Beach vacation, flying into Ft Myers or Ft Lauderdale???

[busy mom]

We are looking for a beach vacation spot in southern Florida for December. SWest has direct flights into Ft Myers and Ft Lauderdale, so those locations are our target.

We want a walkable area with local bars, restaurants and shopping.

Suggestions welcome!!!

 

[easyas123]

Sanibel/Captiva. Not far from RSW at all, great place to visit.

 

[HeatherC]

I love Sanibel and Captiva but bit it is more of a natural beauty place. You can rent bikes, walk the beach and find amazing shells. Just more laid back but we love it.

We also really like Hollywood Beach, FL right outside of Ft. Lauderdale. There is a couple miles of paved boardwalk with shops and hotels and restaurants. The water shuttle also stops there and can take you into Ft Lauderdale. We are going in a cruise next week and staying on Hollywood Beach for two nights beforehand.

Fort Myers beach is also fun but there is no boardwalk like Hollywood Beach. One end is lots of hotels and restaurants on the beach (near the pier) and the other end is much quieter with condos.


One website you might like is sunny.org...all about Fort Lauderdale area
Hope this helps!.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have done Marco Island a couple times at Thanksgiving. You can fly into either airport but RSW is closer.

 

[havaneselover]

The area around 5th Avenue in Naples is very walkable. My parents are in Naples so I haven't stayed in a hotel there since the 1980s but the Inn on 5th is a great location.

 

[amcnj]

Not sure if the beach is also important, but if so, you might want to look into current red tide conditions. I had relatives in Lee County and that was a concern in that area.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

We rented a beach house o Ft. Meyers beach a few summers ago. Since we were renting a car and for our family of 4 it was a lot cheaper, we actually flew into Orlando and drove down.

 

[hsmamato2]

a bit below Fort Meyers, down in Estero area - Hickory Island beaches, very nice! A bit north Of Fort Lauderdale is Palm Beach Shores ,lovely beaches there! Sanibel also quite pretty....

 

[disneedee]

hijacking this thread, sorry. what is a great beach for shelling?

 

[LoriKutchey]

hijacking this thread, sorry. what is a great beach for shelling?

https://sanibel-captiva.org/sanibel-island-shelling/

 

[disneedee]

https://sanibel-captiva.org/sanibel-island-shelling/

wow, that sounds amazing. i love shelling and finding agates on oregon beaches, but this looks much more plentiful.

 

[Denise W]

We are looking for a beach vacation spot in southern Florida for December. SWest has direct flights into Ft Myers and Ft Lauderdale, so those locations are our target.

We want a walkable area with local bars, restaurants and shopping.

Suggestions welcome!!!

Do you mean direct flights or non stop flights? I would go with the one offering non stop flights. Direct flights still stop, although you don‘t have to change planes. If both are non stop, I would choose Ft. Myers, as we like the west coast beaches better than the east coast.
Denise

 

[HeatherC]

Do you mean direct flights or non stop flights? I would go with the one offering non stop flights. Direct flights still stop, although you don‘t have to change planes. If both are non stop, I would choose Ft. Myers, as we like the west coast beaches better than the east coast.
Denise

I love the West Coast beaches too, but I would also suggest checking to see if there is red tide. We have been there a few times with red tide and it can be horrible. One year it was so bad you could not be anywhere near a beach. Dead fish all over, bad stench and burning eyes and throats like you cannot believe. Both times were at the end of February and early March.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I would stay in South Beach (Miami) if money is not an issue. There is so much to see and do in the area.

 

[aclov]

We love Fort Lauderdale easy to get to on a non- stop flight and no car needed, just taxi or Lyft. Beach is great, lots of nice hotels, restaurants and bars, it’s our go-to spot for short or long stays!

 

[Cindy's Mom]

We have always been an east coast of Florida family - Boca for the fancy, Hollywood for the beach bum, FLL for fun in the sun and Miami for nightlife.

Let me edit this to day that NO, we do not do all of this on one trip- some one was going to say it....you know it and I know it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I live on Marco Island. It's not that good for late night doings since the streets pretty much roll up around 9PM (after sunset and you can't be on the beach after sunset because of turtle season in the warmer months). but restaurants are good, there are some good bars, pizza, Italian food places. Many of the restaurants offer free cab rides to their place from the beach side places (a few timeshares, three hotels, lots of condos). Shelling is good on Marco, especially if you are up really early, like sunrise. And the sunsets are magnificent on Marco.

December is high season, so Marco is hoppin' . You almost need a reservation to get to the Publix store. The restaurants are open longer and have almost no days they are closed like in Summer. The Gulf can be cooler, so you might not be swimming as much and you can only use pools at the beach side places before sunset. Everglades (Shark Valley) is about a hour way.