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Old 10-21-2013, 08:27 PM   #1
thenewsmiths
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Looking for somewhere beachy in Florida

We'll be flying out of Columbus, Ohio. The plan is to go *somewhere* in late January or early February. My husband thinks we need to go to San Diego, but I don't want to take an 18 month old and an almost 4 year old on a 6+ hour plane ride. Therefore, I'm researching Florida. Florida takes like 2 hours on a plane. That's doable.

The girls love a beach and I'd love a resort maybe? or maybe a nice vacation home rental and we'll rent a car? It's completely up in the air at this point.

Any ideas?
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Old 10-21-2013, 09:18 PM   #2
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Since I'm originally from North Florida, I would always recommend people check out Amelia Island, any of the beaches on the Atlantic coast from Jacksonville down to St. Augustine, however during January/February it can still be pretty cold there. It would be warmer further south and since we just moved to So. FL, I'm not very familiar with what is all down here. There is also the west coast to check out as well. You could always go to TripAdvisor.com and search for highly rated resorts and start from there.
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Old 10-22-2013, 07:01 PM   #3
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For that time of year I think you need to go further south in FL for warmer temps. We're debating a trip to the Keys and are considering 3 different resorts in the Keys; Hawks Cay in Duck's Key, Tranquility Bay in Marathon and Checca Lodge in Islamorada. I also think that Sannibel or Captiva off the Gulf Coast would be warm enough. We've been to West Palm, Cocoa Beach and Orlando during March and it's been pretty hit and miss on the weather as to if we swim or not. We probably did more so when we went to the West Palm area. There are lots of great places so good luck.
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Old 10-23-2013, 10:22 AM   #4
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The gulf coast beaches are much nicer than the Atlantic coast beaches. As others have said, further South the better for warmer temps. My fave FL beach is Sanibel Island. It is BEAUTIFUL and not as super touristy as somewhere like Clearwater.
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Old 10-23-2013, 05:25 PM   #5
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I third Sanibel or Captiva. Both lovely for a relaxed vacation. I also love the keys. We went down once over Christmas break. We had gorgeous weather in the mid-80's. Had a stop in Orlando on the way back and people boarded the plane wearing jackets, sweaters and fleeces along with hats and gloves.
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Old 10-24-2013, 04:57 AM   #6
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Have you considered Disney's Vero Beach Resort? I love it!
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Old 10-24-2013, 01:54 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Disneybine View Post
Have you considered Disney's Vero Beach Resort? I love it!
I must admit I hadn't though of that, but what a great suggestion. That way you get the beach and a touch of Disney magic as well.
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Old 10-24-2013, 08:06 PM   #8
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I've been researching the same thing. I like the idea of Sanibel Island, but I read that they're having problems with brown water around there and Fort Myers because of runoff from Lake Okeechobee (sp?) I really like tripadvisor for info.
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Old 12-16-2013, 07:43 AM   #9
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I'm just getting around to looking into this again after convincing myself that we needed to go on a Disney Cruise and then convincing myself otherwise.

What about Fort Lauderdale? It seems like it'd be far enough south.
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