Florida Vacation coming up. Locals have any advise?

It's official. We are booked. In a couple of months I will be taking the family... Me, my loving wife, and our 4 kids, (22,20,18,16) to Florida. We are staying in a town home in a resort. I don't know where exactly.

This is our second trip to FL. We did the Disney thing the first time and only got to the beach for a few hours, and it was dusk so it was cold. This time, no Disney, other then the boardwalk. Probably one day at Universal. And definitely some time at the beaches. We are as land locked here in ND as you can get, so the ocean is amazing.

So, now I need some more ideas. What beaches are good, what time should we get there? Where are some amazing food joints? What other things would you recommend that cost money? What kinds of cheaper things are there to do also? We will have a full week and a day to use up.

We will have a van with unlimited miles.

Siesta Key has been voted the world's most beautiful beach multiple years in a row. While I am in Florida I am living just a few miles from it.

if your gonna be on west coast i would suggest clearwater beach. i would also suggest an offshore fishing trip prefferably a private charter. will cost a bit more but is way better then craming on with 50 other tourist.

shark tooth beach, pick up real sharks,teeth, if your lucky some are 6 inches long, take a metal detectory they still find pirate gold and silver coins on the beaches on the west coast. there are several fruit gardens where you can go in and pick and sample the oranges grapefruit, lemond from arround the world.

an absolutly must see is coral castle.- completely built by a 5'6" 140 lb guy by himself , they still cant figure out how he moved and mounted 9 ton coral blocks and doors that open with one finger. he had no modern tools at that time.

ps if any of your kids are boys a short visit to south beach and they will never forget it, nor will you , however ya might want to find something else for the wife to do that day, oh and dont forget your heart medicine . when the girls from california (Hollywood) want to let their hair down and go wild south beach is where they go.

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Originally Posted by olddude

an absolutly must see is coral castle.- completely built by a 5'6" 140 lb guy by himself , they still cant figure out how he moved and mounted 9 ton coral blocks and doors that open with one finger. he had no modern tools at that time.

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Was he a little gray guy with an oversized head and big eyes?

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Was he a little gray guy with an oversized head and big eyes?

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http://coralcastle.com/whos-ed/

The Coral castle is amazing, i like to take a trip every few years. never really got into the tourist stuff up here in Orlando, But if you are thinking about the Florida keys in you trip i can give plenty of advise for you down there. Especially if you have been landlocked forever the Keys will be one of the most amazing vacation areas to go.

Where in Florida are you going to be? Been here all my life

I lived in St. Petersburg fo over 50 yrs.Graet beaches St. pete. to Clearwater, lots of good places to eat,lots of good fishing and just across the bridge in tamps you have bush gardens the kids would love bush gardens. Any beach in florida is fantastic, the keys is one of my faverite places to visit. Just remember it starts getting hot by may but it is a good time of year to come. I hope you enjoy your stay.

I would say if you never been you need to go to Kennedy space center. If you like that kind of thing its definitly a day wells spent.

BurlyGuys you are right about Siesta Key.We are headed there in June for our 4th time in 8 years.Love to fish the beaches and snorkel when the water is clear enough.Have looked for sharks teeth at, i believe Venus Beach.Good Times!

Our resort is in Davenport. I guess I need to start looking at maps. Last time the Keys seemed so far away.... but if a person can make it a day trip... stopping at a few places on the way and on the way back...

We are going in the first part of June. My goal is to have all my machines processed and shipped out before we go. We will see. I'm picking up another dozen servers this week. :)

Keep the ideas coming. Thank you! We hate just floundering around when we get somewhere. Last time we spent all the money and time on Disney and we were disappointing when it was all done... don't get me wrong, it was great. But Disney hits you with huge admission fees the first few days and then the admission drops so much they rope you into going back each and every day. That's why we are doing it again. This time we have gps's on our phones and will probably get one for the rental.

That darn show Drive-ins, Diners and Dives gets me wanting to find places that are unique and not just tourist traps. I want to try amazing fish and seafood. Last time, just hotdogs and such at Disney. Soooo crowded and the food was sooo boring.