We've decided to do a Florida beach vacation with our kids ages 10, 7, and 5 in mid/late May 2020. Looking for suggestions - what are your favorite FL vacation beach spots?
We want beach time, pool time, a few sights/attractions (not theme parks), and my kids really want to snorkel. We're thinking the Keys, we went there years ago before kids and loved it. Anyone been after the hurricane? I know there are some small beaches. We've never been to the Gulf coast though so we're interested in that too...let me know your ideas! We'd probably have 6 days after travel days (flying from CO). Thanks!
We love the panhandle — 30A (Rosemary, Seaside, Watercolor), Ft Walton, Destin. I do not know about snorkeling in that area. Club Med Sandpiper is an AI and has a great kids club. I’d also look at Pink Shell in Ft Myers and Amelia Island.
Post by covergirl82 on Oct 15, 2019 11:40:03 GMT -5
We did a Spring Break in Clearwater Beach and loved it. The sand/beach is beautiful. There is the Clearwater Marine Rescue in Clearwater, which is famous for having the dolphins from the Dolphin Tale movie. We have friends who love going to Anna Maria Island.
We just did fall break in the Destin/Miramar Beach area. We were very impressed. Great beaches and ocean as hyped. The area seemed very clean and newly built up. We liked the variety of restaurants too (not just generic chains). There are a ton of rentals too so I imagine prices don’t get very high.
We did Amelia Island last year and really liked that too. But there isn’t as much rental stock and the beach isn’t as nice. It’s more of a laid back area compared to Destin (I can picture Destin being a zoo during peak times).
I have heard great things about St Pete/Ft Myers/Siesta Key and eventually want to do that. The Pink Shell resort looks really nice.
For snorkeling you'll want to check out St. Andrews State Park (Panama City) and Phil Foster Park (West Palm Beach area). Key West would be great too, but you'd have to do a charter I'd think.
Post by wonderfezz on Oct 15, 2019 12:42:44 GMT -5
The keys are pretty much back to normal these days- we go a few times a year due to Close proximity. Beaches are hard to actually find in the upper keys. Marathon doesn’t have a lot but has a couple of great beaches (sombrero beach is our fave) and is close to key west at least. You can find charters on any key if you want to actually go on one to snorkel or you can go to places like John Pennekamp (key largo).
For snorkeling you'll want to check out St. Andrews State Park (Panama City) and Phil Foster Park (West Palm Beach area). Key West would be great too, but you'd have to do a charter I'd think.
I was going to recommend both of these parks for snorkeling. Panama City has amazing blue green water at this park, great sand too. It is super commercialized but tons of stuff for kids to do in the area.
We are in the 30a area this week!! Staying in Seagrove beach. I love the condo we rented and can pm you if interested. It’s a three bedroom. All the towns along here are super cute- you can’t go wrong with any of them but some like Seaside and Rosemary Beach will be more crowded than others. It’s very family friendly here and the beaches and water are gorgeous. We are also from CO and we flew Denver to mobile al and then it’s a 2.5 hour drive. Destin, Pensacola and Panama City also have airports but the tickets are always pricey from Denver if that matters to you. We also like Siesta Key/Lido Key too. About an hour from Tampa.
I LOVE the keys and the Gulf side particularly, but we went to the Fort Lauderdale area and up to West Palm a couple years ago in April and the weather was awesome and the water was super warm. Then last year we did much farther north at Cocoa Beach--while I did not love that area in particular (it was free for us, but I would not likely return) I think I would have really liked it with kids your age because of the space center. We did get to see a rocket launch which was one of my bucket list items. And the water was warm enough to swim for sure.
We did a Spring Break in Clearwater Beach and loved it. The sand/beach is beautiful. There is the Clearwater Marine Rescue in Clearwater, which is famous for having the dolphins from the Dolphin Tale movie. We have friends who love going to Anna Maria Island.
We just did Clearwater Beach 2 weeks ago and it was awesome! It was a birthday/we survived DD2's first year celebration trip. I gave my H the following criteria to book the trip: I wanted to stay on a beach, with other stuff to to nearby in case it rained, and needed a suite with a kitchen. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and it was perfect. The rooms were huge! The beach is beautiful and perfect for kids, shallow with mild waves. We did see fish in the water, but not really a snorkeling spot. There is a lot to do and the restaurants were really good. We went to the Florida aquarium in Tampa and it was a great indoor activity when it was really hot (they also have a nice splash pad). There is also a zoo nearby and the Clearwater aquarium with the dolphins. I loved it and I want to go back again with the kids when they are older (we were pretty limited due to DD2's age).
Post by farfalla2011 on Oct 16, 2019 10:48:33 GMT -5
My step kid's tennis coach and family just went to the keys - big pine key (?) - last summer and they loved it for beach access and the place they stayed had pool too. Their kids are 10 & 5 for reference. Not sure about snorkeling but I cant imagine there not being decent places for it down there.
It's not Florida, but it is super close - we love Orange Beach, AL. Lots to do, great beaches, tons of condo rentals on the water.
Oh yeah orange beach is great! They have a cool zoo where you can hold animals. They have lots of bike trails for riding around the swampy areas looking for gators and the beaches are nice. It is becoming touristy so there is a good bit to do and eat, but not overly crowded.
Thank you ladies for all of the awesome ideas and suggestions. We have decided (I think!) to fly to New Orleans, rent a car, and do a few days in Panama City/Fort Walton/Destin, a few days at Orange Beach, AL, and a few days in New Orleans. I'm so excited! If you have any specific recs for those areas I'm all ears. I PM'd a few of you.