Luke

Looking for somwhere quiet from hoards of English muppets !! nice beaches etc.Pref north of Tampa.

father_jack

Pensicola / Pensicola Beach is really cool up the top of FL on the Gulf of Mexico - it's basically a 30 mile long sand bar.
Excellent seafood at Peg Leg Pete's and the Naval Air Museum is superb, well worth spending a day in, plus it must be the only free thing in America.
The State capital, Talahassee, is quite nice, if a bit dull, but ok for a stopover.
Don't go to Clearwater whatever you do, it's rubbish and full of American college kids being rowdy despite them not being drunk
St.Augustine (the oldest European settlement in the US) is worth a quick look, but it has a bit of twee, Stepford Wives surreal feel about it which is a bit disturbing to me.
We drove from Miami to New Orleans then back down to the Keys (Key West is top!) and back to Miami in a fortnight - about 3000 miles in all. Easily done, so avoid Mickey Mouse and get a big car

TelBoy

Luke, my folks own a place in Port Charlotte, but it's south of Tampa by about 80 miles. Totally off the tourist trail, fantastic beaches, fabulous weather etc etc.

Only downsides are the ridiculous speed limits and the Americans who live there..!!

marty_t3

Naples is really nice. Fabulous white beaches stretching for miles and are deserted at this time of year. IIRC it's just a little south of Tampa though, but only an hour's drive or so.

neilbbb

i stayed in Matlacha which is near Fort Myers
it's like the land that time forgot. Not too many tourists as far as i could see..

excellent place

[Edited by neilbbb - 10/31/2002 11:34:12 AM]

[Edited by neilbbb - 10/31/2002 11:43:17 AM]