Good vacation spot on the east coast (or FL)?

[SpatiallyAware]

Now that the usual spots have officially been hit by tar/oil (Destin), we're looking for somewhere fun to go.


Must haves:

Good food (local restaurants with fresh seafood, sick of getting 'burned' by chains serving so-so meals)

Good boardwalk (enjoy sitting out and watching people walk by, etc..)

Beach with 'stuff' to do (sea kayaking/jet ski tours that are decent, good fishing, decent waterparks, etc)

A historical area would be nice, but I don't want to go anywhere run-down with homeless people roaming all over..

 

[Key West]

Key West, the most beautiful part of my 63-day 12,000 mile road trip followed by south west canyons and deserts.

-Land in Miami airport, rent a car, take 4 hours of amazing ocean bridge driving.

-I pulled over at various points, enjoying the breathtaking turquoise water and the local anglers. They caught a puffer fish, damn exotic for a New Englander like me

-Once you reach Key West, the whole Duval street and around it have AWESOME cuisine. Enjoy authentic Cuban fare at Pepe's Cafe, Blacked Mahi Mahi in Blue Heaven (amazing Bloody Mary), the list goes on.

-Key West doesn't have nice beaches unfortunately, but they have bountiful jet ski/snorkeling/scuba/water sports/open water fishing tours until kingdom come. They're probably the best in nation.

-Take a day trip to Dry Tortuga Island for history mixed in exotic Caribbean seas.

 

[Cal166]

key west

Went there last summer. Loved it!

Landed in Miami, rented a car and drove down to the keys. First stop was Key Largo for a day then Key West for two. Great drive!

Another Recommendation: Myrtle Beach which has all the must haves in your list.

 

[bigrash]

Went there last summer. Loved it!

Landed in Miami, rented a car and drove down to the keys. First stop was Key Largo for a day then Key West for two. Great drive!

Another Recommendation: Myrtle Beach which has all the must haves in your list.

I did the same thing earlier this year. Drive from Miami to Key West was beautiful (specially in a convertible). I definitely recommend Key West to the op

 

[Cal166]

I did the same thing earlier this year. Drive from Miami to Key West was beautiful (specially in a convertible). I definitely recommend Key West to the op

I rented a Mustang Convertible and did not use it at all while driving down there as the weather was so hot and humid, the only time I took the top off was during the night time. I remember taking the top off maybe like twice the whole week.

 

[ScottFern]

I've always wanted to vacation in a natural disaster zone!

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

For a decent vacation spot on the east coast of Florida try St. Augustine. Historical sites, good food, shopping, and plenty of watersports/beach. Not sure about a boardwalk though. Haven't been there in a while.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Thanks all;

Key West looks and sounds awesome; can a trip like that be done in 4 days? I'm thinking fly into Miami Thursday morning, take our time driving to Key West (google says ~3 hours?), then Fri/Sat/Sun before driving back to a return flight?


Myrtle Beach is a lot closer, but I'm sorta beached out. The Key West trip sounds different/fun..

 

[TheVrolok]

Thanks all;

Key West looks and sounds awesome; can a trip like that be done in 4 days? I'm thinking fly into Miami Thursday morning, take our time driving to Key West (google says ~3 hours?), then Fri/Sat/Sun before driving back to a return flight?


Myrtle Beach is a lot closer, but I'm sorta beached out. The Key West trip sounds different/fun..

I came in here to mention Key West as well. I love it there, and I usually only go for 2 days at a time. 4 days would be great. The drive from Miami could be anywhere from 2-6 hours depending on traffic. US1 in a 2 lane (1 each direction) highway that goes all the way down. If it's busy, it's a long drive, if it's not, it's an easy drive.

 

[purbeast0]

I've always wanted to go to the FL keys but my wife and I have been going out of the country instead.

one day in the not to distant future hopefully we will make it down there. i hear it is pretty expensive down there in general, and that the cost of going to the keys can be just as much as travelling out of the country.

anyone want to give any input on that? i know that flying to miami and driving is cheaper instead of flying to the small airport there. but other than that how are the prices on things?

 

[TheVrolok]

I've always wanted to go to the FL keys but my wife and I have been going out of the country instead.

one day in the not to distant future hopefully we will make it down there. i hear it is pretty expensive down there in general, and that the cost of going to the keys can be just as much as travelling out of the country.

anyone want to give any input on that? i know that flying to miami and driving is cheaper instead of flying to the small airport there. but other than that how are the prices on things?

It all depends on what you want to do. Food/drink/hotels can be had for no more than anywhere else. When I go down for a fun weekend I may spend like 200/night on a hotel room (split amongst 4 people or so), and then like 50/day on food/drinks. There are some places like http://www.cheeca.com/ which can be quite a bit more expensive. It depends what you're looking to do.

 

[Key West]

4 days is just perfect. Any shorter is a sham, any longer you'd get bit bored.

Be sure to catch the sunset by the famous boardwalk. Ask the locals, they know and say "that's when the crazies come out" (referring to entertainers)

Absolutely check out Blue Heaven. Everyone in ATOT raved it, my GF raved it, I rave it.

Check out art galleries throughout Duval St. Visit the southernmost point of US (closer to Cuba than Miami), etc etc.

It's just fun waiting to be had.

 

[burntfish]

If you're looking at Northern East Coast, I can recommend Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard. Plenty of beaches, historic light houses, and exceptional seafood restaurants. Make sure you do a whale watching tour if you still haven done so.

 

[MJinZ]

I went to Key West and Key Largo as stops during a Royal Caribbean cruise. They were nice places to relax, and something I would be more interested in exploring further now that I know that you can drive there.

 

[bigrash]

I rented a Mustang Convertible and did not use it at all while driving down there as the weather was so hot and humid, the only time I took the top off was during the night time. I remember taking the top off maybe like twice the whole week.

Rented a Mustang Convertible too. It seems like everyone there had the same rental lol. It's a good thing I went in March cause it wasn't as hot.

 

[GasX]

St. Augustine, FL

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I've always wanted to go to the FL keys but my wife and I have been going out of the country instead.

one day in the not to distant future hopefully we will make it down there. i hear it is pretty expensive down there in general, and that the cost of going to the keys can be just as much as travelling out of the country.

anyone want to give any input on that? i know that flying to miami and driving is cheaper instead of flying to the small airport there. but other than that how are the prices on things?

The biggest expense is the accomodations. Even the cheap hotels aren't cheap. My wife and I go to the Keys at least once a year to visit her brother, who lives down there. When we go we rent a house. Doing that provides more space (I hate cramped hotel rooms) and we can fix our own meals, which saves a bit of money. Last time we went for a week we rented this place. It's located on Summerland Key, about 30 minutes from Key West. The neighborhood has a private runway so a lot of the houses have airplanes parked out front. It was quiet, peaceful, relaxing and the place is beautiful inside. Highly recommended.

 

[bobdole369]

Anyone want to give any input on that? i know that flying to miami and driving is cheaper instead of flying to the small airport there. but other than that how are the prices on things?

It isn't significantly more expensive than anywhere else. Its a tourist town so there are tourist traps. Buy your beer and smokes anywhere besides Duval and you should be good to go.

Gas: $2.73 Beer: Busch24/$15 Heineken12/$15 Smokes: $5

Restaurant eating gets pricy though, Dinner for my wife and I on Duval the last time we went was at the Margaritaville was $30 for cheeseburgers in paradise. We found a kickass burrito shop a street over for $8 burritos for lunch the next day.

Lodging can be had for $99/night ***in the off-season*** which it is currently. That rate was at the cheap chain motel at the NE end of the island. A crappy room over a loud ass bar on Duval can be $500+

"Season" is typically September/October to March. In-season prices are typically much higher for lodging.

The cost of driving down from Miami to Key West = 4-6 hours of time each way, and about 2 tanks of gas, depending....


Key west notes that they don't have great beaches - I beg to differ. I think Smathers on the south side is a very very nice setup. Granted there is no nightlife at all and no food, but its got sand and beautiful water. Higgs beach is very nice too. In neither place, nor anywhere in the keys will you find a Fort Lauderdale/South Beach style "beach on one side of the street, booze on the other" setup.

 

[Cal166]

4 days is just perfect. Any shorter is a sham, any longer you'd get bit bored.

Be sure to catch the sunset by the famous boardwalk. Ask the locals, they know and say "that's when the crazies come out" (referring to entertainers)

Absolutely check out Blue Heaven. Everyone in ATOT raved it, my GF raved it, I rave it.

Check out art galleries throughout Duval St. Visit the southernmost point of US (closer to Cuba than Miami), etc etc.

It's just fun waiting to be had.

For the Sunset, we did a Wine Sail, about $75PP, all you can drink(Beer & Wine or Soda)/snack. Some really great wine, crew was awesome, and met some really nice people. Recommended. PM me if you are interested in the company as I have it at home.

One thing I did not try was the Key Lime Pie while I was down there.