Gulf coast best beach

[Mandsjh]

Hi
Planning for 2024. Party of 4, kids will be 16 & 19.

Looking to do a week in Orlando followed by a week at a beach but with plenty to do around it - secluded peace and quiet will have to wait until the kids don’t want to come.

We will have busch tickets

Done st petes before and liked it. Just wondering if there’s anywhere else to try.

It’s to celebrate my 50th and I did fancy the Caribbean but early July (first time not stuck to school holidays) seems iffy weather wise and for a half decent hotel it’s £££££’s.

Faithful old Florida offers a lot more for the money. But I still wanted the tropical beach part.

[Robin3]

We go to Naples, really beautiful beaches, Wigan’s pass, lowdermilk & Marco island are our favourites.

[pawwavingpuppy]

Our favourites
Siesta key
Boca Grande 🙂

[stan]

Got to be Clearwater beach for me , loads to do ,
We did little toots dolphin trip and sea screamer speed boat trip both great . Then there’s pier 60 at night great atmosphere

[Ball81]

Sanibel
Anna Maria /Long Boat Key
Marco Island
Lovers Key
Naples
Clearwater

In that order .

Sanibel is shell collectors paradise, not the sandyest but stunning .


We settle on Anna Maria for linger stays as suites the kids more , they love going over the bridge to longboat Key, some great drift woods and exploring

[nick.66]

We like Fort Myers beach, a few bars a few shops and a pier. Greta place to lose yourself for a few days

[YorkshireT]

They are all pretty nice and I haven’t been to all, but I’ve been to a lot in maybe 25 Gulf Coast holidays, and the ones mentioned by Robin and Ball81 above I’d agree with. That’s for tranquility and natural beauty.
If you want something more lively, bars etc and that means good beaches to you, look more at Atlantic coast or somewhere like Fort Myers which is a nice mix.
As you want quietish beaches head South is my advice and go to Naples or nearby.

[Floridafan]

We always migrate back to St Pete’s Beach - we’ve done others and quite like Naples as a second choice but there’s something about St Pete’s that we just really like.

[MinniMouse]

Originally Posted by Mandsjh

Hi
Planning for 2024. Party of 4, kids will be 16 & 19.

Looking to do a week in Orlando followed by a week at a beach but with plenty to do around it - secluded peace and quiet will have to wait until the kids don’t want to come.

We will have busch tickets

Done st petes before and liked it. Just wondering if there’s anywhere else to try.

It’s to celebrate my 50th and I did fancy the Caribbean but early July (first time not stuck to school holidays) seems iffy weather wise and for a half decent hotel it’s £££££’s.

Faithful old Florida offers a lot more for the money. But I still wanted the tropical beach part.

See more...

So much to do on the gulf coast. Anna Maria is lovely, low rise, quiet island life, with a free island trolley to get around.

Further south is Naples, DH and I love it there. You are close to some great shops (outlets as well as more upmarket malls), boutiques, some amazing restaurants, or cafes for brunch. Within 20 mins drive south of Naples you are in proper swamp land. HP Williams highway is the track you want to drive up if you're looking for gators in their natural habitat, some great boardwalks, the Hertz arena (hosts concerts or sporting events), we've seen Pro Bull twice there, sunset on the pier at Naples is amazing, there's a zoo, airboat rides from Everglade city (Captain Jack, it was from them we learned about HP Williams Wayside), the smallest post office in the USA.

Last time we went we spent a couple of nights in the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota before moving down to Naples. Lovely hotel, they have a beach club, separate from the hotel but they run a continual shuttle bus. Depending on the time of year (we went July) there are free turtle watching walks, very early in the morning. We booked one for our first morning as I knew it would be the only morning I would be up that early From memory we met the group about 6am on the beach a couple of miles from Sarasota. There were 3 ladies who took the group along the beach, explaining all about the nests, habitats etc, they check all the nests that have hatched overnight to make sure no little ones left. They must have pulled out a dozen or so baby turtles, popped them in a bucket. They take them back to their base and then release them at the shore at some point. Very cool.

Just a few things to do on the gulf coast

[lottiesmum0]

Originally Posted by Robin3

We go to Naples, really beautiful beaches, Wigan’s pass, lowdermilk & Marco island are our favourites.

See more...

Completely agree