Plan Your Florida Vacation
The aim of this blog is to provide as much information about things to see and do whilst you are on the holiday of a lifetime in the vacation capital of the world - The Sunshine State of Florida.
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The Gulf Coast South West Florida
Posted on November 16th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Derek Birchenough
Authors WebsiteMuch has been written about Orlando Florida being the entertainment capital of the world, and it is true that everybody should experience the magic of Disneyworld, the fascination of Epcot Centre and the wonderful sights of Seaworld. But many people return to the UK having spent an exhilarating time in Orlando without visiting the Gulf Coast.
Many years ago we made the discovery of the joys and untold pleasure to be gained by visiting the Gulf Coast and in particular the beaches of South West Florida, There is something unique about still being able in this busy world to walk along an empty beach of clear white sand with the occasional appearance of a dolphin freely swimming close to the shore line looking a for meal, the only company.
We have encountered this scenario many times along South beach Boca Grande and and Stumps Pass Englewood to name a few, the locals do not bat an eyelid when the dolphins meander past, they are just used to it. Whilst the visitor myself included will alert to the wife in excited way that dolphins are off shore, I can just visualised the locals muttering to themselves, typical tourists. You can see dolphins along any beach on the gulf coast but there is no doubt they like quiet areas and when they come close to shore to feed.
The peak Gulf coast vacation rental season on the gulf coast is the winter months December to April when the North Americans and Canadians flood into South West Florida especially to escape the cold temperatures and snow in the Northern States. The months of May and June are considered the off season which has always amazed me, I have been sat on a sun chair on a quiet beach in hot and sunny weather with the temperatures in the 90s and reading the local papers which talk about the busy season being over. When on some of the beaches in Europe in similar conditions you would be climbing over people to get to the sea.
Yes some of the beaches will still be busy, the likes of Fort Myers and Sarasota but there are still plenty of beaches to explore which offer the type of experience I have described above.
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FORT MYERS & JUNKANOOS
Posted on September 19th, 2009 No commentsWritten by: Julie Hart
Authors WebsiteA few years ago we had a long holiday in Florida and decided to spend some time on the Gulf Coast, as somewhere we hadn’t visited before. We are now used to having our own place and didn’t want a hotel so we used a homeowners forum to find a lovely 2 bed 2 bath condo at Fort Myers. Our daughter was staying with friends at the Longboat Key Club so we collected her on the way. That is a really lovely resort, right on the beach near Sarasota. We spent the day there in glorious sunshine and set off after dinner at Tommy Bahamas restaurant.
A storm blew up just as soon as we set off and it was quite scary driving in the dark, on unfamiliar roads with the pounding rain and thunder and lightning but eventually we arrived unscathed. The next day brought beautiful sunshine and our neighbours suggested a place on the beach called Junkanoos. This turned out to be a good recommendation, there was parking, a restaurant, toilets, jet ski hire, sun loungers and a beautiful clean sandy beach. Everything we needed for a family day out.
In the afternoon my daughter and I decided to walk into Fort Myers, about a half hour stroll down the beach. This is a typical seaside town, busy and bustling with lots of shops and cafe’s. As we were ready to walk back the sky turned black and we set off quickly but with no chance of avoiding the impending storm. We decided to stick to the road instead of the beach and within minutes were absolutely soaked to the skin, at one point the water was flowing so fast down the kerbside it took our flip flops with it and we had to chase after them.
We came to a motel block and took shelter under a balcony for a while but the air conditioning blowing out from the rooms made us so cold we moved on. A car drove past and thought it would be hilarious to drive as close as possible thus soaking us from head to foot, at least the water was warm! We arrived back to find the rest of the family dry and enjoying a drink in Junkanoos, much to their amusement. We were amazed to see people not only on the beach but still in the sea with lightning flashing around them.