Need help planning vacation to Florida (not WDW)

[Felicia]

We (DH, 9yoDS, 6yoDD and self) plan on going to Florida this July for 10 days. Where are there nice hotels on the beach, that are family friendly? I was thinking Tampa since it appears to be 1.5 hours from WDW and maybe I can squeeze in a day or two (or three) there. I know nothing about Florida, so PLEASE help me. I need a relaxing vacation soooooo bad!
Thank you,
Felicia

 

[chris1gill]

Two words... KEY WEST, that's where I'd go!! The Wynham down there participates in Priceline, so you should be able to stay pretty cheap.... I think there's plenty to do during a vacation down there...

 

[DocRafiki]

Tampa's not really on the beach, unless you count the little roadside beaches they have on the bay. The real beach (the gulf) is another 20-30 minutes west, across the bay. WDW is closer to the East coast if you want to check that out, maybe visit Kennedy Space Center with the kids.

 

[Tony-NJ]

Felicia! It's been so long!

Anyway - I hear St Pete's beach is nice. You can also try going south to Sarasota or Venice. I'm sure there are nice Hotels on the beach in Sarasota. I go down to Venice at least once a year to visit Granny. The beaches are beautiful.

 

[mrsstats]

Or try Clearwater Beach. It's a nice area.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Why the frowny face?

It sounds like a great vacation to me.

 

[Felicia]

TobeysFriend: the frowny face was because I can't plan a vacation for beans when I don't know where I'm going. I try the internet for hotels and I just get more confused (that is why the frown).

 

[allshookup]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Lido Beach last August. It was right across the street from the beach, nice pool, kids ate free, food was excellent, room had a balcony overlooking the ocean, was a short walk to St. Armand's circle which has lots of high end shops and restaurants and Lido Beach (Sarasota area) is only 2 hours from DW.

 

[sharbear]

We like Maderia Beach which is near Tampa. Very casual, nice white sand beaches. A lot of people I know go to Destin which I hear is great. If you are going in summer it might be a little less humid as it's farther north.

 

[Rhonda]

Madiera Beach is very nice. So is St. Pete Beach. If you look at a map of the gulf coast - start up in Clearwater and follow the beach down all the way to St. Pete Beach. Anywhere in that whole area is very nice. You should just start calling and see where you can get the best deal on a hotel on the beach!