West coast with teenagers

[OLS]

I would also Say Naples or Fort Myers for what you are looking for - it sounds to me you are looking to stay on / near the beach but also have access to shops / restaurants / bars that are walking distance but then also somewhere you can drive to other places for things to do, I think for me Naples & Fort Myers would tick those boxes for you - We have also had a week in Cape Coral and I don't think that meets what you are looking for (from your post) as it's not near a beach (without a good drive) and you will need your car to get everywhere really and for this reason we decided we probably wouldn't go back there.

We stayed in The Outrigger Beach Resort in Fort Myers and loved it there, right on the beach and they have an awesome (cheap!) onsite beach bar haha! We stayed at Hyatt house 5th Avenue in Naples which was a lovely location, we could walk down to the main 5th Avenue shops / bars and back in about 15 mins (kids dawdling ) or the hotel do a feww shuttle down (think it's every 20 or 30 mins) which can be a god send if it's red hot

I have read quite a bit on here about the Indian shores area, I think from what I have read that sounds similar to what you are after as well - it's somewhere I am going to investigate for next time (we like to try one new place every time we go!)

Good Luck in your search!