Other Florida Vacations??

[kathy87]

Me and my husband are planning on doing Disney and Universal in March without kids for the 1st time. We would also like to spend a few days somewhere else in Florida that has good dining, shopping and beaches without breaking the bank. Any thoughts

 

[Marionnette]

Me and my husband are planning on doing Disney and Universal in March without kids for the 1st time. We would also like to spend a few days somewhere else in Florida that has good dining, shopping and beaches without breaking the bank. Any thoughts

Before his divorce, my brother took his family to Smyrna Beach after the Disney portion of their vacations. They would stay at a condo right on the beach and it was quite affordable. In fact, he was seriously considering purchasing a unit in the building they always stayed in before he hit a bump in his financial road.

 

[Trixie Belden]

St. Augustine! It's got great dining, quaint shops and lots of history downtown, beautiful beaches and there's outlet malls very close. It's also super romantic. There are lots of lodging options as well at a big variety of price points. It's about 2 hours north east of Orlando off I-95

 

[minnieandfamily]

I would recommend Sarasota/Longboat Key...it's about 2 hours from the Disney area on the gulf side. Beautiful beaches, lots of great restaurants (too many to name but a few we love are Caragiulio's, Drydock, Lazy Lobster, Roast). St. Armand's Circle is a fun shopping and dining area. Lots to do - some of our favorite activities are the Ringling museum (museum of art, circus museum, ca'd'zan mansion) and kayaking in the mangrove tunnels.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

You could do a 3 or 4 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. You could go down to Nassau and a private island. Then either come back or have a sea day. Depending on how you cruise it could really be an affordable trip.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You could do a 3 or 4 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. You could go down to Nassau and a private island. Then either come back or have a sea day. Depending on how you cruise it could really be an affordable trip.

The type of shopping the OP is inquiring about you won't find in Nassau unless you want high pressure haggling of junk items. No beach worth exploreing in Nassau.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

The type of shopping the OP is inquiring about you won't find in Nassau unless you want high pressure haggling of junk items. No beach worth exploreing in Nassau.

Yeah I guess I missed the shopping part. Yes the straw market is horrible! I know a lot of people don't like Nassau, but we are divers. So when we go there we usually take a dive excursion and have a wonderful time.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

The New Smyrna Beach area is great - nice condo / hotel rentals in our area. Nice shopping on Flagler Avenue & you're only a few minutes away from Daytona Beach for more shopping, nightlife & visiting the Daytona International Speedway. Lots to do over here!

 

[worm761]

St. Augustine! It's got great dining, quaint shops and lots of history downtown, beautiful beaches and there's outlet malls very close. It's also super romantic. There are lots of lodging options as well at a big variety of price points. It's about 2 hours north east of Orlando off I-95

I second this! We spent a few days at St. Augustine before Disney this summer. There is so much to do there that I honestly want to go back! I really want to go back and really explore the pirate museum. It was loud and DD doesn't like loud noises so we didn't really get to explore. And we didn't get to do the fun interactive portion of it either. The fort was really cool to just stroll around. Tons of history in the area. The shops are all right there together and lots of great restaurants to explore too!

We rented a house through AirBNB.com. I can PM you the link to the house I rented. It was a two bedroom house around a block from the beach. Super affordable and had a decently stocked kitchen.

 

[sunkissed4]

Another vote for St. Augustine! It's beautiful, great dining, nice beaches, and an awesome Disney outlet! I've been vacationing there every year for my entire life and now I bring my kids there. The historical district is really unique and shopping on St. George Street is great.

Our favorite restaurant, Caps, is across the bridge in Vilano Beach. Waterfront dining on the intracostal with fresh local shrimp and the best gator tail I've ever had.

 

[worm761]

Another vote for St. Augustine! It's beautiful, great dining, nice beaches, and an awesome Disney outlet! I've been vacationing there every year for my entire life and now I bring my kids there. The historical district is really unique and shopping on St. George Street is great.

Our favorite restaurant, Caps, is across the bridge in Vilano Beach. Waterfront dining on the intracostal with fresh local shrimp and the best gator tail I've ever had.

The Disney Outlet has recently closed. It was there over the summer but it was posted on these boards that it was closing up shop last month I think.

 

[djbleach]

Not sure what all you like or dislike, but just reading the Disney and Universal and then not breaking the bank, I think I'd suggest this.
Make my "home" base Orlando. Use Priceline, and get a Resort for the week.(now they do express deals, so you could go online now and put in your dates to see how much you might spend. If you have a time share, then this isn't needed.)
Then I'd do day trips to Tampa/Sarasota one day (I think an hour away)
and another day do Daytona.
This way I wouldn't have to move my stuff. I would leave in the morning and make a nice day out of it.
We did Siesta Key one year and it was a nice beach (white sand) I like the Gulf side beaches.
We did Daytona speedway and my wife, kid and I enjoyed the tour.
Boardwalk at Daytona. Aunt Catfish seafood, Juilians Steakhouse in Daytona.
Charlies in Orlando.
Not sure what your budget is, but even this would be $1500-2000?? (room,gas,park passes, dinning $700ish room $400 parks $700 food..no shopping...
flying or driving?
have fun...good luck planning.

 

[Vernie822]

My family has always loved Daytona Beach. Lots to do and not too far from Disney. I am biased because we have spent so many vacations there.

Recently, we visited Tampa/St Pete for a day while doing WDW. I don't know if it was my lack of preparedness (I was busy planning our Disney trip, not our one day excursion to Tampa), but I was far less than impressed. We saw a baseball game in Tampa and the area around it was just dumpy. The whole town left a lot to be desired and we said we'll never go back again.

I have heard great things about Clearwater which I believe is very close to there.

We also spent the tail end of our trip in Miami. It was nice, again something I would've planned better. Miami was ridiculously expensive. The shopping and dining was pretty neat. It was nice to walk around, but I was very uncomfortable in the city (we are from Pittsburgh, so not nearly as big) and it was a bit of a culture shock for me. Then again, I have some anxiety so I just wasn't comfortable being in an area I knew nothing about. Overall, it didn't impress me too much and we decided we won't be back unless it's pre- or post-cruise.

 

[JoeA]

My family has always loved Daytona Beach. Lots to do and not too far from Disney. I am biased because we have spent so many vacations there. Recently, we visited Tampa/St Pete for a day while doing WDW. I don't know if it was my lack of preparedness (I was busy planning our Disney trip, not our one day excursion to Tampa), but I was far less than impressed. We saw a baseball game in Tampa and the area around it was just dumpy. The whole town left a lot to be desired and we said we'll never go back again. I have heard great things about Clearwater which I believe is very close to there. We also spent the tail end of our trip in Miami. It was nice, again something I would've planned better. Miami was ridiculously expensive. The shopping and dining was pretty neat. It was nice to walk around, but I was very uncomfortable in the city (we are from Pittsburgh, so not nearly as big) and it was a bit of a culture shock for me. Then again, I have some anxiety so I just wasn't comfortable being in an area I knew nothing about. Overall, it didn't impress me too much and we decided we won't be back unless it's pre- or post-cruise.

The best parts of St Pete, just like Clearwater, are the beaches. I Iived in Clearwater for many years and loved the beach area(s). In fact, we still go back for vacation. Leave the beach areas and ...meh! Don't bother!

 

[tina.tina]

I also think St. Augustine is romantic. I love driving on the beach at Daytona, though. I think it's so weird how much cheaper Daytona's lodging is than Myrtle Beach.

 

[Golf4food]

Going without kids then I'd definitely echo the St. Augustine recommendation. There are plenty of threads with detail on things to do, places to eat. You just don't get that atmosphere anywhere in the US - it's a little Spanish/English pre-colonial village you don't find outside of Caribbean islands.

Jacksonville would also be affordable with plenty of nice beaches, great shopping and dining at the St. Johns Town Center. We have a great zoo and a couple of nice museums, too. Not a major tourist destination so prices are more normal as well.

 

[ellochka]

We are combining out January WDW trip with a Miami Beach vacation. Since it's in Jan, we decided to head South to catch some good weather. I really like Miami Beach - we usually rent a condo in Mid to North Beach. The beach is gorgeous, the restaurants are amazing, and if you are interested in shopping and people seeing, you can't beat South Beach. Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach are also nice destinations.

St. Augustine sounds really good, too. If we go in warmer season, we will certainly consider.

 

[HM]

We visited St Augustine in March (on our way down to the Keys) and really liked it. We also loved the Keys (we stayed in Key West and Key Largo). There are a lot of levels of places to stay for every budget.

 

[kt_mom]

We stayed at a resort in St. Pete this summer called Sirata and had a wonderful week. We usually go to North Myrtle Beach for our summer beach trip but just wanted to try something totally different since it was our 15th anniversary as well. We loved it and we've already booked to go back for next summer. We went as a family but DH and I would like to go back just the two of us sometime too.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I also say St. Augustine. Love it there.

We also love going to Clearwater Beach and we usually drive up to Johns Pass which is a pier area and spend an afternoon there - I've done a dolphin watching excursion from there that was fun as well as shopping and having dinner at Johns Pass. Here's info on that:
http://www.johnspass.com/

We've also pulled up the Florida State Parks list and had fun exploring whatever park is near where we are staying. We'll pick up a packed lunch from where ever and go for it. There was one park we went to that had tons of manatees in the water that you could see from the banks. That was so great. I wish I could remember the name of the park.