Florida recommendations

[thirtysomething]

I'm planning a trip to Florida and am completely bewildered by all the info on where to go (in January). We'd like to rent an apartment somewhere nice by the sea, preferably Gulf Coast or Key West. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations?

Hi,
Just seen your message, this is what we are doing. We are off in Oct for 3 weeks, 13 nights in a beautiful house in Orlando to do the obvious! Then the bit I am looking forward to is 6 nights on Anna Maria Island on the Gulf coast, it sounds heaven. It is only 2 hours from Orlando, the island id 7 miles long and a couple wide so beaches all round. It sounds very laid back, the old Florida, yet lots of shops and restaurants. It also has a trolley that takes you all round the island day and night for free! You can easily find accomodation on the net, let me know if you want any help! We have a 4 bedroom bungalow, 3 doors from the beach and minutes from the shops, £400 for 8 nights!

Yes it is 8 nights we are there for, my mistake!

Triplets, Anna Maria island sounds brilliant. Do you have more details? Who do you book with?

Key West has lots to do and a whole variety of accomodation. Lots of night-life, restuarants, bars etc. Lots of daytime activities like diving, fishing. Key West is very laid-back and friendly, and has a big gay community.

Takes about 4 hours from Miami driving on a scenic route, tho' lots of the road is not motorway standard, more like dual lane.

Also been to Sanibel and Captiva which are both beautiful, and would say are less busy. Depends what you're after.

Hi Mears,
I booked everything myself through the net. If you tap in Anna Maria Island you will get literally hundreds of sites offering all types of accomodation. Our bungalow is now in the hands of Smith Reality but there is so much choice and all the properties are very cheap in comparison to what you pay here. A good site for accomodation is Cybernet that is where we originally found ours. If you tap in Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce again you will get all the tourist info you need. I think its a brilliant location, yes I hear the Keys are nice but it is a long drive and I hear not the prettiest. Mappy will give you good map of the island on the web. Come back to me if you need more help.

Have you checked out \linkwww.orlandotripplanner.com{}? There's a discussion forum there which might help.

Thankyou. Will have a look.

Gulf Coast has far better beaches than the Keys. Sanibel is gorgeous but quiet, Naples is lovely with a more to do.

Keep in mind though that in January, while the weather will probably be better than in the UK, it probably won't be beach/pool weather. At that time of year it's usually pleasant to be outside, but you're likely to be wearing long sleeves and long trousers as opposed to shorts most of the time. It will probably be sunny all the time with no rain, so that's a definite plus.

The Gulf beaches are great. Siesta Key is nice, and St. Pete Beach.