Best Beaches on the Gulf Coast

[scottishsue]

We are planning on spending 3-4 days on the Gulf Coast before going over to Orlando for the rest of our vacation.

We were thinking of either Clearwater, St. Petes or further down towards Naples, but heard there is some renovation work going on around the Clearwater area.

Any advice on the best beaches would be appreciated - thank you guys.

 

[hemispheredancer]

We stayed at Tradewinds Island Grand in St. Pete Beach back in 3/05. Big, beautiful resort. Didn't spend a lot of time exploring the place because we were always on the go. The pools are spacious and nice. We were able to watch the pods of dolphins go by in the morning.

This March we are going further down the coast and staying at Point Estero Resort in Ft. Myers Beach (Estero Island). That is total R&R. The guys are going on a saltwater charter one day and who knows what the next. All I know is that I just want to lounge around the beach and pool and do nothing!! The gulf is so much nicer than the ocean side. The gulf doesn't seems to have all the younger "kids" like Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. We have experienced a much older 40+ crowd on the gulf.

 

[lisaj]

Hemisphere dancer can I ask whether there were any negatives in St Pete's, we have booked to go there, concerned about safety etc. Also is it possible to see the dolphins all year do you know?

Thanks