West coast with teenagers

[mouskevik]

We had a big Orlando/Miami holiday last year and said that it would be our last one for five years. Now that we won't be going away this year and who knows (?) next year, we are thinking we could potentially save to go back to Florida in 2021 or 2022.

We have three teenagers who will be 16/17 next year and our early thoughts are:

No Disney (maybe a 1 day ticket to see GE - is it worth it?)
A few days in a budget Universal hotel for early entry to VB, shopping, Disney Springs.
Three nights at HRH Club level because we love it there and for EP.
One week on the west coast.

We did Miami last year and we loved it but it was expensive. We'd like to go to the west coast to chill by the beach but also have the opportunity to go out a bit - sightseeing, shopping, gardens, that kinda thing.

Looking for location recommendations (beautiful beach), accommodation (preferably an apart-hotel for a family of five) and things to do.
Somewhere that isn't as expensive accommodation/food/drink-wise as Miami.

Oh, this would be last 2 weeks of August. Thank you!

[Ninnybobs]

I would think the area of Cape Coral and Fort Myers would suit you down to the ground. Something for everyone around that area.

[NewtoOrlando]

We love the West Coast, Deerfield Beach, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach. We’re hoping to go to St Augustine next year as there is a lot of history, museums, 17th century fortress, it looks gorgeous.

[Kidd McFluff]

We have stayed in Naples in the past and loved the place. It has a lovely beach with a fishing pier as well as plenty of room for swimming in the lovely warm shallow waters or chilling out on the soft white sand. Beautiful sunsets with a bottle of fizz and a picnic from Publix. Naples is about 4 hours drive from Orlando and on the edge of the Everglades. We took a trip out to a national park with walkways through the mangroves to spot wildlife which was great fun. We also chartered a small boat and captain for the afternoon and saw manatee and dolphins on our 4 hour trip out shell hunting. Shopping was easy at Publix and there are so many great places to eat in Naples. Hotels are easy to find and there are loads of places to visit. It's not a huge place, there are no theme parks of great note but the centre of town is lovely, filled with independent shops, galleries and places to eat. It's not cheep but it's not Miami prices either. We got an AirBnB there with a pool on the edge of a small lake on Myrtle Drive/lane/street or something similar. It cost less than $1000 for the week. Loads of country club type apartment complexes with golf courses, pools etc. We are thinking of going back in 2021. Plans for this year are well and truly scuppered so we are looking at 3 weeks next year if the world is back on it's feet...Disney...East Coast...West coast...Universal...Home.

[mouskevik]

Originally Posted by Ninnybobs

I would think the area of Cape Coral and Fort Myers would suit you down to the ground. Something for everyone around that area.

See more...

Thank you! They are two areas I was interested in so I'll investigate 👍🙂

[mouskevik]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

We love the West Coast, Deerfield Beach, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach. We’re hoping to go to St Augustine next year as there is a lot of history, museums, 17th century fortress, it looks gorgeous.

See more...

Thanks so much but they are all on the East coast. Would love to explore that coast another time though so will definitely bear those in mind 😃

[mouskevik]

Originally Posted by Kidd McFluff

We have stayed in Naples in the past and loved the place. It has a lovely beach with a fishing pier as well as plenty of room for swimming in the lovely warm shallow waters or chilling out on the soft white sand. Beautiful sunsets with a bottle of fizz and a picnic from Publix. Naples is about 4 hours drive from Orlando and on the edge of the Everglades. We took a trip out to a national park with walkways through the mangroves to spot wildlife which was great fun. We also chartered a small boat and captain for the afternoon and saw manatee and dolphins on our 4 hour trip out shell hunting. Shopping was easy at Publix and there are so many great places to eat in Naples. Hotels are easy to find and there are loads of places to visit. It's not a huge place, there are no theme parks of great note but the centre of town is lovely, filled with independent shops, galleries and places to eat. It's not cheep but it's not Miami prices either. We got an AirBnB there with a pool on the edge of a small lake on Myrtle Drive/lane/street or something similar. It cost less than $1000 for the week. Loads of country club type apartment complexes with golf courses, pools etc. We are thinking of going back in 2021. Plans for this year are well and truly scuppered so we are looking at 3 weeks next year if the world is back on it's feet...Disney...East Coast...West coast...Universal...Home.

See more...

That all sounds wonderful - I was wondering about Naples.
Hmmm starting to think I'd like to do a road trip from Naples to Fort Myers then Clearwater before heading to Universal! Thanks so much for all your recommendations 👍🙂

[saratogajan]

We had a week in Naples last year with our sons who are in their early 20s. We all absolutely loved it and were due to fly today into Orlando with a week in Marco island next week! The beaches are beautiful and great wildlife. Can’t wait to go back one day

[capecoralfl]

There are loads to do around the area. Plenty of beaches, water sports, boat trips, nature adventures and you can explore lovely islands and areas by bike (Captiva, Sanibel, Lovers Key, Ft Myers beach, etc). There are also some huge shopping outlets to explore including Miromar, Coconut Point, Gulf Coast Malls as well as the usual anchor shopping malls.
Naples, Ft Myers or Cape Coral would be good bases. Having just returned from another trip to Miami and Ft Myers in February, I can definitely say that Miami prices were (as they have always been) much more expensive than the whole west coast areas (and I include Naples - which is the most upmarket area of that region).
We owned a villa in Cape Coral for 16 years and still feel we never fully explored everywhere up and down the west coast.

[TheHughesCrew]

Weve booked to stay at The Bellasera in Naples. They do 2 and 3 bedroomed apartments. It's been well recommended on here by numerous people x