Gulf Coast

[Hemelman]

After the sucess of this years WDW holiday we're thinking of a renting a villa for a 2 week beach holiday on the Gulf Coast in Aug 2004.

Has anyone any recommendations of areas to stay/avoid, best beaches etc.

Cheers
Mick

 

[WDWFOREVER]

St Petersburg is, in my opinion, the best beach. Can't help on the villa front - we have only ever stayed at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites right on St Petes Beach, and at the Adams Mark in Clearwater.

 

[LJP]

I - we've just returned from our trip and spent a few days driving to different beaches on the Gulf Coast. Our 2 favourites are St Petes and Sarasota in particular. Beautiful white sand with clear water. You may even want to think of Naples - close enough to drive to the Everglades etc. Again only did day trips so can't help with accomodation.

 

[debbyLL]

wdw forever
did you book adams before you went or just turn up i am wondering to book on internet but my brother said they went and used a voucher for a tradwwinds hotel when they got there, we are planning to go for thursday friday rather than a weekend
what do you think(oct bythe way)

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Mick - St Pete's is a great place, better IMHO than Clearwater, with loads to do - or not, if you just want to lounge. From here you can do Busch Gardens and their water park Adventure Island, there's the Florida Aquarium in Tampa (worth a visit to downtown Tampa) and at St Petersburg you can get a duck tour (amphibious boat) around the town and around the bay, it was great.

We ventured further down south last year to Marco Island, next to Naples, and it was love at first sight We're back this year for 10 nights. It's a four hour drive, but you can fly back out of Miami (1.5 hours away). From there you have access to the Everglades, Naples, Sanibel, Fort Myers.

You can't beat the gulf coast after a spell in Orlando, we actually headed straight down to St Petes for two weeks a couple of years ago, no Orlando

 

[Kevin Stringer]

If you fancy travelling a little father down the coast, I can thoroughly recommend Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

There are no high rise hotels, lots of little waterways, bike paths and nature reserves. It has a really laid back feel, almost Caribbean.
There is not a lot in the way of nightlife. Most people enjoy the sunset then go out to eat.

It does tend to be a bit more expensive though.

Cheers

Kev

 

[richard3330]

We rented a lovely Virgin Holiday's villa in 2001 in Newport Richey (Near Clearwater). There isn't much to do in NPR, but it's only about 15 mins to Clearwater where there is lots to do, including a superb pier and dolphin watching, along with a great beach. Also nearby are the amazing Honeymoon & Caladesi Islands. These Natural State Islands are magnificent, especially Caladesi which is like a tropical island with wonderful soft sand and lots of green vegetation and dolphins swimming around in the sea - take me back there! The great thing is that NPR and Clearwater are some of the nearest Gulf Coast area to Orlando, which makes them ideal for a two-centre holiday.

Richard.

 

[WDWFOREVER]

We booked as part of a Virgin package a couple of years ago. I know the hotel has been refurbished since we were there - the rooms used to have balconies but they have done away with the balconies and made the rooms bigger. Shame for me - DS has asthma so we have to stay in hotels where there is a balcony in case he has an attack - he is very sensitive to air-conditioning so have had to spend hours at various times on the balcony where he has fallen asleep in my arms. Thankfully, he is improving as he is getting a little older. Its a lovely area to stay and most of the rooms have great views of the Bay. Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything else.

Jackie