Other Florida Vacations??

[worm761]

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.

We drove up to Jacksonville from St. Augustine just to visit your zoo. It really was nice!

 

[Soulsearching]

 

[LovesTimone]

Lots of ideas spinning around in my head..

You could pick a spot as home base, and do a lot of day trips. All of these are within a reasonable amount of driving time. None really more than 2 hours away.. But again the traffic makes the call here.

Head over to Cape Canaveral / Cocoa Beach area, check out the cape, then dinner on the beach, and ron johns for some beach things. You might get lucky and one of the Disney cruise ship might be in port.

Winter garden downtown, also Mt. Dora, lots shopping and dinning options.

On Monday there is the Webster Flea market, lots of interesting items, and with the weather so nice right now, it would be a nice way to spend the day. But you need to get there early as most dealer start packing up after around 1 to 2.

There are some good outlet malls in Orlando, The one at the end of I drive, has a lot to offer. A well as the mall at Millennia, lots of good dinning choices.

Clearwater beach is a nice, but Sand Key park is a lot nicer, and you could head for John's Pass, and Gators on the Pass.. Grouper sandwich is super yummy.

If you are going to move. I suggest...

St. Armand's circle, Long Boat Key area. Nice and laid back. Hemingway's, and the Columbia, are my favorite place to dine here.

St. Augustine is really nice, must do see the fort, Harry's for dinner, also the beach is nice, but watch out for the under toe it is very strong along all of the Atlantic Coast. It's not to far from Jacksonville, we stay in Jacksonville at the Crown Plaza at/near the Landing, which is a great night life, and has a boat that takes you back a forth.

Fort Desoto park/beach is really nice, there are bike rentals, canoe and kayak rental, the fort to check out. We normally just make it a day trip, and take our picnic with us.

 

[SplashMo]

I am not so sure about shopping. They seem to have better shopping where I live. I do second the Cape Canaveral point to see the Shuttle Launch site etc... And Clearwater beach...

I have never been to Sandy Key Park but the poster above likes it better then Clearwater. That sounds reasonable. They are on the Gulf side which I prefer. Or go see Key West.