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Consider these three areas, among many wonderful choices.
Surprising St. Pete. Florida's Gulf of Mexico beaches are wide and welcoming. The sand is fine, the water a breathtaking blue-green, and there's no undertow. That makes stretches such as the Pinellas Suncoast especially appealing to families. Only a halfhour's drive from Busch Gardens and 90 minutes from Walt Disney World, the Pinellas Suncoast is a 28-mile-long string of sandy barrier islands that runs from St. Pete Beach to north of Clearwater Beach.
Families find plenty to do, from water sports to shopping and dining, in the many communities along the coast's beaches and bays. To really escape, spend a day at Fort DeSoto Park, a few miles south of St. Petersburg. Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the tables tucked away there among cooling groves, which line miles of uncluttered beach.
There's a waterside campground in the park, a long biking and jogging trail, and even a historic fort. The park's fishing pier is a favorite sunset haunt.
Even more remote, Caladisi Island north of Clearwater Beach harbors waterbirds and other wildlife among its mangroves, pine trees, and seaswept dunes. Ferries make regular runs from Honeymoon Island and Clearwater. An armadillo may scurry into the scrub along the island's nature trail; the beach is vast enough to pick your own spot, undisturbed.
Lodgings along the Suncoast range from low-cost cottages to posh resort hotels. Sample rates: A double at St. Pete Beach Hilton Resort, from $85 and up in the fall, $110 and up in winter (800/448-0901). Two rooms, with small refrigerator and microwave, at the Radisson Suite Resort on Sand Key, near Clearwater's fabulous public beach, from $155 in fall, $199 winter (800/333-3333).
Three crackerjack courses challenge golfers among the pine trees and flowering bushes at Innisbruck Hilton Resort in Tarpon Springs, where families can spread out in condos; from $125 in the fall, $187 winter (800/456-2000). Not far from Innisbruck, sample the moussaka in colorful Tarpon Springs, a town settled by Greek sponge fishermen. A Jules-Verne-like diver shows how sponges are harvested on half-hour boat tours. Sponges, shell jewelry, antiques, and crafts fill local shops.
You'll see melting clocks and more at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. Feed snapshot-savvy pelicans by the shops and restaurants of The Pier. Savor the elegantly refurbished Stouffer Vinoy Resort; from $179 mid-fall/winter, $119 summer (800/468-3571).
St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area CVB: 800/345-6710.
The Panhandle's prized beaches. The sparking, emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico caress sand as pure and refined as flour on Florida's Panhandle. Stretching from Pensacola to Panama City, this 100-mile offshoot of northwestern Florida features some of the nation's most perfect beaches--as determined by a scientific study--and some of the state's best bargains. Like a vast ermine coat, wide swaths of blindingly white sand reach to the horizon and beyond. Not even seashells dare disturb the virginal majesty of these beaches, backed by towering sea oats. If you had the stamina, you could stroll almost the entire distance on sand as one beach melds into the next.
Because of its northern Florida location, the region's quixotic mix of pristine beaches and lively hangouts attracts the majority of its sun seekers during summer. Connoisseurs wait for fall. The crowds have disappeared, the weather is nearly ideal, the water is still warm, and prices drop dramatically.
Pensacola offers culture and history as well as beach attractions. Museums and houses in the two-block-long Historic Pensacola Village span 150 years. The free National Museum of Naval Aviation traces aircraft from its early days to the space age. Get a cockpit-eye view when you squeeze into various trainers. Campsites abound around Gulf Islands National Seashore and Fort Pickens. Sample room rates: $59-$109 in the fall, $105-$155 in summer at the waterfront Clarion Suites Resort on Pensacola Beach (800/874-5303). Pensacola CVIC: 800/874-1234. In Florida: 800/343-4321.
Numerous beaches and resort communities dot the coast between Pensacola and Panama City. The Fort Walton Beach-Destin area overflows with lodging choices, and families especially enjoy the Gulfarium and the Eglin Air Force Armament Museum. The less frenetic South Walton, with golf courses galore, divides its 26 miles of beach into 18 different personalities. Unimproved Grayton Beach ranks among the top in beach surveys, while the pastel rental properties of Seaside provide a more upscale vacation retreat. Sample fall rates in the area: A one-bedroom cottage at Seaside, September 6-February 28, from $115--11 to 15 percent less than the rest of the year (800/277-8696). Doubles at the Sandestin resort, from $110, about 30 percent off high-season summer rates 9800/277-0800). Condos and houses in fall typically run 25-40 percent off summer rates (dune Allen Realty, 800/423-7433). South Walton Tourist Development Council: 800/822-6877.
Panama City's strip snakes through a gauntlet of motels, fast-food restaurants, souvenir shops, miniature golf courses, go-cart emporiums, and a dizzying array of other come-ons that will have tots to teens begging you to stop the car. For platter-sized portions of seafood fresh from the docks, try Capt. Anderson's Restaurant. On half-day cruises to Shell Island, you'll frequently be greeted by dolphins. Unless you're looking for spring-break action, steer clear of Panama City in March and April; some attractions close during winter. Panama City CVB: 800/PC-BEACH.
The carefree Keys. Touring Florida's Keys is much like taking a Caribbean cruise in your car. Starting twenty minutes south of Miami, a unique highway soars way out into the Gulf of Mexico, 136 miles in all, leaping from island to island on 42 bridges, where the azure heavens blend with the blue sea all around. At the road's end is Key West, a fun, funky town that's as close as you'll get to the equator on the continental United States. North America's largest living coral reef runs along the Keys, a submarine landscape of craggy canyons forested with aquatic plants that bend with the currents and are inhabited by a myriad of tropical fish flashing their brilliant colors. Most days, the water is so clear that you don't have to scuba to sightsee: just float facedown with goggles and a snorkel. Dive shops rent this gear at nominal rats; many also offer supervised half-day snorkel outings by boat and/or glass-bottom boat tours.
No other American city offers quite the same mix of tranquil timelessness and modern pleasuring as Key West, a romantic outpost once lush with wealth from shipwreck salvage. Tropical trees sprinkle shade on its Old Town streets. Bahamian and Creole cottages rub eaves with Victorian gingerbread homes, and exotic blossoms perfume the air. Join a half-day fishing excursion, charter a boat, or dangle your lines from a pier: almost everyone catches something. In a nightly ritual, a festive crowd gathers on the jetty by Mallory Square to enjoy sidewalk entertainers and the sunset's spectacular show. Shops and restaurants line Duval Street. Tour Ernest Hemingway's home, Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum, and Truman's Little White House.
Sample rates in Key West: From $80 in the fall, $150 winter at La Concha Holiday Inn (800/745-2191); from $170 fall, $250 winter at Marriott Casa Marina (800/626-0777). Other Keys: From $150 fall, $225 winter at Cheeca Lodge at Islamorada (800/327-2888).
Florida Keys Visitors Bureau: 800/FLA-KEYS.
Florida Div. of Tourism, 126 W. Van Buren St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2000; 904/487-1462.
Florida's off-season rates can drop as much as 50 percent from high season, which generally runs from mid-December well into March. Summers bring the lowest rates, except for northern locales such as the Panhandle or family draws such as Walt Disney World. To many, fall and spring are best, typically from mid-September into December and mid-March to June. Rates drop, and the heat is still at bay. Exact dates vary by location; holidays may hike rates. Last-minute bookings often bring better deals, so check.
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