Looking for a beach stay - Vero Beach or Sarasota?

[ajb_tic_tac]

Hello - we (a couple, 2 adults) are looking for a beach stay for 3 nights to compliment our time in Orlando. I really want a "charming" beach town with quirky shops and a really nice beach that is good to lounge on and play in the sea.

I would love to try Disney's resort in Vero Beach but I think Sarasota is probably more what I am looking for. Would anybody be able to give me advice on the vibe in both areas?

Thank you.
Andrew

 

[Upatnoon]

Hello - we (a couple, 2 adults) are looking for a beach stay for 3 nights to compliment our time in Orlando. I really want a "charming" beach town with quirky shops and a really nice beach that is good to lounge on and play in the sea.

I would love to try Disney's resort in Vero Beach but I think Sarasota is probably more what I am looking for. Would anybody be able to give me advice on the vibe in both areas?

Thank you.
Andrew

I think all the beaches on the gulf side are nicer.

If you want charming, Seaside, Florida comes to mind. I prefer the beaches from Apalachicola to Destin.

There are many nice beach areas around Sarasota, but there was a lot of hurricane damage there could impact your experience.

It also depends on the type of place you are staying and the vibe you want. If you are in a giant resort, you will have lots of crowds near the beach. If you pick a smaller resort, chances are the crowds will be less.

For example, in Destin we stayed in a smaller resort. Our area of the beach wasn't too crowded, but you could see big crowds further down where the large resorts were.

Your budget will also come into play here. Some beach areas are more expensive than others.

 

[Mle8308]

Siesta Key (Sarasota) is great, the beaches are beautiful. The water is a lot calmer than the east coast beaches.

 

[mikehn]

I will second Siesta. Bradenton beach and Anna Maria are awesome as well. Whatever damage if any there was from Ian is all cleaned up.

 

[hrhdhd]

We love Sarasota / Longboat Key / Anna Maria. The gulf side is much nicer.

 

[katallo]

Siesta is beautiful. Longboat is also really nice. Most on the beach rentals will probably be weekly.

 

[ajb_tic_tac]

Thank you for taking the time in giving me some feedback and advice. I am going to concentrate on the gulf side and have a look into the Siesta Key and Anna Maria island areas.

 

[White Cat]

We go to Lido Key often. Can walk to St Armand’s and much quieter. Vero Beach is over rated IMO.

 

[Capt_BJ]

https://www.windemereinn.com/

 

[georgina]

When are you going? Just back back from the gulf side and red tide has come in early, killing fish and stinking up the beaches south of Sarasota. I think it is more typical in late summer/early fall.

https://sarasota.floridahealth.gov/...ur-gulf-env/water-quality/red-tide/index.html

 

[kevtlas]

We are partial to the Fort Myers area (love Fort Myers Beach), but agree with others that Gulf side in general has more "old" Florida beach towns than the east coast. That said, we loved Vero Beach and the area, although the whole area seemed to have set their pricing more in line with in park pricing. We expected the resort restaurant to be Disney priced, but not everything else. Fort Myers was "cheap" in comparison.

 

[bavarian princess]

When are you going? Just back back from the gulf side and red tide has come in early, killing fish and stinking up the beaches south of Sarasota. I think it is more typical in late summer/early fall.

https://sarasota.floridahealth.gov/...ur-gulf-env/water-quality/red-tide/index.html

Thanks for sharing. My family and I are coming over from Europe at the end of April and we are also considering staying two nights at either Tampa or St. Pete's for the "beach experience". Reading about the red tide worries me a bit and I wonder if my family and I should stay in Orlando and just go to the beach for a day.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Thanks for sharing. My family and I are coming over from Europe at the end of April and we are also considering staying two nights at either Tampa or St. Pete's for the "beach experience". Reading about the red tide worries me a bit and I wonder if my family and I should stay in Orlando and just go to the beach for a day.

Red tide can come and go, but hasn't been an issue in the St Pete area for several weeks now. It did peak there for a bit but then moved away quickly. Just keep an eye on the beach conditions as your trip grows closer.

Fingers crossed it doesn't come back around this year - we lost almost an entire summer of beach time because of it a couple years back

 

[bavarian princess]

Red tide can come and go, but hasn't been an issue in the St Pete area for several weeks now. It did peak there for a bit but then moved away quickly. Just keep an eye on the beach conditions as your trip grows closer.

Fingers crossed it doesn't come back around this year - we lost almost an entire summer of beach time because of it a couple years back

Thanks for the reply. Since we don't have any experience with red tide everything you are saying is super helpful. I will keep an eye on the developments hoping it won't come back. It would be a pity to travel all the way from Europe to Florida without visiting the golf coast.

 

[wabbott]

This site will give you the current status of red tide around the state.

https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

 

[bavarian princess]

This site will give you the current status of red tide around the state.

https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

Thank you so much

 

[ajb_tic_tac]

We are going to Siesta Key in September. So we shall be looking out for Red Tide and Hurricanes!

 

[Mle8308]

We are going to Siesta Key in September. So we shall be looking out for Red Tide and Hurricanes!

It's beautiful, enjoy! Without Red Tide, that is!

 

[White Cat]

We are going to Siesta Key in September. So we shall be looking out for Red Tide and Hurricanes!

We go to Lido Key often. Siesta Key is nice. If there is red tide I would suggest not going. It’s worse than you think.

We are going to Siesta Key in September. So we shall be looking out for Red Tide and Hurricanes!

 

[Beer Me]

We go to Lido Key often. Siesta Key is nice. If there is red tide I would suggest not going. It’s worse than you think.

We’ve been during red tide and it’s awful but it doesn’t seem to affect everyone the same. Some people were out on the beach and swimming totally care free. I couldn’t step outside without having a coughing fit.