Help me plan a beach vacation *Update end of page 1*

[lucylou]

So I've never planned a full on vacation before. We've either done all-inclusive or just extended H's business trips if he was staying somewhere fun. But this year we want to take a family vacation. I'm super open, but I don't really know where to start. Maybe you guys can recommend something?

Here's what I know:
1) I want to stay on a beach somewhere. I want it to be super low-key and basically just be able to WALK to the beach everyday to let DS swim and play. I would like it to be in an area with a couple other fun things to do and fun restaurants in case we get a date night or 2 (or if it rains) but doesn't have to be flashy or fancy.

2) I would like to stay in a rental house or condo versus a hotel.

3) We will probably fly, but I think my parents are coming too and they'll drive. We live in Indiana so like, California is way too far.

4) Our schedule is pretty open as far as when we go, but I don't want to wait too late into the year in case DS is in the hospital again or something and my H has to burn through his vacation time before FMLA would kick in. I just need it to be warm enough to swim. We were also going to start TTC in May and ideally we would vacation the beginning of May, but again, I don't know if there are places where the water is warm enough that time of year.

I was thinking Flordia or Gulf Shores (never been there). If we ended up waiting until this summer, would Michigan be a good idea? It would be pretty close and maybe cheaper?? I'm open to anything!

[vk]

I stayed in a rental home in Marco Island, Florida. It was amazing. We were in a neighborhood so it was pretty calm, but we were able to drive a few miles to get to a more touristy area with shops and restaurants.

I also stayed in Siesta Keys, Florida. We stayed in a condo with a bunch of older people. it was really nice. Beach was a short walk out our back door.

[vk]

OMG I just saw MI might be on your radar. YES COME HERE!!!

PS. When we went to Florida both times were in the first weeks of April and weather was beautiful and water was warm.

[Deleted]

If you come to FL at the end of April/beginning of May it will be HOT and great beach weather. I highly recommend the west coast. Anna Maria Island and Marco Island are both beautiful. Ft. Myers/Naples area is also great.

[peachesncream]

My parents have a place on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. It has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and it is a short drive away from Charleston which is an awesome place to explore!

[bobloblaw]

Saugatuck, Mi would be my Michigan choice. Lake Michigan is beautiful and there are some good places to eat in town.

We stayed in Seaside, FL for my brother's wedding and it was amazing. It would be pretty quiet and family-oriented, though it's not cheap. There's a number of different cities along there that are similar but I'm only familiar with Destin (it's bigger and a little less quiet), Seaside, and Rosemary Beach. We have considered it for a family vacation. You live up north so you might find April to be great weather/water temp-wise but it was a little chilly for our tastes.

[lucylou]

Wow thank you guys so much! I'm going to google all these places, most of them I've never heard of. But first, a super dumb question. All these islands... they don't have airports do they? Do you just take a ferry across? Would my parents be able to bring their car to them?
I mean obviously people have cars there. I just didn't know if it was really expensive or big hassle to do it.

[lucylou]

Mar 14, 2016 13:13:18 GMT -5 peachesncream said:

My parents have a place on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. It has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and it is a short drive away from Charleston which is an awesome place to explore!

Oh sweet, just let them know when I'll be arriving
I would love to see Charleston. I've been to Hilton Head and Savannah and absolutely love that whole area.

[lucilleaustero]

Okay, hear me out. NY is not th first place people think of with beach vacations, but we have fantastic beach areas. Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire island (gorgeous national park system with an amazing group of villages). My personal favorite is Long Beach, it is a barrier island to Long Island and has goegeous beaches, bike rentals, hotels on the boardwalk and a thriving surfer laid back nightlife.I lived there for years and miss it so much.

[lucylou]

Mar 14, 2016 13:00:31 GMT -5 vk said:

OMG I just saw MI might be on your radar. YES COME HERE!!!

PS. When we went to Florida both times were in the first weeks of April and weather was beautiful and water was warm.

If we don't go this summer I really want to take DS to Frankenmuth this winter. Maybe we can plan a meetup?!

[lucylou]

Mar 14, 2016 13:25:38 GMT -5 lucilleaustero said:

Okay, hear me out. NY is not th first place people think of with beach vacations, but we have fantastic beach areas. Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire island (gorgeous national park system with an amazing group of villages). My personal favorite is Long Beach, it is a barrier island to Long Island and has goegeous beaches, bike rentals, hotels on the boardwalk and a thriving surfer laid back nightlife.I lived there for years and miss it so much.

No it's not, but as a former avid watcher of the Jersey Shore, I could totally see that! Is everything in that area pretty pricey though?

[Deleted]

The islands have bridges and you just drive on and off and you would fly into a major airport like Tampa, Sarasota, etc and then drive. You would want a rental car if you fly. Unless your parents arrival coincides and they have room in their car.

[lucylou]

Mar 14, 2016 13:35:21 GMT -5 @becominggold said:

The islands have bridges and you just drive on and off and you would fly into a major airport like Tampa, Sarasota, etc and then drive. You would want a rental car if you fly. Unless your parents arrival coincides and they have room in their car.

Bahaha. Yeah I guess this makes sense.

[bobloblaw]

Seaside is in the panhandle, mainland. Panama City Beach airport and Southwest are about a 45 minute drive away.

No idea about Saugatuck. We've only ever driven.

[acorn99]

My vote goes to Topsail Island, NC. We love it there. You can rent houses right on the beach for really good prices. You can fly into a local airport, rent a car and get the to island pretty quickly. I think Raleigh might be the closest city?

It is a really family friendly place. The beaches are very quiet, even during the busier times of the year. You usually get the beachfront by your house all to yourself.

[redhorizon343]

You need to go to the Outer Banks in NC.

I LOVE it. The whole area is beach house rentals. You can get a three bedroom house ON the beach for like 1300 for the week. There's not much else to do but go to the beach and hang out. The beaches are nice and not over crowded You hit up the grocery store at the beginning of the week, hit a few restaurants during the week, and BBQ the rest of the time.

It's a really awesome, low-key deal.

Truly the only draw back is because of it's location, it makes the most sense to drive (even perhaps from Indiana. Or you could fly someplace and drive the rest of the way, but it's a 13 hours drive from Indianapolis)

Early-mid summer is best, too close to the fall and you're playing with hurricane season. (For which you can purchase insurance)

[lucilleaustero]

Mar 14, 2016 13:30:28 GMT -5 lucylou said:

Mar 14, 2016 13:25:38 GMT -5 lucilleaustero said:

Okay, hear me out. NY is not th first place people think of with beach vacations, but we have fantastic beach areas. Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire island (gorgeous national park system with an amazing group of villages). My personal favorite is Long Beach, it is a barrier island to Long Island and has goegeous beaches, bike rentals, hotels on the boardwalk and a thriving surfer laid back nightlife.I lived there for years and miss it so much.

No it's not, but as a former avid watcher of the Jersey Shore, I could totally see that! Is everything in that area pretty pricey though?

Hamptons and Montauk, yes, expensive. Fire Island, less expensive. Long Beach, cheapest option.

[Courtniko]

If you want low key I would at least look into the Outer Banks, NC, especially all the way down in Hatters. You can rent houses right on, or within walking distance to the water. I have always gone just after the season is over, never as early in the year as what you are thinking, so I am not sure how warm the water will be. Kitty Hawk is way more touristy, but still fun, and you can always go to the Wright Bros. Memorial, and the site of the first flight.

[gratefulgirl]

I grew up going to Sunset Beach, NC about 30 minutes north of Myrtle Beach, SC. It or something like it sounds perfect for what you are looking for. It's basically an island in NC that is just rental houses and a few condos and hotels. It's about the most family friendly, laid back place on earth. You rent a house for a week and just hang out on the beach. Most of the island is about 4 blocks deep so you're rarely far from a beach access even if you aren't paying for an oceanfront house. If you want shopping, mini golf, and all that you just start heading to Myrtle Beach until you find tourism again.

The Outer Banks like Courtniko mentioned and a lot of other NC beaches are fairly similar, though maybe not quite as quiet as Sunset.

Since we never had anyone in preschool before this year DH and I used to book our beach vacations the week of Labor Day. You're past peak season prices so you can afford a lot more house that way. It's still quite warm. Last year we got a killer deal on a place in Nags Head with it's own pool. If you don't have a school schedule to worry about early fall is a great time to go.

[weeklyplanner]

Before I realized your parents were driving, I was going to suggest Grand Cayman. We stayed in an apartment on the beach and it was great with DS.

Other suggestions are Marco Island, FL and St. Augustine, FL. We went to Marco Island last year for the week before Memorial Day and it was perfect beach weather. We rented a house with its own pool and jacuzzi on a lagoon for super cheap. The beaches are very nice and you're on the gulf so the water is 80 degrees. If you can hold off until late May, that's considered "off season" and prices drop a ton. All the restaurants and shops are still open. Highly recommended! Naples is about 40 min. away. It's really nice, but when we were looking, the prices were double that of Marco Island. We did drive there to go to the zoo and check out the area for a day.

St. Augustine has beautiful beaches and you can also rent a place or stay in a hotel. They have a cute little cobblestone downtown area. My brother went to college there, so I've been a bunch. I love it every time and miss it.

While I agree NY (ans NJ!) has beautiful beaches, in May the water will be too cold to enjoy.

I recommended the website VRBO. We've had great luck renting through them.

[mrsnorris]

Mar 14, 2016 13:25:38 GMT -5 lucilleaustero said:

Okay, hear me out. NY is not th first place people think of with beach vacations, but we have fantastic beach areas. Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire island (gorgeous national park system with an amazing group of villages). My personal favorite is Long Beach, it is a barrier island to Long Island and has goegeous beaches, bike rentals, hotels on the boardwalk and a thriving surfer laid back nightlife.I lived there for years and miss it so much.

I LOVE long beach! When I lived in nyc we had beach passes and would take the LIRR out pretty much every weekend day in the summer. I miss it at least once a week

[gahorseygal]

For looking for rentals - I have used Home Away a few times with great success. VRBO is also good which is part of Home Away.

We really enjoyed Isle of Palms which is right outside of Charleston. I live in GA so I've visited quite a few beaches in FL and SC. Isle of Palms has by far been my favorite. It is a nice relaxed island with some great local cuisine. You can also get to Sullivans Island which has an awesome little market on it that we enjoyed for breakfast. You can get your beach time, but also are super close to Charleston and can explore the city as well.

Your parents could fly into Charleston and then you drive across the bridge onto the island. H and I are not huge beach people but if we want a beach vacation we will most likely go back there.

Honestly though anything on the East Coast is great. I'm not a huge fan of the gulf.

[cdseno]

Michigan in May wouldn't be warm enough for going in the lakes. You would freeze.

[lucylou]

Mar 15, 2016 12:32:17 GMT -5 cdseno said:

Michigan in May wouldn't be warm enough for going in the lakes. You would freeze.

Oh yeah, but I thought there was a chance we might wait until the summer.

[brachysira]

Yeah, Michigan is great July-early Sept but pretty cold for swimming in May. You could run up there anytime in those months and spend a weekend like you described, but houses book up around now. We live about 80 minutes from the nearest Lake Michigan beach and it makes a good tiring day trip for us. Salt water is different to swim in and the waves aren't generally surfable, but for kids, it's no different from the coasts.

[hoosiermama76]

I'm going to say something really low key and say southwestern Michigan. We go every year and it's my favorite beach in the world. It's only a three hour drive and is easy to travel to with a toddler.

From Indiana, I would also recommend Charleston, SC. Beaches are gorgeous at Wild Dunes, and the drive to Charleston is easy. We stayed in a rental and it was divine.

[hoosiermama76]

Mar 14, 2016 13:14:24 GMT -5 bobloblaw said:

Saugatuck, Mi would be my Michigan choice. Lake Michigan is beautiful and there are some good places to eat in town.

We stayed in Seaside, FL for my brother's wedding and it was amazing. It would be pretty quiet and family-oriented, though it's not cheap. There's a number of different cities along there that are similar but I'm only familiar with Destin (it's bigger and a little less quiet), Seaside, and Rosemary Beach. We have considered it for a family vacation. You live up north so you might find April to be great weather/water temp-wise but it was a little chilly for our tastes.

Love Saugutuck, Holland area. We go every year.

[lucylou]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! H and I were pretty excited about Outer Banks or maybe the Charleston area, but we've narrowed down our dates to 3rd or 4th week in May and I'm just worried about the water not being warm enough. Plus I know my mom really wants to go to Florida and they never take vacations.

So that being said, we're focusing on the Florida gulf. I thought I had found a super nice place in Marco Island, but turns out my mom wants to stay right on the ocean. Sooo it's making it a little trickier to stay in our price range and find something nice, but it's doable.
We found a really nice place in Englewood/Monasota Key. But it seems like there's really nothing much else to do besides beaches there (or State Park/Fishing). I'd be happy with like a children's museum/aquarium and a couple shops. Does anyone know anything about the area?

The second place I was looking was Fort Myers Beach around Fisherman's Cove. It seemed like a quiet area but close to other stuff. Plus a trolley to take you around for .50. Only problem, the flights coming into the area (Southwest International Airport) are about twice the price as the ones coming into Sarasota which we would use if we stayed in Englewood.

Sooo does anyone have any info on these areas or could recommend maybe something similar? The more central we can stay the better, to cut down on my parents' driving time. Second, do I need to be worried about that Venice swimming alert with the bacteria? Does that kind of thing travel?
Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[vk]

Mar 15, 2016 18:30:04 GMT -5 hoosiermama76 said:

I'm going to say something really low key and say southwestern Michigan. We go every year and it's my favorite beach in the world. It's only a three hour drive and is easy to travel to with a toddler.

From Indiana, I would also recommend Charleston, SC. Beaches are gorgeous at Wild Dunes, and the drive to Charleston is easy. We stayed in a rental and it was divine.

what beach?

[weeklyplanner]

Mar 17, 2016 8:53:32 GMT -5 lucylou said:

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! H and I were pretty excited about Outer Banks or maybe the Charleston area, but we've narrowed down our dates to 3rd or 4th week in May and I'm just worried about the water not being warm enough. Plus I know my mom really wants to go to Florida and they never take vacations.

So that being said, we're focusing on the Florida gulf. I thought I had found a super nice place in Marco Island, but turns out my mom wants to stay right on the ocean. Sooo it's making it a little trickier to stay in our price range and find something nice, but it's doable.
We found a really nice place in Englewood/Monasota Key. But it seems like there's really nothing much else to do besides beaches there (or State Park/Fishing). I'd be happy with like a children's museum/aquarium and a couple shops. Does anyone know anything about the area?

The second place I was looking was Fort Myers Beach around Fisherman's Cove. It seemed like a quiet area but close to other stuff. Plus a trolley to take you around for .50. Only problem, the flights coming into the area (Southwest International Airport) are about twice the price as the ones coming into Sarasota which we would use if we stayed in Englewood.

Sooo does anyone have any info on these areas or could recommend maybe something similar? The more central we can stay the better, to cut down on my parents' driving time. Second, do I need to be worried about that Venice swimming alert with the bacteria? Does that kind of thing travel?
Thanks in advance for any feedback!

The name of the exact beach is escaping me right now, but there are definitely large condo buildings right on the ocean on Marco Island. If you think you've found them, PM me the name of the beach and I'm sure Google will help jog my memory. I remember us sitting on the beach and thinking "Maybe next time we will stay in one of those condos." The gulf will be great that time of year-good choice!