Sarasota

[usa_mad04]

Hi

We are going to Orlando in 2 weeks on Monday and I can hardly contain myself! We are going down to Sarasota for a few days. Can anyone recommend any activities or must see attractions for a family? Also any museums? We are staying in the Hilton Longboatkey has any1 stayed there?

Thanks

 

[allie5]

Never stayed at the Hilton (though we drive past it a lot!) but we have spent quite a bit of time in Sarasota. We usually stay on Lido Key, a little south of Longboat Key.

There is quite a bit of history in Sarasota and a lot of museums to visit if thats your thing. The most famous is the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Take a look at this site for lots of useful info:

http://www.sarasotafl.org/

We like to take the boat trip out of the marina (the sunset one is nicest) and check out all the waterfront homes. St Armands Circle is nice for upmarket shopping and has nice restaurants and galleries.

There is plenty to do, but the beach is the big attraction for us!

Have fun.
Allie

 

[WDWfan uk]

We have also stayed in Sarasota and although we had plans to do so much after a hectic time in Orlando we ended up enjoying relaxing mostly!! Your hotel will have a private beach I expect - we were on Lido Key and wanted a day exploring the coast, so we drove to Longboat Key but a lady in a store there told us that the beach on that Key were mostly private for the hotel and condo guests, so we drove further South and discovered the wonderful beach at Siesta Key!

We also spent some time at St Armands Circle but things we'd planned to do but didn't, was visit the Myakka River State Park - where there are observation decks and airboat tours and guided tram tours of the largest state park in Florida. There are alligators, deer, bobcats, feral pigs and 200 species of birds all in natural habitat - wish we'd found the energy to visit.
Then there's the Mote Aquarium, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, dolphin watch boat tours to name a few.

We found our hotel foyer had lots of literature - try to pick up the "See Sarasota" booklet - that has lots of very useful info including maps of how to get to these places.

Don't forget to watch the sunset from your beach - have a great time!

 

[JohnnySharp]

Sarasota is a good place to relax after all the excitement of Orlando, it is a very historical city and ideal for relaxing on the beach and by the pool.

I would say it is more suited to couples than families.
Similar to Naples in many ways.

Although there are museums to view and other things you can do unless you plan to soak up the sun and just chill out I would say a week is possibly too long. We did get a bit bored after a few days, but total contrast to Orlando, which when you are on holiday is not necessarily a bad thing.

We had heard about the St.Armand's Circle area and it was great to walk round , but as for the shops themselves not really anything that was of interest to us - give me a Mall anyday!

We stayed at the Hilton and liked it, comfortable rooms, good quality service and great beach.

 

[Little Starfish]

We stayed on Longboat Key for a week and thought it was lovely. We spent most of our days relaxing on the beach which was really lovely with white sand. We really enjoyed St Armands Circle for a walk in the evening and an ice cream after dinner. The sunsets were really lovely to watch from the beach too.

 

[CRISSY61]

Originally posted by WDWfan,uk
We have also stayed in Sarasota and although we had plans to do so much after a hectic time in Orlando we ended up enjoying relaxing mostly!! Your hotel will have a private beach I expect - we were on Lido Key and wanted a day exploring the coast, so we drove to Longboat Key but a lady in a store there told us that the beach on that Key were mostly private for the hotel and condo guests, so we drove further South and discovered the wonderful beach at Siesta Key!

We also spent some time at St Armands Circle but things we'd planned to do but didn't, was visit the Myakka River State Park - where there are observation decks and airboat tours and guided tram tours of the largest state park in Florida. There are alligators, deer, bobcats, feral pigs and 200 species of birds all in natural habitat - wish we'd found the energy to visit.
Then there's the Mote Aquarium, Sarasota Jungle Gardens, dolphin watch boat tours to name a few.

We found our hotel foyer had lots of literature - try to pick up the "See Sarasota" booklet - that has lots of very useful info including maps of how to get to these places.

Don't forget to watch the sunset from your beach - have a great time!

Thinking of staying in Sarasota area this time- usual hols have been Orlando. Children are 15 & 18- do you think this area would suit this age?

 

[JohnnySharp]

Not sure - maybe not enough going on for children of this age.

Depends on if they are happy relaxing on the beach and how long you are staying for, a week definitely too long - for us anyway.
I can understand that there is a contrast to Orlando and we have stayed at Sarasota before, as well as Naples - which is really nice - however, although beaches on the west coast are nicer there is more to do at the likes of Ft Lauderdale and Miami.