So my wife and I are very similar in the sense that if we spend our money, it is preferred to have a tangible object for our efforts. We just aren’t the type to take vacations.

We decided to change this. We are headed to The Villages, Florida for nine nights. I found us a great Airbnb that comes with a golf car, and is in a pretty good location from what I can tell.

So we are taking vacation at a less than perfect time of year, but we wanted to go on vacation, so we will accept the weather and hope it’s not too hot. We will be down there Late August - Early September.

As far as beaches, if you all can recommend a good beach on the Gulf side, and a good beach on the Atlantic side, that would be great. I would prefer to not drive for hours and hours. Quicker trip straight to the beach, the better.
Our idea of a great beach is one that is clean, sandy, has waves you can walk in (we won’t be swimming) and is just pretty.

If there are any other recommendations for cool things to see or do, I’m open.

If there are things I should know ahead of time; (I.e. here people will break trail when off roading. Seems like no big deal, but to us locals, they are vile scum. - In that same sense, there are a lot of tourists that will go out and start “looking for desert life”, flipping over rocks, poking around areas where a snake would find rest in the middle of the day. You look at them thinking WTF, then explain all the ways they could be harmed, and what to look and listen for.) So if there are things one should know, please let me know.

Speed limits? Here in AZ it’s safe to go about 83 in a 75 and not get a ticket. I haven’t tried faster. In cottonwood, you can drive 10-15 over, no issues. Most roads are rural, so no real enforcement to speak of. What about there?

Bean, with respect to Gulf beaches, take your pick, but St Pete and Clearwater are both very nice. To be honest, I wouldn't waste my time on the Atlantic side unless you're going to be Jupiter and south or up around Fernandina beach.

Have a gander here.


https://www.drbeach.org

You probably already know this, but you can get a "Lifestyle Visit" at the Villages where you get a house, golf cart, and bicycles. It's very inexpensive as they are trying to sell houses. But you can avoid all of the realtor stuff if you want. They will show you the house and give you the amenity cards, etc and just tell them you want to spend the time exploring on your own. I think the max days is 7 however.

We loved it there and plan to retire there. I'll just have to switch to a pellet smoker as I doubt I'll have the wood available to me that I do here in Massachusetts.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
You probably already know this, but you can get a "Lifestyle Visit" at the Villages where you get a house, golf cart, and bicycles.

I didn’t know that, but I think that’s what I kind of ended up with. It’s an Airbnb that’s owned by “The Villages”, and it was priced quite nicely for our stay.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
You probably already know this, but you can get a "Lifestyle Visit" at the Villages where you get a house, golf cart, and bicycles.

I didn’t know that, but I think that’s what I kind of ended up with. It’s an Airbnb that’s owned by “The Villages”, and it was priced quite nicely for our stay.

Oh, interesting. Here's the website for the Villages lifestyle stay. I didn't hear it called an Airbnb, but that makes sense.

https://www.thevillages.com/lifestyle-preview-plan

We loved the Blue Fin restaurant and The Chop House (I think that's what it was called). Of course they were the most expensive restaurants. It's a ton of fun driving around in the golf cart.

My son and I were in Orlando years ago during a June month. Hot and HUMID as hell. I was sweat soaked in minutes after walking out of Hotel room. At Disneys Epcot, people were buying water bottles and immediately pouring the water over themselves.

They are very Lightening conscious. We were ordered out of pool, ordered under awnings, etc, every time a thunderstorm came over.

The bus tour to get to the Kennedy Space Center was wonderful. Take the bus tour as the narrator gave a lot of info on the way there.

Have fun

Should be a good time to be here, may still be hot and humid but it's at the end of the summer heat, and, we have plenty of AC.

Villages is an interesting place, lots of people from all walks, golf carts are the way to get around, if you play golf plenty of options.

You are smack dab in the middle of the state so a beach trip will be the whole day, either coast. West Coast beaches are a bit nicer, Clearwater area has more to do it's a 100 mile trip each way.

East coast, I'd suggest New Smyrna Beach, 75 miles each way. White sandy beaches, you can drive on it which is cool, park get out and stroll the beach. It has a great little downtown with some good places to shop and eat, The lighthouse is a good place, and seafood places around it to eat, you can drive on the beach get out, walk, its just south of Daytona and an easy drive straight across on highway 44.

Link with Cams

The Corkscrew Bar and Grille is a popular local hot spot, food is good, service is good. Link

If you are into NASCAR, then you can go right up 95 from NSB to Daytona the speedway has tours, the museum, good food across the street, shopping, if you are into that stuff.

IF you are early birds, get up drive to NSB, have breakfast and watch the surf, walk the beach then head south to Kennedy Space Center, do the tour, or hit the Warbirds Museum in Titusville, then dinner at Dixie Crossroads for some really good seafood, get the Rock Shrimp.

https://dixiecrossroads.com/

Enjoy!!!

https://meaww.com/the-villages...gra-glitz-disneyland

Pass a Grille beach near St. Petersburg is a great bet. Or for a more “nature” beach, check out Fort Desoto park.

You should be able to make it to Pinellas beaches in around two hours from the Villages. It may be less than that if you are in one of the Sumter County communities, but traffic on I75 and I275 is unpredictable. I would suggest booking a hotel near the beach and taking a few days to enjoy your time. It's hard to do a day trip with the traffic issues.

My favorite walking beach in Pinellas is Madeira Beach. It is about an 8 minute drive from my house and usually nice and clean. Part of my routine is to park down by the bridge at John's Pass early and walk until it gets too hot. John's Pass has a nice boardwalk with shops and some decent places to eat (touristy places can be hit and miss).

St. Pete beaches around the larger hotels are wider, but also have more traffic on them. Pass-a-grille is further south than St. Pete Beach and has more of an old Florida feel to it (no high rise condos in that area).

Clearwater Beach will probably be slammed, and is a real headache to find parking unless you pay a ton to park at a hotel. Sand key is just south of Clearwater Beach and is typically less crowded. Pier 60 has a nightly sunset market that operates year round. https://www.sunsetsatpier60.com

If you are wanting something more unique, Fort DeSoto is the southern most beach in Pinellas and has camping available if you book way ahead. It is a natural beach with some remains of military gun batteries. There is also a ferry to Egmont Key that leaves from Fort DeSoto and spends about three hours on the Egmont Key island. https://www.hubbardsmarina.com...nt-key-ferry-cruise/

As far as Atlantic beaches go, north of Cocoa Beach they typically have high dunes and are flatter (some are driveable with a 4x4). I always liked going to Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine/Butler Beach when I am in that part of the state. The water is going to have wave action and be cooler typically than the Gulf side. New Smyrna, for whatever reason, is historically known as a hot spot for shark bites. I'm also not a huge fan of Daytona Beach (it is pretty rough there unless you go north to Ormond Beach).

I am sure you both will enjoy your trip!

quote:

New Smyrna, for whatever reason, is historically known as a hot spot for shark bites.

Baby Shark doo doo doot doo doo
Baby Shark doo doo doot doo doo
Mommy Shark doo doo doot doo doo.....

Cocoa Beach for sure, and don’t you dare speed once you get anywhere near A1A or east of there. I mean not one mile over the limit.

Lots of touristy type stuff there, but places locals actually go to are Coconuts On The Beach for live music and Cafe Surfinista for breakfast. There's a couple places in the area where you can get coffee and watch the sun rise that are good. Cocoa Beach is nice even compared to other beaches close by. My in-laws live right on Satellite Beach and it has some pretty rocky sections. Pelican Beach is better that way, and less crowded, but there's less there to do. You're contending with tourists at C.B. but when you're talking about going isn't the height of that, spring break is.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
So if there are things one should know, please let me know.

It's the same thing on the beaches there. There are clearly marked paths to the beaches that go through the dunes. Stay on them. Do no go onto dunes or even into the mangroves. When the population of Florida exploded and developers were scrambling to develop beach real estate, they bulldozed those mangroves. Turns out, they're kind of essential to prevent beach erosion and they take forever to grow back from damage, kind of like coral or the plant life out here. Locals treat them with reverence and will defend them. Respect the dunes, respect the mangroves, stay on the path.

Not a beach, but a visit to the 3 Sisters Spring (Crystal River) or Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to see and swim with manatees (if they have returned) is a worthy site.

I haven’t been, but Rainbow Springs State Park could interesting.

Fort DeSoto is nice, but probably two hours from where you are staying. Anastasia State Park on the Atlantic is nice, but again two hours.

Ormond Beach, the town, is OK, Daytona Beach, the town, is a pit. MikeGLI called it, the Atlantic beaches themselves in Florida are all about the same and not worth the effort unless you go far north or south. They remind me of the beaches in New Jersey we went to when I was a kid minus the sewage from the cruise ships.

There's a good ice cream shop in Madeira Beach (John's Pass) as well...

Dont skip kennedy space center
Also check here for launch updates.
You can see a launch anywhere within 30 miles pretty good.
https://www.rocketlaunch.live/
as you get closer keep checking for a date.
That is well worth it if you have never seen one.

You could get a hotel on the beach and beach all day, see a rocket and head back to the villages the next day.

My recommendation is to see some springs on the St. Johns river. Best one is Silver Glen spring, next is Big Blue spring then Salt spring. All provide for swimming or wading some have kayak rentals. It is the best scenery and clearest water you will ever see. All three of these springs are within 30 miles of the villages and can be accessed by both boat and auto. Itchetucknee springs is also great and provides a 6 mile long float on inner tubes. it is about 80 miles north of the villages on the Santa Fe river.

Maybe too far, but Nokomis Beach is great for collecting sharks teeth in the sand.

Also, Johns Pass is fun, but 2 hours from The Villages.

If you decide to hit CFL so you can see where you'd go to shop, buy guns, shoot stuff, see the mouse...

Stop here, massive gun store, probably find one of everything, rent a fully auto to shoot or just anything you want to shoot.

Shooters World

Right down the street are some of the best outlet shopping, people flock there from overseas to buy merchandise they can't get at home. You can drop the wife at The Mall at Millenia, which is an upscale Mall, and just down the road from the Outlets while you dump mags at Shooters World!

Mall at Millinea

Orlando Premium Outlets


Want to hit a park, then Universal IMHO is best for adults, or for a cool date night, CityWalk at Universal is a fun place, lots of dining from casual to higher end, bars, Hard Rock, makes for a nice place to go walk, dine.

CityWalk

IF you want to do the park stuff, Universal...

Universal Studios

If you do want to see some of CFL, run down to Mt Dora, check out the lake, local shopping and dining downtown, it's off 44, and stop in to A.W. Petersons Gun Store founded in 1886, located in Mt Dora it's as old school as you'll find in a gun store.

Link AW Petersons

Head over to the Yalaha Bakery and pick up some pretzels or other fresh German bakery items. Get there early, the fresh pretzel rolls go fast!

Yalaha Bakery