Looking for a different Beach to visit! Gulf Side help

[mckinley]

We are planning on going to the Beach 6/27/14 to 7/6/14. In the past we have been to Pensecola, Panama City, Cocoa, St. Pete, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach. In all we liked the beaches on the gulf side more clear water & the white sands. I am looking for some insight on some other beaches that have good swimming water, activities, shops. etc we have a teenager so must have things to do. I have been looking at these areas Siesta Key, Sanibel Captiva island, Ft. Myers, Sarasota. If anyone has any input to help me decide as well as some places to stay while there it would be great. Thanks inadvance

 

[Art 1]

We are planning on going to the Beach 6/27/14 to 7/6/14. In the past we have been to Pensecola, Panama City, Cocoa, St. Pete, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach. In all we liked the beaches on the gulf side more clear water & the white sands. I am looking for some insight on some other beaches that have good swimming water, activities, shops. etc we have a teenager so must have things to do. I have been looking at these areas Siesta Key, Sanibel Captiva island, Ft. Myers, Sarasota. If anyone has any input to help me decide as well as some places to stay while there it would be great. Thanks inadvance

I like the Longboat Key Club on Longboat Key, very nice.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

South Padre Island has a Schlitterbahn Resort

 

[lakelandgal70]

Siesta Key is pretty nice and lots of places to eat and shop. Cedar Key though is one of our favorite places to stay but you may not be interested. It is old Florida and very laid back not a lot to do but they have had a lot of new places open up on main street. We love going there to get away from the world. Heck our cell phones don't even work there. Sanibel is another nice place as is Sarasota. Tons to do in Sarasota. The Ringling Museum is a fun place

 

[FINFAN]

Naples, FL. If you want beautiful, clean, family friendly? Been going there for 30 years. You can do a day trip to Sanibel or Ft. Myers from there, or the other direction to Marco. Hit the beach for Fireworks on the 4th. book a deep sea fishing trip for the teen, or everglades boat tour. You can rent your own boat at Tin City and just go out and about thru the local area (bring lots of bug spray tho)There are Swamp Buggy races too, but not sure if your timing works with it, google to see. Ft. Myers has jet ski rental I believe. Sunsplash water park is also there.
How many of your family? A little gem is The Cove Inn,(and dinner at The Dock is the best) or if you want a lush condo Bella Sera is beautiful but pricey. The Naples Beach club has that old world feel to it and the Best Western on 41 is really family friendly with a wide range of rooms and rates. If you need pet friendly the LaQuinta is decent
My second choice would be Sarasota area followed by Clearwater

 

[firecracker725]

Sandestin has tons of activities and fabulous beaches.

 

[HM]

Not on the gulf, but I'd suggest Hilton Head Island for a place with plenty of activities, a wide sandy beach, and an overall great vacation destination. Best times of year to visit or spring and fall, but with a teen that might not be feasible.

 

[luvsJack]

We went to Sandestin last year, will go to Panama City this year. We love Gulf Shores but rooms there get more expensive every year and stay booked for so many of the weeks of summer. We have also done Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach.

Sandestin is a beautiful resort just outside Destin. It is huge. We stayed in Luau which is semi-close to the beach. Although they call it a beach side resort, it was further from our room to the beach than any place we have ever stayed that was across the road from the beach. But the rooms are beautiful, clean, updated and comfortable.

There are lots of activities. Beach, golf, putt putt gold, bikes to rent, shopping and dining in the village,etc. The village is really nice at night.

Depending on when you go the beach is very, very crowded. Shoulder to shoulder, can't see the water or feel the breeze, crowded. I got claustrophobic it was so crowded. We left and went to a public beach that was much nicer.

A lot of people love Sandestin and go every year, we just did not like it. We like opening our door and there's the beach. We like walking to any activities we want to do and its just not feasible there.

Pensacola, I like fine for a day trip but there is not enough there to keep teens happy, ime. It might be different for you.

Love Gulf Shores. We stay on the beach, and walk all up and down the strip to restaurants, shopping, etc. The Track is a lot of fun (one of these in Destin too) and the water park. Lots of places to play putt putt. So lots for teens. But, again, it gets more expensive and more crowded every year.

 

[kbonner]

Gulf Shores and neighboring Orange Beach are nice. Come on down to Alabama and stay a few.

 

[sukhakuli]

South Padre Island has a Schlitterbahn Resort

Except the water is brown and the beaches are covered in trash.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Except the water is brown and the beaches are covered in trash.

Been there twice and the water was clearer than it has been in PCB or Orange Beach. Been a while though.

 

[firecracker725]

We went to Sandestin last year, will go to Panama City this year. We love Gulf Shores but rooms there get more expensive every year and stay booked for so many of the weeks of summer. We have also done Pensacola and Ft. Walton Beach. Sandestin is a beautiful resort just outside Destin. It is huge. We stayed in Luau which is semi-close to the beach. Although they call it a beach side resort, it was further from our room to the beach than any place we have ever stayed that was across the road from the beach. But the rooms are beautiful, clean, updated and comfortable. There are lots of activities. Beach, golf, putt putt gold, bikes to rent, shopping and dining in the village,etc. The village is really nice at night. Depending on when you go the beach is very, very crowded. Shoulder to shoulder, can't see the water or feel the breeze, crowded. I got claustrophobic it was so crowded. We left and went to a public beach that was much nicer. A lot of people love Sandestin and go every year, we just did not like it. We like opening our door and there's the beach. We like walking to any activities we want to do and its just not feasible there. Pensacola, I like fine for a day trip but there is not enough there to keep teens happy, ime. It might be different for you. Love Gulf Shores. We stay on the beach, and walk all up and down the strip to restaurants, shopping, etc. The Track is a lot of fun (one of these in Destin too) and the water park. Lots of places to play putt putt. So lots for teens. But, again, it gets more expensive and more crowded every year.

There are two true beach front hotels at Sandestin but they are pricey. No more than a Deluxe Disney resort but still. Luau is very nice. Love the pool.

 

[luvsJack]

There are two true beach front hotels at Sandestin but they are pricey. No more than a Deluxe Disney resort but still. Luau is very nice. Love the pool.

Luau is really nice and we loved the pool, too. Our balcony looked out over the pool and that was really nice. It is a beautiful resort, but we just didn't feel like it was a true "beach" trip.

Someone here goes to Sandestin in the fall, when its not crowded at all. That would be nice I am sure. The crowds were just way too heavy on the beach.

 

[mom2rtk]

What sort of things are you wanting to do while you are there?

Sanibel is our beach of choice. Gorgeous beaches, not crazy packed, lots of shells to collect, many small shops to browse. Last summer we kayaked in the mangroves and also took a fishing charter out into Tarpon Bay. We also love to look for wildlife on the Ding Darling Nature Preserve. If you are looking for more active water sports, you can do things like parasailing on Captiva.

 

[monorailsilver]

I think we have hit about 5-10 beaches the past 2 Aprils.

Ft. Myers-the main beach by the pier. The sand is so white and so soft...and hot but it is so nice. There are no shells in the water (there were lots of sand dollars when we went) so walking in NAND out didn't hurt our feet. The water was shallow.

Bowditch/bodwhich...it's the northern beach/parking lot on ft. Myers. It was nice. I could t find the turtles my sister said she found the week before but I didn't look! The water wasn't as clear but it worked for us. It wasn't bad and it was quieter then ft. Myers beach.

Lovers key-it had tons of shells, waves, small beach area as in from where you sit to where you walk in. We had to wear water shoes. The southern end was loaded with shells.

Bonita beach/sunst beach (not sure if that is the correct name) but it was on Bonita and we watched the sunset from there 2 yrs ago. It reminded me if ft. Myers beach but quieter.

Barefoot beach state park. We really liked this beach. There were shells and the walk to the beach from the car wasn't long.

Keeywadin (ok spelled that one wrong!)- we went by host but because we didn't go until the afternoon we had to walk to get to the gulf side. Next time we will go there first! It was ok. My sister has put her life jacket on like a diaper on the river side and let the current take her. The beach on the gulf side I think was Shelly.

Captiva-the farthest north beach you can drive to. We didn't get to go there last April 2013 because there was no parking and we were not waiting. So we went this year and it wasn't impressed. Of course when we went it was chilly and overcast but the sand wasn't that great and it was brown/tan.

We went to some beach between the bridge of sanibel and captiva. Tons of shells but the current was too strong to swim. I didn't like it.

Bowman beach sanibel. It was nice but a hike to the beach from the car. Too many shells and we didn't have water shoes so getting in and out if the water wasn't fun.

Sanibel by the light house. We went there this past April. We didn't swim because the surf was rough. We shelled all the way up onto the gulf side. My sister was in heaven. FYI, if you go there look for my car keys. My dh was fishing and with the waves crashing into him he lost them. I am thankful he lost them and not me! My other set was about 10 miles a way by my sisters front door.

I love the gulf side!

 

[daughtersrus]

Siesta or Venice

 

[Simba's Mom]

Been there twice and the water was clearer than it has been in PCB or Orange Beach. Been a while though.

South Padre Island is less than an hour from my house. I know that they have fireworks there on the fourth of July (if you're strongly considering there, I'll find out when/where). Just be aware that you'll have plenty of company out on the Island around the Fourth. And also, no doubt, plenty of heat!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

South Padre Island is less than an hour from my house. I know that they have fireworks there on the fourth of July (if you're strongly considering there, I'll find out when/where). Just be aware that you'll have plenty of company out on the Island around the Fourth. And also, no doubt, plenty of heat!

You need to get Lone Star up & running again so I have another excuse to visit

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Last fall I was ni Sanibel for four whole days, and while it rained most of the time, it was a fun little place. You could tell it was a place to either relax on the beach, or walk the beach looking for shells, with lots of opportunities to check out the wildlife and nature.

So while I couldn't lounge around, I was out there checking out living sealife washed up on shore and picking up two whole mesh bags worth of shells. If you're looking to collect shells, it's definitely a GREAT place to check out.

We went during off season, so the town was quiet, with lots of places to shop. We also ate at the Bubble Room, which was a unique, kitschy restaurant.

I'm afraid that's really the only beach I've vacationed at though.

 

[lillygator]

hands down Siesta!