beach is just South (10min. drive) and Clearwater Beach is just North (25 min. drive). If you do stay in Mad. Beach, you MUST visit the Kandy Kitchen. It is the best ice cream in the whole world and a great place in general. My dad used to take me there before we moved to NY when I was 7 and I remembered it so well that I found it again when I moved back at age 21! Any other q's feel free to pm me...I know a good bit about the area.
Laura
Madiera, generally a bit less commercial but plenty to do. Fish, or parasail , or gambling boat out of John's Pass, plenty of small independent lodgings or a nice Holiday Inn if you prefer. I'd recommend trying to stay at the south end by John's Pass, plenty of activity in walking distance.
I was just there on July 5. It's a beautiful beach. We stayed at the Bilmar Beach Resort near the Holiday Inn. Nice, clean place. Not too expensive. I wished we could have stayed more than 1 night but we had to check into the WL the next day. But we do plan on going back there for more than 1 night in the near future.
I could not offer anymore than what the others have said. I too like the beach and am not far from it. If you want a quieter beach Madeira would be over Clearwater.
I wanted to say to my "neighbors" Tarasmom & Steve P.
Do you guys (Tarasmom & Steve P) ever lurk on the Community board? We have Tampa Bay DIS meets every few months. It is nice meeting other DIS'ers from the area.
Cool, I will have to send you a PM whenever we have the next one. Last time we went to Busch Gardens for the day. Most of us have annual passes so when it gets cooler that is probably where we will be.
I thought that I would share this link with you Tarasmom & Steve. This is a link to a picture (and thread) from the last Tampa meet. There are usually 2-4 more other people from the area but could not make it that day.
Now Dan Murphy is from Chicago and AngieBelle is from Tennessee, they met up with the rest of us at BG.
Chrissi Pooh is my best friend and KozmicLee is an old friend from work. Princess Michelle I met from here and she is cool too. Oh yeah the child in the picture is my God-daughter.
Oh wait, here is a link to the pics that Dan took if you are interested.
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