Florida vacation

Thinking of going on a spur of the moment vacation to Florida, any suggestions of a nice beach area that’s not overly crowded by Florida standards? Tips on beach house rentals? Or anywhere in the southeast?

I think SW is a little less crowded. Naples, Bonita Springs, Sanibel down to Marco Island.

My vote would be for Clearwater beach. of all the beaches I’ve been to in Florida. Clearwater was the nicest and far less crowded that most the others.

I’m heading to Marathon key next Tuesday.
Gonna try and catch one a those Snook

I’ve been to both Fort Myers and Indian Rocks Beach. Indian Rocks Beach was pretty quiet, it’s right next to Clearwater. I probably wouldn’t go there again just because there wasn’t a ton of stuff within walking distance. We went up to Clearwater for a day and it was awesome beach, lots of stuff to do/see/eat, but was definitely busier. Fort Myers I would go back to in a heartbeat. Awesome airport, lots of local stuff, great beach as well.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I think SW is a little less crowded. Naples, Bonita Springs, Sanibel down to Marco Island.

I don’t know about that, we went to Naples last year and it was pretty crowded everywhere we went (Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel etc.). Just getting to the beach was terrible traffic and finding a parking spot was impossible. This was before the Hurricane too, so not sure what shape Sanibel is in now. Plus a lot of people are on spring break right now.

John’s pass is about 30 minutes s of Clearwater and has some great beaches an attraction. Has good restaurants and stuff to walk to in that area.

Check with the area you pick about any current storm damage. Friend of mine went to Daytona Beach and Tampa a week ago and she says there still things boarded up and closed from the last storm.

New Smyrna Beach is a bit south of Daytona. We loved it.

NSB camera: https://www.volusia.org/news/new-smyrna.stml

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>lindyrig79 wrote:</div>
I think SW is a little less crowded. Naples, Bonita Springs, Sanibel down to Marco Island.

I don’t know about that, we went to Naples last year and it was pretty crowded everywhere we went (Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel etc.). Just getting to the beach was terrible traffic and finding a parking spot was impossible. This was before the Hurricane too, so not sure what shape Sanibel is in now. Plus a lot of people are on spring break right now.

True, but Miami Lauderdale is also very crowded. I found it easier to manuver in SW Florida but they are both crowded this time of year

Ft Myers Beach – while open – was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ian, so there will be a beach (and probably not as crowded) but a lot of debris still hanging around and most shops and restaurants still boarded up if they were even left standing at all. Such a shame, it’s a GREAT area. Was there last year, almost a year to the day. Glad we got to see it before nature’s wrath.

I’ve heard the Destin area is great and not as crowded. Most people don’t think about the panhandle as much. There’s also the Tampa/St. Pete/Sarasota area.

The Panhandle has amazing beaches. But the weather is quite variable this time of year. Had a buddy down there two weeks ago and they had freeze warnings. Pretty big buzz kill if you are trying to escape winter.

EP you going to try for some snapper also.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

I’m heading to Marathon key next Tuesday.
Gonna try and catch one a those Snook

I broke 20″_25″about 8 times in my kayak fishing mostly canals this winter. Still looking for a 30. They are like hooking a speedboat going by. Redfish more like a dump truck.

My brother has rented a house on Pine Island for about 8 or 9 years. They had to rent in Pensacola this year due to the Ft. Myers area is still busted to bupkus. Some beaches have small debris in the sand, so you need to wear shoes.

People and traffic have exploded in Florida the last 3 years. We spend 2 months a year. Options are about 25% of what we had 3 years ago. Rent has about exactly doubled. House we rented in 2019 was valued at $130k then. Sold last fall $480k.

Attachments:

1. 

   20230118_1538529839-scaled.jpg
   

Minnesotans by in large tend to vacation and own property on the west side of Florida. Nice enough.

Florida panhandle is a great area to visit. Fishing can be solid.

East side of FL is also nice. Fishing can be phenomenal.

The West/SW side is pretty nice. We’ve been to the Naples, Bonita Springs, Ft. Meyers area multiple times (all before the most recent hurricane).

Ft. Meyers was more busy, but also had more bars and restaurants and things to do within walking distance. Fort Meyers also has a bit more parking but it still is tough. Bonita Springs was quieter with not as much nearby to do nearby. The beaches on the north end of Bonita Springs were less crowded. Naples was kind of the middle ground between the other two areas with some things relatively close, and a mediocre level of beach goers.

chuck100 wrote:

EP you going to try for some snapper also.

We all know the answer to that.

Just got back from port Charlotte Sunday. Have been to cape coral fort Myers area a few times and got tired of how busy it was to get anywhere. Port Charlotte is still busy compared to my 3000 person hometown but much better than south of there. Lot of beaches within an hr drive such as Boca grande Englewood nakomis and Sarasota.

Wife and I went to fort meyers a couple years ago and it was nice area but I was sure glad our ARBNB was on fort meyers beach and walking distance to a lot of stuff as traffic pretty bad but this was pre hurricane. Family is going to coco beach end of April, anyone have experience in that area? Any advice on fishing, restaurants, etc. Other half the time we will be in Orlando doing the Disney stuff.

pitterpatter:

Weather in the panhandle can be hit or miss, but once you get to April it’s more hit!!! We’ve been here for a week and it’s been mid-70’s to mid-80’s the whole week. Your cold front from this past week is finally getting to us this afternoon (same one at the Masters now) and it’s only supposed to be in the mid-50’s to mid 60’s tomorrow. It was tremendously crowded this week in front of Easter and the main Spring Break Traffic.

Last night fishing the surf, you could only see a few groups out, that was not the case the day before and earlier this week and will change again later today for the next week’s influx.

Another place we have been hankering to head to is north of Tampa into the Cedar Key area. Not much to report there as we still have never been there yet.

Mark