OT: Bradenton/Sarasota/Siesta Key in May

[wbcincy]

Going to turn a business trip into a family vacation as well. Where's the best spot to stay for a couple mid 30s folks and their 6 year old son?

I'll be having to drive in to Tampa a few of the days, but I don't mind. I'll deal with that to stay wherever is best for the family.

 

[Osprey Lion]

Going to turn a business trip into a family vacation as well. Where's the best spot to stay for a couple mid 30s folks and their 6 year old son?

I'll be having to drive in to Tampa a few of the days, but I don't mind. I'll deal with that to stay wherever is best for the family.

Stay on or near Siesta Key. Your son will love the beach.

 

[Nittany1997]

2 votes for Siesta Key. The little downtown area is very charming!

 

[udsig91]

Sarasota is a great little town...a lot of good restaurants downtown and south of town...definitely stay on Siesta Key wonderful beaches and the gulf will be warm enough at that time of the year to swim in.

 

[BBG65]

To me, the big negative with Siesta Key is the traffic. It is really heavy and overcrowded. A little farther south in Venice or Englewood is less congested, but farther from Tampa.

 

[Cletus11]

siesta key is a the beach and has a nice little bar area in a couple of spots. probably can get an air BNB type condo right on the beach at that time of year. beach is really nice and other than a few hundred yards of public beach area, has little to no crowd (if you get a condo, you won't be by the public beach and at times can have almost the whole beach area with barely anybody there). so if you get the right spot, can be really relaxing. Can then drive down to sarasota at night for some night life and shopping, etc...my wife and i go down there all the time as in-laws have a condo. once you get closer, message me and i can tell you some of the better restaraunts and areas to goto.

 

[Dr. Evel]

2 votes for Siesta Key. The little downtown area is very charming!

We stayed at a place at the south end of Siesta Key. It was quieter there. I really liked it.

 

[Beachwineguy]

As a resident here, Siesta definitely is the nicest beach, but it will be a pain to get up to Tampa. Anna Maria Island is another good option. Plus you can catch 275 and cross the Skyway through St. Pete to get to Tampa a lot quicker.

 

[Big 0]

Best place to stay there in May would be to get a place near or in Siesta Key village. Walking distance to the shops, bars and restaurants and on or near the beach. May is a good month since the snowbirds are gone and the summer tourism hasn’t begun. It won’t be difficult to get on and off the island that time of the year. March is the worst month with the mix of spring breakers and snowbirds on Siesta Key with horrendous traffic trying to get on and off the Key. In May it takes us about 10 minutes from where I live in the Palmer Ranch area to get onto Siesta Key.

You can get flights to Ft. Myers or Sarasota instead of Tampa as well. Flights to Sarasota are more limited in the Summer, but I don’t know the situation in May. Ft. Myers is a slightly shorter drive to the Siesta Key area than Tampa and you don’t have to deal with the Skyway Bridge that can close in fog or wind making the drive to the TPA airport longer.

 

[CampbellLION]

A lot of the hotels downtown have shuttles to lido key beach and St armands circle. But whatever you do, don't stay in Bradenton, head south to Sarasota or Siesta

 

[lavarmav]

Going to turn a business trip into a family vacation as well. Where's the best spot to stay for a couple mid 30s folks and their 6 year old son?

Sarasota surf and racquet club is a great choice. Sarasotasurf.com. Nice, clean, beachfront, family friendly

I'll be having to drive in to Tampa a few of the days, but I don't mind. I'll deal with that to stay wherever is best for the family.

Going to turn a business trip into a family vacation as well. Where's the best spot to stay for a couple mid 30s folks and their 6 year old son?

I'll be having to drive in to Tampa a few of the days, but I don't mind. I'll deal with that to stay wherever is best for the family.

 

[gopsu93]

Going to turn a business trip into a family vacation as well. Where's the best spot to stay for a couple mid 30s folks and their 6 year old son?

I'll be having to drive in to Tampa a few of the days, but I don't mind. I'll deal with that to stay wherever is best for the family.

If you have to be in Tampa, you might consider (if able) Treasure Island or St. Pete. Tampa will be way more accessible and the beaches there are great as well. You'll save 30-60 minutes each way on your commute.

 

[scottpsurules]

Just stayed on Siesta Key for the first time in November. We stayed on the quieter south end, I would not have wanted anything to do with the busier village, but certainly some would prefer that. We stayed on Sarasea circle, which has lots of options and most of the inns have a shared pool. Would highly recommend the Capri where we stayed. Friendly staff, free use of coolers and beach toys, most importantly to my wife it was clean! The beach was great, there was some evidence of the red tide in November but not too bad and did not keep us out of the water.
From it, 30 second walk to the pool, 2-3 minutes to the beach, 3-4 minutes to numerous bars/eateries. There is complimentary trolley that runs quite frequently up and down the island including the village.
Enjoy!

 

[kgilbert78]

Note that in May it likely will be very, very warm. My folks used to live in Englewood, and I did spend two weeks down there in May one time. We went up to Cypress Gardens and swimming in the hotel pool near there was like swimming in a bathtub. Do use a good sunscreen as it is a tropical sun that time of year.

Note that the Florida State League (single A) will be playing if your kid likes baseball. The Pirates' team is in Bradenton, while Tampa's team is in Port Charlotte and there are three teams in the Tampa/Clearwater area.

 

[wbcincy]

A ton of great replies, as expected. Thank you to everyone.

 

[Osprey Lion]

To me, the big negative with Siesta Key is the traffic. It is really heavy and overcrowded. A little farther south in Venice or Englewood is less congested, but farther from Tampa.

He's not going till May. The snowbirds and spring breakers will be gone so traffic will be lighter.

 

[psuaxe70]

As a resident here, Siesta definitely is the nicest beach, but it will be a pain to get up to Tampa. Anna Maria Island is another good option. Plus you can catch 275 and cross the Skyway through St. Pete to get to Tampa a lot quicker.

A second vote for Anna Maria Island. We use VRBO.com to find rentals all over including Florida and the Caribbean islands. Just type in a location and find dozens of places in the area.