Florida holiday

[jon_bailey]

Planning holiday to Florida next Feb. Unfortunately I will have to do Orlando and all that entails, but also want to spend a week or so on the Gulf-coast in a villa with a boat.

Cape Coral looks nice with the offshore Islands but last time we were there (15 years ago) we liked St Petersburg. Any comments?

Apparently plenty of Villas with moorings with or without boats, is there anything we should be aware of?

Any other experience much appreciated.

Jon


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[ArthurWood]

Jonathan - I live 35 mi S of St Pete and think you would enjoy this area and Pine Island Sound (Cape Coral) area. The latter is less developed and you have Sanibel, Captiva, Cabbage Key, Useppa and Cayo Costa. Wld suggest you look at Burnt Store Marina (http://ft-myers.guide-to-vacation-rentals.com/burnt-store-marina.html).
Jan and Feb are the coolest months here and you may encounter slight frost early a.m. Daytime temps may stay in the 60sF.Send me a PM if you would like more info.

<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by ArthurWood on 25/11/2003 22:42 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[BrendanS]

No, don't do the PM thing, this sort of thing is interesting to many.

<hr width=100% size=1>Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo

 

[jon_bailey]

Arthur,

As per Brendan's request I'll keep the general stuff on the forum and just PM the more personal questions!

Thanks for the offer of help - I just hope you don't regret it. Anyway I'll start with a short list of questions:

1) What is the boating in this area like? Do you need lots of local knowledge or is it safe for the point and shoot brgade?

2) With three young boys (four if you include me) is Cape Coral a bit sedate? I believe that most of it is purpose built holiday accomodation, but is it aimed at retired people (like Eastbourne) or is it, and the people in it, a bit more alive?

3) I have noticed that things are now really beginning to book up in February and March. Does this also mean huge queues at the theme parks (I hate queuing)?

4) I have looked at the Burnt Store Marina web site and the marina looks huge. Is it all condos or are there villas as well?

5) Is boat hire readily available and straightforward and are there large insurance premiums (CDW) like car hire?

6) Besides the boating are there any other activities we should be looking at?

7) When I mentioned frost and 60's wifey nearly called the whole thing off. According to the web sites average daytime temp is mid 70s. Do you agree.

That'll do for now and thanks again.

Jon

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[ArthurWood]

Jon - No prob.
1. Compared to UK boating, it's very sedate, here:tidal range of max 2ft and if you stay within the ICW, not much in the way of rough water, although Charlotte Harbor on which Burnt Store sits is a large expanse of water. The main hazard is thin water and you have to keep within the markers or read your charts carefully or you will be aground very soon. Fortunately the bottom is mostly sand. They say that if you have not run aground in Florida, you haven't really been boating! The tow companies are quick to respond, but it's expensive to be towed, so if you rent a boat make sure they have US or SeaTow insurance. The Pine Island Sound area is very beautiful and well worth a visit. You could easily spend a week exploring the islands. Wild life - osprey, dolphin, manatee, heron, egret etc are in abundance and if you like collecting shells, visit Sanibel.

2. Cape Coral is VERY sedate and not recommended for children or young people like you. Forida is THE retirement state!

3. Try to visit Disney etc on weekdays. Queues (lines) can be very long but move quite quickly. At EPCOT, don't make the mistake of going to the things near the entrance first, but go to the back and work forward.

4. Burnt Store marina is huge, but it's very nice, with a good bar and restaurant and pool and it's within easy boating of Pine Is. Sound. There are beautiful villas there, but I don't know about rentals.

5. I've never rented a boat here, so I don't know any details. I would expect things to be pretty laid back. What size boat are you thinking of renting?

6. If you are going to Orlando, then Cape Canaveral is only an hour's drive away, and that's a good day out for 4 kids!

7. We had frost in Feb last year, albeit for what seemed like a few minutes, but it was enough to freeze the fountain at the marina. I would not choose Feb myself. 70s may be average, but that's what it means. If you come in April/May are better and in June it begins to get hot and humid. If you come in May you can have our place as we shall be away.
Arthur

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[ArthurWood]

Jon - another thought: take a look at South Seas Plantation Resort on Captiva. http://www2.south-seas-resort.com/
This is a wonderful place for young and old and still within the Pine Island sound area. I don't know about villa prices, as we go there by boat, but it's prob worth a look.

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[ArthurWood]

Hi Jon - I picked up some boat rental info in Sarasota, yesterday. Rates range from $229+7% tax for 8hr for a 20ft/130hp bowrider to $279+ for a 20ft/150hp center console.
Boating exp reqd, but all you have to do is fill in a form stating what expce you have. Price incl VHF, safety equip, depth gauge,compass, chart. 55F here today with a cold N wind at 20kt. Will be back up to mid-70s on Mon.

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[amf]

Try:

http://www.vacationhit.com/

We stayed at a Cape Coral rental through these guys a few years back. It came with a 30ft Searay (extra $). We had great fun visting the islands, swimming off the boat etc. Dolphins seem to follow you everywhere! Most places can be reached via the ICW (the Solent of the gulf coast, also the equivalent of the M25 at weekends!) so very sheltered - only the inlets from the Gulf seem to get choppy. Just watch those channel markers! - the water can get shallow very quickly! Oh, and take some Mosquitto repellent - the bugs in Florida are big!

We spent a week and a bit based in Cape Coral and a few days in Disney. Flights were into Tampa. If you can afford it stay at one of the Disney resort hotels - we stayed in the Dolphin at Epcot. You can get into the parks a bit before they open to the general public.

Hope that helps.


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[chippie]

Jeez , I can see why Arthur stayed!

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[ArthurWood]

Hi Chippie - and we can get NZ orange roughy, here. Fantastic fish! Merry Christmas to you down there.

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[jon_bailey]

Good web site - thanks.

After Arthur Wood''s comments about temperature and the amount of Americans there are about, I have discovered that many of the places are booked up. Therefore considering postponing for a few weeks until the weather warms up.

Does anyone know if Wet 'n' wild is open in February?

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[chippie]

Thanks Arthur, all the best to you and yours.

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[tcm]

AW will of course have more info but

a) We went in winter and only occassionally was it not shirtsleevy weather

b) it is dead easy to get lost in the everglades if you rent a little powerboat there

c) Key West is quite a drive and not really worth the 1days drive each way if you are on 2 week hol perhaps

d) The hotel "Don Ceasar" is Ok. It's pink! Bit steep in season (immediately after xmas) but just before then it's quite cheap.

e) in Tampa Springs (i think) they sell the dead expensive natural sponges quite cheap. Worth taking an empty holdall and loading up on christamas presents for the following year.

f) agreed cape canaveral is quite good. On the history display, press "1986" for erm nicely ahem covered up exploding shuttle...

g) St petersburg is world centre for the Morse collection, famous sponsor of Salvador Dali, and worth a look in St Pete's. No, i'm not that much of an art buff BUT this is very decent indeed, no long drawn-out tours just bosh here's an amazingly fabulously-produced pic you have seen loads of times in posters and bosh here's another and another. The evident skills and the scale of these masterpieces is awesome and inspiring. Only need an hour tops, but recommended.

h) there are nature reserves, especially i think on the E-W route between disney and cape canaveral. Aw, boring! NOT. They have alligators just walking about, eek. Loads more memorable than disney. Or canaveral, too.




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[ArthurWood]

Jon - re TCM's comments
-it might be shirt-sleevy weather to you hardened lot, but 70F feels cool to us! It's 50 here at the mom and not expected to rise above 60, so it's b----y cold, but w/bright blue sky. You have to go about 100mi further S to say Naples/Marco Is. to be warmer in winter. On Sat it was about 80F here, and we had a violent t/storm overnight w/rain all day yesterday -so the temps fluctuate markedly as cold fronts come and go, but this is not the rainy season - that's in the summer.

-it's Tarpon Springs where the sponges are. Lots of Greeks and aquaint little place.

- agree w/tcm's comments re St Pete, nature (p)reserves(on E-W rte Naples>Miami and around here) and Key West.

-If wifey wants guaranteed warmth, come in Apr/May before it gets really hot.

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