Comments or suggestions about the Florida West or East coast

[TheB-Family]

I'm use to go to the east coast and I would like to maybe try the west coast this year in the Christmas time.

Me and my wife are traveling with my daughter, she's 13 now and a good traveler too.

we were asking to ourselves if maybe she's gonna find it boring on the west coast. We heard that is more quiet, calm and not as much things to do and visit than the east coast.

if anybody can give me their own tips about it I will appreciate.

we like places to walk and shop and where is some animation... like the boardwalk or places like Orlando area.

thank you

Ron

[jplante4]

Plenty to do around Sarasota, Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island. Don't miss the
Ringling Museum, sunsets over Siesta Key, Town Center at Lakewood Ranch.

My biggest complaint about the month we spent on the east coast was congestion. It seemed like we spent a lot of time sitting at stop lights.

Having said that, the area around Bradenton/Sarasota is almost as bad.

[spoon059]

sher9570 wrote:
We are staying in Cortez, we are just south of Tampa, close to Sarasota, St. Armands Circle, Siesta Key all interesting places to visit, great shopping, cultural centers, fantastic restaurants up and down the coast...easy drive down to Venice...there is so much to see and do that if anyone gets bored they are doing something wrong.
Good luck in your search...

Sher

We might have been in the same park... and it sounds like neither one of us wants to name it for fear of competition next winter!!! Our campground was on Cortez Rd, the only problem with this area is the traffic to and on the island.

[sher9570]

spoon059 wrote:
We LOVE the Gulf side of Florida. Just finished 8 days in Anna Maria, its gorgeous. Just south of Clearwater/Tampa area.

We are on our second day in St Augustine. I never liked St Augustine before, because the city is a tourist trap (in my opinion). We are staying at North Beach Camp Resort right now and it is BEAUTIFUL. Nice shaded sites (sand EVERYWHERE though), close to the Atlantic beach and a short walk to the river behind us. This is making my stay much more enjoyable with the great campground.

We are staying in Cortez, we are just south of Tampa, close to Sarasota, St. Armands Circle, Siesta Key all interesting places to visit, great shopping, cultural centers, fantastic restaurants up and down the coast...easy drive down to Venice...there is so much to see and do that if anyone gets bored they are doing something wrong.
Good luck in your search...

Sher

[phillyg]

Joe b. covered just about everything. We chose the Gulf Coast because of its more laid back ambience.

[TheB-Family]

thank you spoon059 !

Ron

[spoon059]

We LOVE the Gulf side of Florida. Just finished 8 days in Anna Maria, its gorgeous. Just south of Clearwater/Tampa area.

We are on our second day in St Augustine. I never liked St Augustine before, because the city is a tourist trap (in my opinion). We are staying at North Beach Camp Resort right now and it is BEAUTIFUL. Nice shaded sites (sand EVERYWHERE though), close to the Atlantic beach and a short walk to the river behind us. This is making my stay much more enjoyable with the great campground.

[TheB-Family]

thank you for your suggestions.
my RV is a motorhome class C 30' long.

Ron

[LynnandCarol]

Second the Ft. Meyers Beach area and also Woodsmoke! There is a back way into Ft. Meyers Beach to avoid the bridge congestion.

[joe_b_]

For the west (Gulf) coast, I think I would look at the area from about Naples north to Tampa/Clearwater/St Pete . The Tampa area has Busch Gardens, some boat rides, beachesgood shopping, etc.

Sarasota can be a nice place as well. Quaint and unique shopping at St Armand's Circle, nice beaches, some nice campgrounds, etc. some classic buildings in the area also, such as the Ringling property, great places to eat on the water, such as Marina Jacks.

Farther south, in the Naples area, allows for day trips to the Everglades, air boat rides, nature hikes and tours. It is said that in Florida, if a living thing doesn't have stickers on it to jab you with, it probably bites. LOL not far from the truth.

Much north of the Tampa area is very popular with snowbirds looking for a winter place to stay warm. Good fishing in the area around Crystal River but not set up as a tourist entertainment area. But the area is worth a couple of day trips just to see what we call "old Florida". When we were full timing in our RV, we would spend three or four months in this area, plus we owned a couple of houses over there for several years.

[RVcrazy]

You might take a look at the Fort Myers beach area. There are shops, beach, restaurants and I think mini golf. It is pretty congested, but a fun area. If your unit is smaller, you might like Red Coconut on the beach. It is too tight and crowded to suit us, but we are seniors. You might also like Woodsmoke. The weather was good there for us in December (mostly).