We are thinking of doing a Florida Beach vacation in March but are having a lot of trouble deciding WHERE we should go. We'd like to have a hotel/resort right on the beach. Any recommendations?

By Luvn29 on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 08:24 pm:

Sea World and the place where you can swim with the dolphins! Discovery Cove or something like that. Actually it's an all day event where you get up close and personal with lots of different marine animals including dolphins! And the Sea World in Orlando looks to be amazing. You could easily drive from your resort on the beach to Orlando to do these things if you were at a beach resort near there...

By Yjja123 on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 08:31 pm:

http://www.visitflorida.com/beaches

My favorite is the Keys. We really like Islamorada

http://fla-keys.com/islamorada/

We also like Marathon. We have stayed on a house boat there. It was a lot of fun and the beaches were nearby.

Otherwise, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona, Miami, Etc...ALL have great resorts on the beach. I think you need to decide what else you want to do (besides hanging at the beach). This will help you decide where to stay.

I would not go to Orlando (no beaches in Orlando!)

By Tayjar on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 08:57 pm:

March is a mecca for college Spring Breakers. Be wary of Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, Panama City, and the Keys. We go to Destin which is in the Panhandle. It's family-oriented. No amusement parks but lots of beach activities. We rent a condo each year and the condo association has two pools, a basketball court, tennis, and is on the beach. We rent from the www.vrbo.com site.

There is also San Destin, a beautiful resort in Destin. We prefer the condo lifestyle rather than the resort but my sis stayed at San Destin and loved it.

The activities we do in Destin include go karts, miniature golf, sea shell collecting, dolphin watching, whale watching, going to the marina to see the commercial boats come in with their fish, and just playing on the beach as a family. You can also parasail, deep sea fish, go on glass bottom boats and watch the Blue Angels practice (it's free) each morning. My kids prefer Destin to Disney. They are 9 and 11.

Last year we went to St. George's Island. Again, no amusement parks but gorgeous beaches and family fun. We loved it but wanted Destin.

St. Pete's Beach is another good location for family fun on the beach. It tends to be a little warmer in March than Destin. Closer to the 80s vs. low 70s. It's more down by the Ft. Myers area. Same type of activities. The site I listed above has places for St. Pete's.

If you decide to go to Destin, I can give you the name of a lady we have rented from. She still has some condo openings.

By Happynerdmom on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 11:07 am:

We love St. Pete Beach. Lots of stuff to do, big gorgeous beach, it's warm in March, and there seems to be more reasonable lodging right on the beach. However, I'd be surprised if you could find much available this late in the game for next month, but I could be wrong!

As I mentioned before, we also loved Destin when we went there. It was in the summer, we stayed in a condo on the beach, and it was just SO relaxing! BEAUTIFUL beach!

The Keys were awesome! The beaches are very small and the sand is not very soft compared to the Gulf beaches, but there is such cool stuff to do. We stayed in Key Largo, but drove out to Marathon to go fishing. If/when we do it again, I'd like to stay further down the Keys. Key Largo also has a great place for snorkeling, and we saw manatees near the beach at our hotel!

I'm another thumbs down for Disney/Orlando. For the same money, there is so much you can do in other parts of Florida. The beach, dolphin watching cruises, family fishing expeditions,(one of our favorite things to do around St. Pete- we take a fishing charter, catch fish, then when you get back to shore, you give the restaurant your catch and they cook it and serve it to you!)etc., etc.! Have fun wherever you go!

By Yjja123 on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 02:01 pm:

The condo we stayed at in Key Largo

http://www.flkinfo.com/rocky.htm

By Dana on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 05:44 pm:

Hi. I live near St Pete and totally love our Gulf beaches. There are MANY with different city names, so do a search for Pinellas County beaches, not just St Pete.

We live about a 5 min drive to the beach. We took a family drive out to Gulf Blvd the other night (and Feb is a huge time for beach rentals) and there was hardly any traffic at all. I was shocked. I'm guessing the rise in gas is hurting it.

Lots to do out here, and we could meet too! Okay, not the biggest incentive, but I've been waiting for someone from this group to come down my way.

The Gulf coast is less attractive to the "teen and college" crowd as the Atlantic. But Clearwater is a huge attraction for young kids.

By Bellajoe on Monday, February 25, 2008 - 10:11 pm:

We have gone to Sanibel Island, Florida. We rented a Condo on the beach. It's such a beautiful island. Very relaxing, lots of shops and restaurants.