Wait for Florida Keys or will Fort Myers Beach be OK for us?

[IdahoSuz]

We've decided that we need to explore more places in the US that we haven't yet traveled.
The Florida Keys sound interesting and I've had an ongoing search in II for several different resorts in the keys for a number of months; however none of them have come through as of yet. (We will be traveling this September).

Yesterday I did a manual search and included other areas of Florida. I received a match at Marina Village at Snug Harbor in Fort Myers. In the 18 minutes I had it on hold I was able to read a few reviews and do a bit of research and found out that this resort meets a lot of our criteria....water view, within walking distance of restaurants, walking distance to the beach, etc. As an added bonus they have bikes we can use at no charge. So, I booked it.

However, now I am very concerned that this area might be too crowded and congested for us! Neither one of are comfortable with big cities and/or a lot of people. Also, although we don't need a 5 star resort the pool area at this resort doesn't look that inviting and not sure what a "short walk" to the beach means.

For those of you that are familiar with one or both of these areas please give me your opinion. Should I try to cancel this trade or should I use e-plus and hope that something in the Keys comes available before Sept?

Thank you for any guidance you can provide!

 

[chriskre]

I wouldn’t consider fort Myers beach a big city.
It has a relaxed key west kind of vibe to it.
I love the area myself and will be going to seawatch on the beach in June

The area around the resort has a lot of places you can walk to. The pier is a short walk as is a nice public beach.

I would keep it and buy the retrade and see if you get lucky to upgrade to one of the beachfront resorts instead like beach club 1 or seawatch. La Haina also has a nice beach. There are many resorts in fort Myers but most are on the beach and older converted motels.

If you want a quieter area with free boats then consider Bonita beach resort.
Great views, free boats just buy the gas, across the street from a very quiet residential beach. Nice pool area and a marina Nextdoor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rapmarks]

September won't be crowded either.

 

[IdahoSuz]

Thanks chriskre and rapmarks for your comments and insight. Both are very much appreciated!

We typically like to travel in Sept because the kids are back in school but is visiting Florida a good idea in September? I've read that is during hurricane season but not sure how much of a threat that really is. Also, it is oppressively hot and humid in Sept?

Maybe we should rethink the timing of out trip. Thoughts?

 

[vacationhopeful]

There are WAY fewer TS on the West Coast of Florida than the East Coast. Any yes, it is hurricane season. I went to college in Florida, starting in late August 3 times. No A/C units ever in my college dorm and 20+ miles inland from Daytona Beach (East Coast). No A/C in classroom either. I survived any suffering by using a box fan but I did work as a lifeguard during the summer vacations in NJ.

Had no hurricane issues either during those 3 Fall terms. Of course, climate change could have made some differences since my college years decades ago.

 

[rapmarks]

Yes it is hurricane season, we went ten years without one until Irma devastated the area. Yes it is hot and humid.

 

[IdahoSuz]

Thank you. After reading your replies and doing a bit more research I may try to re-trade for March, April or May of next year.

Are all of the beach areas exceptionally busy in March?

 

[vacationhopeful]

March ... Spring Break ... aka "Where the Boys Are" and where the girls gather, too.

From a person who spent 2 years in Florida during March attending a small university ... I had a dorm room there. And an older college brother who showed up both years with 'his college male friends'. Don't think they ever saw the beaches .. they just would sit in the dining hall during meals gaga'ing my Southern Belle female classmates . And after dinner, they would sit til 11PM watching the sorority sisters funnel in & out their 6 unit building across from the college campus. Plus they stayed for free with my male friends in their dorm rooms. And got free meal tickets from anyone who took pity on them (my female dorm mates) ... they were cute & definitely LOST PUPPIES from Princeton and Rutgers Universities. 2 years and they NEVER went to Daytona Beach.

He barely talked to me ... after he arrived ... unless he needed MORE meal tickets. But my female classmates thought they were 'cute'. And his one buddy, to this day, keeps begging me to NOT DISCUSS the existance of those Spring Break Road trips with his wife 45+ years later.

Good thing, too. The jail and county court for Daytona Beach were in my university town .... 20+ miles inland from the beach area. Never asked if my parents KNEW that he had driven to Florida for Spring Break either time.

I did graduate from that college .. but missed the last 2 years of Spring Break. I spent my Junior year in NJ doing my version of a 'year aboard' learning a languages to communicate with computers (via the college's option to study languages) and finished college before my 4th Spring semester (aka I had a job).

 

[Talent312]

September is a good time of year to hit the beach in Florida.
Fewer kids, and the chance of a 'cane hitting any one place is small.
But in the Keys, they may evacuate if a storm threatens (quite a pain).
Between Winter snow-birds & Spring breakers, March-May can be busy.
.

 

[rapmarks]

Best chance to get in is last half of October to midDecember, weather is usually fantastic. Crowds aren't as bad. Irma hit last September , destroyed keys, came ashore near Marco island, came up the coast, mandatory evacuation and lots of destruction up the coast. They are predicting three strong hurricanes next year. It is so hard to get in here.

Today I can smell fires burning inland and we are maybe four miles from the coast. We have had almost no rain since last fall, and the fires will start now.

 

[Sea Six]

September brings the most heat, thunderstorms, high humidity, you name it, of any month in the year. This is the month that Disney offers the cheap tickets to Florida residents just to make the attendance look better.

 

[JudyH]

I live near Ft Myers and would not plan on going in Sept. It is very crowded from Christmas until April. May is a great month for the Beach area and we have been there on exchanges in May. June can be sunny, hot, or rainy. Oct and Nov are wonderful.

 

[IdahoSuz]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Since we really want to go somewhere in September (it's our 25th wedding anniversary) we will look for another destination for September and will plan a trip to Florida another time!

 

[Talent312]

Glad you found a solution.
As for me, I'll be in FM-Beach the 1st week in September.
It was my only week that didn't interfere with other travel plans.
.

 

[theo]

I'll be in FM-Beach the 1st week in September.
It was my only week that didn't interfere with other travel plans.

Be advised in advance that there is a massive, multi-year water / sewer line replacement project in progress on Estero Boulevard on FMB. It will apparently be ongoing for several more years to come. Construction equipment, torn up street and re-routing of (one lane each way) traffic on the (one and only) major road which runs the length of the island yields predictable results, as we experienced first hand last month during a brief visit to FMB.

The project is proceeding in segments, from north to south; no idea where the chaos will be in September.

 

[Talent312]

Be advised in advance that there is a massive, multi-year water / sewer line replacement project in progress on Estero Boulevard on FMB...

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Sea Six]

Did a search on RCI for anything Disney. Guess what came up - Saratoga Springs is available every week in SEPTEMBER ONLY!

 

[MK15]

Did a search on RCI for anything Disney. Guess what came up - Saratoga Springs is available every week in SEPTEMBER ONLY!

Central Florida / Disney trip doesn’t necessarily have the same planning parameters as a coastal / beach trip. September availability at Disney primarily tells you that the kids are back in school.

Personally, having done Florida trips now in early September, mid September, late September, early October, and early November, the last week of September / first week of October window is our favorite time to go. Things are less busy (this is a plus for us) but the weather’s great (still on the hot side, if anything) and the Sun doesn’t go down until 6:45 or so.

Worst part about our November trip was it getting dark so early. Much prefer Sept/Oct on that front.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Irma hit Marco Island on Sept 10, 2017. The island was closed to everyone for a few days until they got the roads cleaned and open. We were lucky that the storm surge was minimal and hit during low tide. Charter Club was closed for repairs for about four to five weeks, Eagles Nest was closed about the same. However, we got a tropical storm, Emily, at the end of July, and another tropical storm a few weeks after Irma. Hopefully, it will be quieter this year.

 

[Jan M.]

I see you are from Boise. Florida in September will be a lot more hot and humid than what you are used to or likely to enjoy. As OP said for the southern part of Florida from late October/November through May/early June would be a much better time to come. The subtropical climate zone starts at Sarasota and Southern Florida definitely has a rainy season. We live about 12 miles inland from the Pompano Beach area. Our area of the East coast of Florida, from about Miami to West Palm Beach, usually has a breeze thanks to the gulf stream which makes it not as hot and humid here as the central part of the State and other coastal areas of Florida. In August and September when that breeze occasionally dies we get to experience what it's like in the summertime for other parts of Florida.

That it gets darker quicker in the Tropics is something we both knew before we moved to Florida but it still takes some getting used to. Our son and his family live in the Cleveland, Ohio area and both Ohio and Florida are in the Eastern time zone. However in the Spring and Summer when it stays light longer it will still be fully dark here an hour or more before it is completely dark there. It seems weird when we are on Face Time talking to them and can see that it hasn't even started to get dark there yet. Our son sometimes teases their now six year old daughter telling her that it is dark at our house so she should have to be in bed. She's a smart cookie and even at 4 years old would tell him "Daddy, I'm not in Florida".