suggestions for Florida in January

Using up some Frontier flight vouchers from a while ago, ended up booking a flight into Orlando just because it's the only thing I could work out with a decent schedule.

Anyway, landing in Orlando on Jan 12, heading home on Sunday Jan 16. Just the wife and me, get out of the snow for a few days, take it easy. Been to FL before, not planning any sightseeing or touristy stuff. Would like to find an affordable hotel/condo on the beach to chill, take some walks, go out to eat, etc.

Any suggestions for which city to look at? Atlantic coast is closer than the Gulf. Looks like lot of options in the Daytona area, but there are probably reccomendations out there for other places to look. Gulf coast is not out of the question either, but rather not drive 4 hours from Orlando if we don't have to.

What do you reccomend?

 

Do the tour at Canaveral and check out the visitor center. If you're a space nerd at all then that will make the trip worth wild.

Stay at the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando. Best birth control ever.

 

Nah, no touristy stuff this time, and want to be on the coast.

 

Cocoa Beach or Melbourne are options

 

Most really good places to eat will be closed or it will be off season for fresh seafood.

Hotel prices will not be cheap, as many Northerners will be doing the same as you at that time.

MCO is about halfway between Tampa and Daytona. I prefer the Gulf myself. Of course, Clearwater is a little further drive from Orlando than Tampa. But it's not even close to four hrs. I think Clearwater to Daytona is less than four. At least the way I drive. he times you see below are for late Sun night; ignore the values.





That being said, driving on I-4 can be scary. Still lots of construction in Orlando north of the Convention Center. Be careful! Oh, and lots of tolls in the Orlando area. You can avoid most, if not all. Click the "Avoid Tolls" option in Google Maps.

I like Sand Key Park in Clearwater. Easy access, plenty of parking, a good place to talk a short walk, weather permitting. It ~can~ be pretty damn cold in FL in January.

https://goo.gl/maps/HQ9G7Ut9WVAWqd4V6



https://www.pinellascounty.org/park/15_sand_key.htm

If you have access to a kitchen, and get tired of eating out, Buy some vittles from a Publix grocery store and stay in for the meal.

If you are hungry when you arrive at MCO, I really liked this pizza place that is not too far away.



https://www.pizzaxtreme.com/

Want a great Cuban sandwich? Cubans On The Run is a great place. About 30 min north of MCO.

https://goo.gl/maps/H34Z2hK1DXoKDgZy9

https://cubansontherun.com

In Clearwater (not Beach), I had a great Grilled Chicken Parm at this place.

Sunset Grill https://www.sunsetgrillclearwater.com
https://goo.gl/maps/4USe2CBKEFoRsrnM7

Tampa has Ybor City, which is appealing to some. https://www.visittampabay.com/districts/ybor-city/

https://www.visittampabay.com/

https://visitclearwaterflorida.com/

If you and wifey are into visiting one together: https://goo.gl/maps/Vfa67KutaRcHgPCb6

OH - Frontier Air? Good luck getting there and returning.

 

On the Atlantic coast Washington Oaks state park to N and Vero beach to the S.
Any state or national park between those two will give beach access, parking and a little less company than the resort areas.
If there's a nor'Easter stay in the room.
Orlando food is epic in or out of the parks. Should be pretty slow then.

 

I second the St. Pete/Clearwater suggestion. Plenty of places to stay on the beach and food/bars plentiful. It's not a bad drive at all from Orlando.
While it certainly will be warmer than a snowy area, beach weather in FL is not a guarantee in Jan. I've been in the Tampa area in Jan. already with highs in the 50s and lows in the high 30s for days on end. That's below normal, but possible. The water also will be cold (60s) that time of year. If you get lucky, you could see some 80s though. Last year over new years, it was 80ish almost all weekend.
Check out VRBO and similar for an interesting selection of rentals.

 

We did something similar last year. We chose Ft Pierce. The drive isn’t too far from Orlando. It isn’t touristy at all. We got a reasonable Airbnb on a canal. Found some cool restaurants. Even found a really fun “hidden” beach.

 

Siesta Key. Hands down, don't look anywhere else if you want the best beaches, great food and a relaxing time. Born and raised in Floria, so I've been to them all many times over. Currently live just outside of Tampa and spend a fair amount of time in St. Pete, but Siesta Key is me and the wife's go to place when we have a weekend alone.

 

Daytona might be nice, but it might be fucking cold. Sanibel / Captiva is pretty much guaranteed to be nice. We stay at a place called the Tween Waters. It's gotten a little pricy in recent years. Prolly ridiculous in January.

 

Go further south where it's warmer. We went to St Pete last year around new years for a little vacay and to check out some real estate and people were sitting on the beach in puffy coats. After that we bought a place down by Ft Myers Beach. Always seems warmer down here.

Shameless plug for our rental.......

https://www.vrbo.com/9598118ha?adultsCount=3&noDates=true&unitId=8677933

 

Some good suggestions for the east and gulf coasts on here but whatever you do...get out of and away from Orlando.

 

Go north to a hidden gem called Jennings.

You are welcome, thank me later.

 

It was 40 here in hidden gem land this morning.

 

Redneck shithold...lol
Bring your db killer

 

so daisy dukes weather??

 

Yeah...if Daisy is from Nova Scotia !!

 

You're definitely not wrong. Siesta Key is one of our favorites as well.

 

You need to go further south. Remember, anything above Ft. Lauderdale is just South Georgia.

 

Gulf side is much nicer than the ocean side IMO.

Wife and I used to go here every year
https://www.floridastateparks.org/p...chiller-homosassa-springs-wildlife-state-park

Not very touristy but pretty uppity: https://www.longboatkey.org/
Nice beaches there as well as golf courses if you play