Suggestions for snowbirding in Fl

So many choices. Depends on what you want Resort or campground. South of I-4 will be warmer in the coldest months Jan-Feb. If you are up to moving every two weeks the state parks in Fl. are nice and the least expensive. We are full timers and spend our winters in Fl. state parks. The secret is you have to book 11 months to the day at 8am ET to be assured of your choice spot. The Keys are another matter. If you go inland parks are cheaper however you have a much longer drive to the beach and many fun activities. Either coast is desirable. We prefer the west coast but do stay on both coast. If you want to use private parks the ones up north or on the interior will as a general rule be less expensive. Good luck.

I picked parks in the center of the bottom third of Florida. I wanted the warm weather of South Florida without the traffic and crowds of either coast. I prefer counties with about as many cows as people. Arcadia, Florida is a good example and there are many parks nearby. South Central Florida has the same temperatures and lower rent than either coast.

We stayed January through March several years ago at Crystal Lake Village in Wachula, Fl. This is in central Florida just about 50 miles East of Bradenton/Sarasota and about 20 miles West of Sebring. It is a very nice, well maintained, clean park with many activities and very friendly people.
All sites are paved with full hookups.

The heated pool and hot tub is one of the nicest ones of any park we have been to. They also have a great set of very high end exercise equipment, boccie ball, shuffleboard, golf league, dances, pot lucks, card nights just about every night, church services, craft classes, trips, ice cream socials, plus many more I have not mentioned. They also have free WiFi at the clubhouse. The clubhouse is a very active place and is where most of the activities take place. It is located just adjacent to the pool, shuffleboard courts etc.

There is a Walmart and a couple of other large supermarkets about a mile away and LOTS of orange and grapefruit trees! Wachula is a small town but has several shopping areas, a few nice restaurants, and is located central to many good places to shop or explore.

The cost was very reasonable compared to many other less desirable parks. We enjoyed our stay there very much.
You can probably reserve a site for 2018 now.
Barney

If you're on a tight budget, try Lake Letta RV Park in Avon Park (It's actually closer to Sebring). It's a small park (78 sites) with no pool, but it's a friendly park that fills-up in the winter with mostly seasonal people. As fare as I know, they're full for this winter, but, if you call early, you might get in for next winter. Seasonal rates are very reasonable. If you go there, stop by #3 and say "Hi".

Thanks everyone for some great insight to snowbirding. I will definitely do some homework and stay at a few places before we book solid for two months.

NCWriter wrote:
It may be too early now to book for winter 2018 full season, but it's a good time to gather info.

Satisfied people often come back year after year and have friendships at the snowbird parks. One thing I noticed is that often the very popular parks (like in the Keys) will start next season's bookings at the end of the current season (around April) by offering next year's sites to returning full-season snowbirds, with a deadline to book. Then they contact the full season new people/returning partial-season, and so on. By the end of summer, they might take shorter overnight bookings.

As sort of a rule of thumb, the further south you get and the nearer the coasts, the higher the price.

We just got into a park in the keys after waiting 9 months to book for 2018. We were first on the wait list when we call Jan 1 trying to book for 2018. We got in as one person is not returning. We wanted to be on the water/beach. I'm sure the larger inland parks are easier to get into but it's all about location and temperature.
Good luck and decide early if you can would be my advice.

What worked for us was to travel a week about in different parks/areas during January and March. February we would stay at a specific park for the month - usually a park we had been to for a week stay previously. This way we have seen a lot of Florida and experienced the amenities in various areas - also helps to eliminate a lot of parks that were not as appealing as others.

I would not want to stay long term at a park I had never been to - shop around! Each park has its own character and what appeals to some people may not appeal to you.

PghBob wrote:
As a "Rule of Thumb", if you want to avoid freezing temps. overnight, consider staying south of I 4. Agree that we would not stay 2 months in an unfamiliar campground, so the idea of staying 2 weeks at a couple different places makes sense to me. Good Luck

Kind of ironic to be reading this. We are in our fourth season as birds. Our handful of winter buddies decided to try a new resort in a very different location. We had booked for Feb/March at their new choice, and planned stopped by last month, for a quick visit. We are beyond grateful that we took the time to do a "test trip" to this new location. The whole situation is awful. The resort is sweet, but too small, and not geared toward the snowbird crowd at all. The place is surrounded by a poverty plagued, depressing mess of a town, in a very remote area. Had we paid for, and spent two months at this location, it would of been a totally ruined winter. It's a bit more expensive to go with a weekly rate, at 4-6 parks in a two month period, but well worth the cost, especially if it's your first time. Good luck.

Start with Blueberry Hill in Bushnell just off I-75 and south of The Villages. It's a huge park with friendly folks, many restaurants in the area AND just across the street from Walmart! What more could you want?
BTW you may have to ratchet up your budget for Florida in the winter.

We never were snowbirds but have stayed in some parks that cater to them. It may be too early now to book for winter 2018 full season, but it's a good time to gather info.

Satisfied people often come back year after year and have friendships at the snowbird parks. One thing I noticed is that often the very popular parks (like in the Keys) will start next season's bookings at the end of the current season (around April) by offering next year's sites to returning full-season snowbirds, with a deadline to book. Then they contact the full season new people/returning partial-season, and so on. By the end of summer, they might take shorter overnight bookings.

As sort of a rule of thumb, the further south you get and the nearer the coasts, the higher the price.