Vero Beach or HH in fall months??

[Tinkmom]

I have never been to either resort, but am driving myself crazy trying to decide which to visit this fall. I had almost decided on VB for a few days at the end of October (including Halloween -- anyone know what activities they do for Halloween?) but keep re-thinking going to HH in November instead.

We would like to be able to walk (wade) the beach if not actually swim in the ocean, so that makes me lean towards earlier at VB. However, HH is closer and would be more economical for a shorter visit. HH seems to have more activities for older children, but I am not 100% sure of this. DS will be 11 and doesn't need a lot of "entertaining" but is a big fan of all water sports, animals, nature........

Can anyone give me feedback to help with my decision? Thanks so much!!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although we haven't stayed at HH in the fall, yet-it's just a matter of time until we do, I hope. From what people have told me, the weather's nice and warm but not overwhelmingly hot, like I think of summer there. You mentioned nature-HH is perfect for that. Between the dolphins and the birds...bird watching is the main reason for us when we go (we try to go every spring). We love it!

 

[FredS]

Thanks, Simba's Mom. Is the water okay (not terribly cold) in the spring? It should be at least as warm in early/mid fall.

As I mentioned, I am not big on swimming in the ocean, but would want to be able to comfortably walk barefoot on the beach. Are there organized nature activities at HH? I have heard that you can sometimes see dolphins in the areas near the resort -- has that been your experience or did you go out in a boat to see them? My son (okay, all of us!) would love to see dolphins!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Actually we've seen dolphins from the hotel. We were on the top floor of the lodge, sitting on the bench that looks out the back way, and the dolphins came into the area on our right. We saw them around sunset, and the CM at the front desk said she often saw them when she was coming into work around 8:30am. We've also seen them on the other side of the resort, where all the fancy yachts park in the evening. I did go out on a Dolphin Watch and saw them, but I gotta say, it was much more exciting to see them "in the wild", by chance.
As far as water temp goes, we considered it too cold to go near the water in the spring, but we're water-wimps! It's hotter here than Orlando, and our pool routinely gets over 90 degrees in the summer. So I'm a bad one to ask about that!
Yes, there are several organized nature activities. The tour of Pinckney Refuge (I think it's called) is good, there's a 1 hour bird watching tour around the resort, a beach nature tour. If you want to "strike out on your own", the Sea Pines Forest Preserve is a great place. It has a wooden boardwalk through the marsh, we've seen bald eagles, huge alligators (on people's lawns!), there. Oh-I've heard there was going to be an alligator tour, where you go out on a boat, but I don't know about it. Just bring your binocculars.

 

[floridafam]

October was our absolute favorite month to go to VB when we lived in Michigan.

The weather is usually perfect and the crowds are low.

Halloween at the VB resort is very nice. They have trick or treating, pumpkin carving contests, costume contests, Halloween activities throughout the day.

At night, they have different trick or treating stations around the resort and they close the pirate ship and decorate it for Halloween. They usually have a party with a DJ in the evening.

I vote for Vero.

 

[floridafam]

Forgot to add....our kids don't need a lot of entertaining either and VB is just perfect for that.

They love to just play on the beach or by the pool. We usually see turtles when we are there in October.

You can be as activity filled or as lazy as you want to be at Vero and still have a great time.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Feigned]

I have never been to Vero Beach, so I can't comment on that.

I did, however, go to Hilton Head for Thanksgiving week back in 1999 and had a wonderful time! I was 14 (my sister was 11) and it was our first time staying at Hilton Head. I found that there was plenty to do during that time. Each night, they had fun games such as Disney trivia or Goofy Bingo. We also went to the campfire one night, which was a ton of fun! I always saw activities during the day, like crafts, ping ping, or shuffleboard. Plus, they do have the nature activities that were listed above by another member- and you're like right on the marsh which is nice to go look at. Of course, there is the pool or you could head to the beach. My sister did go swimming in the pool when we were there. I don't think any of us went in the ocean though, so I can't tell you how warm that would be.

We also had fun going to (what I think remember being) the Hilton while we were there, as they were having a tree decorating contest for Christmas. Some places had really cute Christmas decorations up while we were still there, if that is your sort of thing. There is also a little bunch of shops like right across the way from the resort that you could check out.

Overall, it was a really relaxing trip. We probably didn't do as much as we could have because my sister was sick. We did have a nice Thanksgiving dinner out on our balony since there was a picnic table type setup there. I really enjoyed it, so I think you would have a great time in November. Plus, there would plenty to do for your DS.

Good luck in your choice!

 

[Tinkmom]

bump, please