Nice/Quiet yet affordable beaches in Florida?

[peainapod]

We don't want crazy busy beaches full of college kids. Going to FL for spring break, and would like to stop by the beach for a weekend.

Thoughts? North side east or west coast.
Thanks

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

We like the beach on Anastasia Island (St Augustine). Bonus, they have camping available.

 

[potterfanatic]

I am from the Destin, Florida area. They have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It's about an hour west of Panama City Beach, so they still have a lot of great stuff to do, but considering they are between 3 military bases and no where near a university there tend to be less crazy kids.

 

[bearzabout]

Go somewhere that does not attract college students. Look into Lido Beach in Sarasota or Siesta Key beach. Stay inland to save money and drive to beach early to get a parking space.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

On the east side We also love Anastasia Island in St. Augustine. There is a state park on the island and most people don't seem to want to pay to get in so the beach can be a less crowded than the free beaches. The ocean on the east side tend to be rougher and colder than the gulf on the westside of FL. My favorite beaches are on the west side. The ones around St. Petersburg are nice the water is warmer, calmer and the sand seems softer. Over there my favorite is Fort Desoto it is south of St. Pete, it can get crowded but usually its families not really spring breakers

 

[NinaBella]

Are you taking kids to the beach? Tradewinds is awesome. There are college kids at the cheaper hotels, but Tradewinds is primarily families.
http://www.tradewindsresort.com

If you want to rent a house, Anna Maria use to be a quiet beach, but it has grown in popularity over the last couple years.

If you do not have kids in your group, look at the Don Cesar. Its a historic hotel in St. Pete. St. Augustine is nice too.

 

[mousefansmom]

Indian Rocks beach is quaint, old Florida style. We just rented our second beachhouse there for a week...less than $1000 for the whole time (1br). There are some condos, but not big hotels, so it is pretty quiet. It is about 30 minutes West of Tampa. If you go 20 minutes North you are in Clearwater, and 20-30 minutes South you are in St. Petersburg.

 

[si-am]

Mexico Beach. It's just South of Panama City but doesn't attract the college party scene. It's been slowly building up but it's still fairly quiet with a few nice restaurants and hotels, but mostly you go there to enjoy the beach! We like El Governor hotel, which is older but nice and all rooms have balconies right on the ocean!

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

I would say Sanibel and Captiva islands. Gorgeous and laid back. It's far to drive, but to fly is easy from ft. Meyers airport.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We live at the beach in FL, and it's quiet and doesn't attract a ton of spring breakers. I'd highly recommend Melbourne Beach if you can find a hotel there...you could stay at Disney's Vero beach resort too if you can get a res. I love that resort.

ETA - Not sure if they rent for just a weekend, but Oceanique in Indian Harbour Beach is really laid back and nice. My folks have stayed there and I love it.

 

[mousefansmom]

We live at the beach in FL, and it's quiet and doesn't attract a ton of spring breakers. I'd highly recommend Melbourne Beach if you can find a hotel there...you could stay at Disney's Vero beach resort too if you can get a res. I love that resort.

ETA - Not sure if they rent for just a weekend, but Oceanique in Indian Harbour Beach is really laid back and nice. My folks have stayed there and I love it.

Vero is our other favorite beach in Florida. Gulf side may be a little warmer though in March. Vero might be hard to get a ressie at for Spring Break but it is a gorgeous resort!

 

[MrsTurnerLovesDisney]

If you like Northern Florida check out Navarre it's very pretty there and very laid back (I like to call it an old folks kinda town but I like it and I'm not old) plus it's a close drive to Pensacola Beach and Destin area.

 

[NotUrsula]

If you plan to swim, March is going to be hypothermia territory anywhere north of Ft. Myers. I would disagree that Destin doesn't attract college students, though I grant it doesn't have the marketed Spring Break programs; kids from further west along the Gulf Coast states head there quite often (and often stay in the family's timeshare) and the presence of the military bases is hardly any kind of deterrent -- I remember quite well hitting those beaches in search of nice young Airmen to spend some time with, LOL.

If you just want beach, and not warm water, the northeast coast has quite a few quiet areas. Further south, Daytona Beach Shores is surprisingly quiet and normally quite affordable, especially if you don't mind crossing A-1A. (In Florida, except for in Miami Beach or Sanibel, you pretty much never have to stay far enough away from the beach to need to drive there unless you are really scraping up pennies. In most parts of Florida, the price of lodgings drops dramatically the moment you get on the inland side of the main beach road. In most of the quieter beach areas, that is easy walking distance to the sand, normally less than 1/4 mi.)

 

[jeeptruck]

I am from the Panhandle with a house in Pensacola and Seaside. Anything along highway 30A is drop dead gorgeous. Seaside is where they filmed the Truman Show and there are many affordable houses and hotels in the area. They are the whitest and cleanest beaches you will find and the vibe is very very family oriented. Do yourself a favor and just google highway 30A

 

[mousefansmom]

If you plan to swim, March is going to be hypothermia territory anywhere north of Ft. Myers. I would disagree that Destin doesn't attract college students, though I grant it doesn't have the marketed Spring Break programs; kids from further west along the Gulf Coast states head there quite often (and often stay in the family's timeshare) and the presence of the military bases is hardly any kind of deterrent -- I remember quite well hitting those beaches in search of nice young Airmen to spend some time with, LOL.

If you just want beach, and not warm water, the northeast coast has quite a few quiet areas. Further south, Daytona Beach Shores is surprisingly quiet and normally quite affordable, especially if you don't mind crossing A-1A. (In Florida, except for in Miami Beach or Sanibel, you pretty much never have to stay far enough away from the beach to need to drive there unless you are really scraping up pennies. In most parts of Florida, the price of lodgings drops dramatically the moment you get on the inland side of the main beach road. In most of the quieter beach areas, that is easy walking distance to the sand, normally less than 1/4 mi.)

Agree about Spring Breakers in Destin....when we have been there in March (which is every last week of March/first week of April) for about the last 6 years, it is rather busy. However, the beaches are huge there, it isn't a tiny strip of sand by any means, so you won't be fighting for a space on the beach. The restaurants are crowded at normal mealtimes though and Harborwalk is packed and the traffic is AWFUL! It can take an hour to go just a couple of miles on the main drag if you don't weave through and find alternate routes....

 

[Dakota731]

another vote for Sanibel - very family friendly!