Dec/Jan - Sanibel/Captiva or Key West?

[Anonymous]

Looking at going to Sanibel/Captiva or Key West in late december/early january. Is one better over the other during that time? We will have young children with us. Will we be able to go on the beach at that time of year? Any recommendations for where to stay? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Key West "beaches" are not like what you find on the coast. There are a few beaches, but the limestone/old coral is right below the sand and rises above the sand in places. The sand is not as refined(large and mixed with coral) vs other places. So if you are thinking KW is like the mainland beaches(wide, White sand with a gradual slope), it is not. Also Key West is more of an adult place vs the other places you mentioned. It just depends on what you have in mind as a vacation(ie kids on the beach all day etc or more active vacation off the beach).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Key West "beaches" are not like what you find on the coast. There are a few beaches, but the limestone/old coral is right below the sand and rises above the sand in places. The sand is not as refined(large and mixed with coral) vs other places. So if you are thinking KW is like the mainland beaches(wide, White sand with a gradual slope), it is not. Also Key West is more of an adult place vs the other places you mentioned. It just depends on what you have in mind as a vacation(ie kids on the beach all day etc or more active vacation off the beach).

Thank you for that info, I've never been to either destination so I didn't know any of that. We're looking for something pretty laid back, so beach time and pool time would be a big part of the trip. Sounds like Sanibel/Captiva is better for that?

[Anonymous]

It can be cool in Sanibel in Dec/Jan. My parents live there and we frequently see them in January. It's unusual for it to be swimming weather. We still sit on the beach, but usually with a sweat shirt. It's usually high 60's, we have been there when it's been warmer than that, but most often it's been cool.

[Anonymous]

DEFINITELY Sanibel or Captiva over Key West. Both are great, but KW really is geared toward adults. The beaches in Captiva are PERFECT for young children as there is a gradual slope down. There are TONS of shells for little ones to pick up if it's too cold for swimming. It's truly a lovely vacation. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Are there things to do in Sanibel/Captiva that time of year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DEFINITELY Sanibel or Captiva over Key West. Both are great, but KW really is geared toward adults. The beaches in Captiva are PERFECT for young children as there is a gradual slope down. There are TONS of shells for little ones to pick up if it's too cold for swimming. It's truly a lovely vacation. Have fun!

The thing is Captiva will may be too cold to really enjoy:

Sanibel & Captiva Weather

December 76.0°F / 24.4°C 55.3°F / 12.9°C

[Anonymous]

If the weather is not warm enough for you try Marco Island or Naples instead. We did a week split between Marco and Sarasota and although Marco was in the 80s in early January, Siesta/Sarasota area had some very cold days (like, down jacket/windy cold) while we were there. Luckily there are things to do that don't involve the beach or pool like the wildlife tours at Myakka River, the Marie Selby botanical garden, Pineapple Ave etc.
As you head back inland towards Lely area, it was much warmer. A resort in the Lely area would be a safe bet for pool weather.
We did a manatee tour out of Port of the islands that was very warm and great for little kids.

[Anonymous]

We are in south Florida every year over the holidays and the weather is very variable. We visit family so it's not an issue for us and its nicer than DC but I don't know that I'd spend $ to go there at that time of year.

While I would never go to Disney Christmas week, it is a good option because even if it is chilly there's still plenty to do

[Anonymous]

Try Islamorada, it's halfway between Miami & Key West, more family friendly than Key West and a bit warmer than Captiva/Sanibel

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Islamorada, it's halfway between Miami & Key West, more family friendly than Key West and a bit warmer than Captiva/Sanibel

How is the temp in miami beach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the weather is not warm enough for you try Marco Island or Naples instead. We did a week split between Marco and Sarasota and although Marco was in the 80s in early January, Siesta/Sarasota area had some very cold days (like, down jacket/windy cold) while we were there. Luckily there are things to do that don't involve the beach or pool like the wildlife tours at Myakka River, the Marie Selby botanical garden, Pineapple Ave etc.
As you head back inland towards Lely area, it was much warmer. A resort in the Lely area would be a safe bet for pool weather.
We did a manatee tour out of Port of the islands that was very warm and great for little kids.

+1 We head to Marco every year about that time. Although there are no guarantees on weather, we rent a house with a heated pool and a dock on a canal (to fish in) and almost always get in plenty of pleasant beach time. Frankly, just being around sunshine and palm trees is enough to keep me happy in the winter.

[Anonymous]

If you want guaranteed warm weather try Puerto Rico- the west or southwest coast. You will have sunshine and warm temperatures. You do not need a passport because it's a US territory. All of Florida can get cold during the winter. Usually it's not till late January or February but you never know. The rule of thumb for guaranteed warm weather in winter is below 17° latitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want guaranteed warm weather try Puerto Rico- the west or southwest coast. You will have sunshine and warm temperatures. You do not need a passport because it's a US territory. All of Florida can get cold during the winter. Usually it's not till late January or February but you never know. The rule of thumb for guaranteed warm weather in winter is below 17° latitude.

Thanks, we've done San Juan and would definitely go back. Where on the west or southwest coast do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If you want guaranteed warm weather try Puerto Rico- the west or southwest coast. You will have sunshine and warm temperatures. You do not need a passport because it's a US territory. All of Florida can get cold during the winter. Usually it's not till late January or February but you never know. The rule of thumb for guaranteed warm weather in winter is below 17° latitude.


Thanks, we've done San Juan and would definitely go back. Where on the west or southwest coast do you recommend?

http://www.copamarina.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=places&utm_campaign=google_places_ms
They have a small island where you can snorkle or just relax, a few pools, a nice resturant (think local food- very fresh...at the time you are going lobster will be in season...just ask and they will get it for you). You can get adjoining rooms it's not very crowd there so it will be a laid back vacation.

THE trail at the end of the road climbed several hundred yards up through the trees, toward a twilight eerily burnished by a nearly full moon. At last we stepped out into the open and found ourselves standing on a cliff 200 feet above the Caribbean. To our right, El Faro, a lighthouse, towered over a rugged promontory. Below us, the churning waters of the sea reflected the last rays of sunlight. The wind swept through us as if we were the ghosts of sailors past, far from the bikini bodies and casino nights of San Juan.
Multimedia

In the town of San Germán, the 1607 Porta Coeli church, at right, and Casa Morales across the cobblestone street.
We were in Cabo Rojo at the southwest corner of Puerto Rico. Most visitors to the commonwealth gravitate to the San Juan region, on the island's north coast; many trek eastward to the resorts in Rio Grande and Fajardo or take a day trip to El Yunque rain forest. But Cabo Rojo remains relatively unvisited, and it feels beautifully remote. As Puerto Ricans themselves know, the southwest coast promises lesser-known delights like Cabo Rojo, Guánica and San Germán, where the dry climate and sometimes rural atmosphere make for a different kind of tropical paradise.

Guánica, about 15 miles east of Cabo Rojo, stands at the mouth of a bay that forms one of Puerto Rico's deepest and best protected harbors. Guánica's funky, run-down streets lead to a sleepy waterfront strip, or malecón, where a chiseled piece of rock commemorates the place where American troops landed in 1898; that was the seminal moment in the island's political history, and a bit of spray-painted graffiti offers faint protest.

But just around the curve of the bay, down the road from the hulking headquarters of the Ochoa Fertilizer Company, is the Bosque Seco, or Dry Forest, whose arid beauty is the island's counterpoint to El Yunque.

Guánica receives only 35 inches of rain a year, as opposed to the 15 feet that fall annually in the northern mountains. The Bosque Seco's trails can be reached by car via Route 334 through the Comunidad Luna neighborhood, or on foot just south of town along the coast on Route 333.

A trail called Vereda la Meseta runs parallel to the beach through the dry coastal forest. Just a few yards from oceanside limestone formations, the landscape turns desertlike, with cactuses intertwined with sebucán plants and purple milkweed alongside the pervasive sea-grape shrubs. A short walk away is the Ballena Trail, sloping upward into the mountainside and dotted with otherworldly melon cactuses, their caps of red flowers bursting out on top.

Past a sign that prohibits entry (a park ranger assured us it was O.K. to ignore the sign), stands a 700-year-old guayacán tree, a local landmark. Framed by a rock outcropping, its roots splay like smooth human legs; the bark where the limbs join the trunk is wrinkled like human skin.

JUST a few miles offshore from the dry forest lies the mangrove-speckled Gilligan's Island. Carlos Torres, known in and around Guánica as Junior, pilots the small ferry ($6 round trip) to Gilligan's. The afternoon we went, he offered a lunch of fried pork chops, fried chicken or stewed chicken, along with rice and beans, for $5.95.

Junior has been doing the Gilligan's Island route for 20 years. "The island was originally named Cayo Caña Gorda," he said, "but now it's called Cayo Aurora. A bunch of fishermen called it Gilligan's back in the 70's."

The uninhabited island itself feels like a playground, with beaches and with trails leading to mangrove clearings that peek out onto shallow waters. We took a couple of beach chairs and set them into the sand so that the water came up to the chair legs. A rainbow of tropical fish swam around in the transparent waters.

Guánica is also the site of the elegant and subdued Copamarina resort, nestled behind a row of pink and violet bougainvilleas on Route 333. The Copamarina, with its airy, large rooms with patios facing the pool and waterfront, is an escape from the supermarket feel of the San Juan hotel strips. Also nearby is the Guánica Parador 1929, which offers clean, adequate rooms and a large swimming pool.

On weekend evenings, the nearby fishing village of La Parguera bustles with revelers. The village offers several kinds of restaurants, like La Empanadilla for cuchifritos (sundry fried snacks) and the family-style La Casita. At the high-end La Pared (named after a coral reef that is a lure to divers), situated in the Parador Porlamar, we ordered lobster in guanábana sauce ($49.95) and whole red snapper à la Pared ($35.95), presented with swirling flourishes. In La Parguera you can also take tours of the phosphorescent bay, best seen on a cloudy night, when reflections of moon and stars won't interfere.

But the real attraction in and around Guánica is the beach. We picked up a Styrofoam cooler (called a neverita, or small refrigerator), loaded it with ensalada de pulpo (octopus salad), pernil (pork) sandwiches and Medalla beer and headed for the area's beaches.

El Combate, with its white sand, long dock and smattering of fishing boats, is tranquil in midweek, though that can change on the weekend when concerts and partygoers descend on the area. About five miles up the coast is the celebrated Balneario Boquerón, a semicircle on a glistening bay, hugged by rows of palm trees. Boquerón is beautiful and is usually ranked among Puerto Rico's top beaches, but it lacks Combate's intimacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/travel/escapes/02puerto.html?_r=0

cabo rojo beaches (there are a few hotels/resort there. Have not been in a few year so you would have to research) or maybe someone else can chim in.



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