Coastal Vacation Suggestions?

Traveling with a baby is FAR easier than traveling with a toddler.

If it's your first kid, get adept at changing diapers anywhere. We changed them in the back of an SUV or the back seat of a sedan in the middle of nowhere, Nevada in a 20 MPH wind, several times. The only place we wouldn't do it was in a crowd (especially a restaurant); we'd find a bathroom to do it in then. Make the diaper bag a constant companion and you'll be fine no matter where you are. Don't let the baby make you a shut-in; that's no fun.

Babies are portable. It helps tremendously for Parent #2 to sit in the back seat while they are still using the backward-facing carseat. Odds are, the kid will conk out after 10 minutes, as long as he's comfy, fed, and clean.

We even did a nonstop drive to Ft. Collins from the California coast with a 6-week old (about 20 hours); he slept through most of it, but got to experience Reno for lunch -- the flashing lights were very interesting. The first flight was at 8 months in a 737. He enjoyed it tremendously.
 
We have friends in Destin and we have a place near Charleston. Destin beaches are better but there's a lot of congestion while Charleston is great but the beach isn't as nice.

Two of the private Islands, Seabrook, where our place is and Kiawah next door would be my choice but Destin is fine as well.

Cheers
 
Jekyll is nice. We've made the trip down there a couple of times for a quick $100 shrimp run. ;) Very quiet and laid back atmosphere. Not much in the way of beach-front resort properties there, though, as far as I can tell.

We did Destin summer before last. Stayed at Seascape resort. It was the typical high-rise timeshare rental place, but the rooms were nicer than the other high-rise type places I have been - granite in the kitchen, leather couches, etc. Destin will have more of the 'touristy' places to visit, although I don't think Ted and Laurie are into that type of gig. It was kind of neat sitting on the deck watching V-22 Ospreys skirting down the coast at near eye-level.

Tybee Island was nice as well. To be honest, I can't remember where we stayed there, so it must not have been overly nice or overly bad, which means it's really disappointing that I can't remember the name of the place.

I've heard of people using this site: vrbo.com for harder-to-find vacation rentals. I haven't used it myself, but it seems like a good site to browse through.
 
CJones said:
I've heard of people using this site: vrbo.com for harder-to-find vacation rentals. I haven't used it myself, but it seems like a good site to browse through.
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I have rented that way and always been satisfied. Another is airbnb.com.

Cheers
 
Great site, used them to find a very nice place in Palm Springs a couple years ago
 
Ted-

Many of these places mentioned are super touristy IMO and I generally hate that. Other that the beach, what activities do you guys like to do? Or do you just want to lay on the beach? Are you adventurous eaters? Big budget or low cost?

More info please.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Ted-

Many of these places mentioned are super touristy IMO and I generally hate that. Other that the beach, what activities do you guys like to do? Or do you just want to lay on the beach? Are you adventurous eaters? Big budget or low cost?

More info please.
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Alex,

Useful questions! :)

We're not touristy folks. Like you, I tend to hate tourist attractions, and we're certainly not interested in them right now. Really we want to be able to be on the beach, get good room service, and probably not do much else the whole idea is to be able to go someplace for a weekend and just relax. We're adventurous eaters, although a bit less so right now since baby is still nursing. Budget we can be relatively flexible on (after all, the cost of flying the 310 is probably going to be more than where we stay), but certainly if we can do what we want cheaper rather than more expensive, that's better.

The idea of renting a sailboat and going sailing around islands would be fun, too, but we don't have our sailing licenses and that might be a bit high workload right now.

We're talking about going for a long weekend. Show up Friday, head home Monday.
 
Alexb2000 said:
Ted-

Many of these places mentioned are super touristy IMO and I generally hate that. Other that the beach, what activities do you guys like to do? Or do you just want to lay on the beach? Are you adventurous eaters? Big budget or low cost?

More info please.
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. What do you plan to do 'on the beach?' Walk? Swim? Fish? Photography? Scuba?
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Alex,

Useful questions! :)

We're not touristy folks. Like you, I tend to hate tourist attractions, and we're certainly not interested in them right now. Really we want to be able to be on the beach, get good room service, and probably not do much else the whole idea is to be able to go someplace for a weekend and just relax. We're adventurous eaters, although a bit less so right now since baby is still nursing. Budget we can be relatively flexible on (after all, the cost of flying the 310 is probably going to be more than where we stay), but certainly if we can do what we want cheaper rather than more expensive, that's better.

The idea of renting a sailboat and going sailing around islands would be fun, too, but we don't have our sailing licenses and that might be a bit high workload right now.

We're talking about going for a long weekend. Show up Friday, head home Monday.
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Check out Sandestin Resort in Destin, FL. They might have more of the room-service type features you are looking for.
 
X3 Skier said:
I have rented that way and always been satisfied. Another is airbnb.com.
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Funny, when someone asks "what plane?" the thread will usually result in a million dollar multi-engined heavy iron ship.

When Ted asks for a Hotel with room service, we've offered up airbnb!

Let me take it a step further...have you considered couchsurfing.com? :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Alex,

Useful questions! :)

We're not touristy folks. Like you, I tend to hate tourist attractions, and we're certainly not interested in them right now. Really we want to be able to be on the beach, get good room service, and probably not do much else the whole idea is to be able to go someplace for a weekend and just relax. We're adventurous eaters, although a bit less so right now since baby is still nursing. Budget we can be relatively flexible on (after all, the cost of flying the 310 is probably going to be more than where we stay), but certainly if we can do what we want cheaper rather than more expensive, that's better.

The idea of renting a sailboat and going sailing around islands would be fun, too, but we don't have our sailing licenses and that might be a bit high workload right now.

We're talking about going for a long weekend. Show up Friday, head home Monday.
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OK, my wife was looking over my shoulder and decided to chime in. She says Sea Island, GA. Fly into KSSI and your 3 miles from the Cloister Hotel. They have a good beach and you can sail or sea kayak right there.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...a_Island_Golden_Isles_of_Georgia_Georgia.html
 
garyb said:
I was wondering the same thing. What do you plan to do 'on the beach?' Walk? Swim? Fish? Photography? Scuba?
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Walk/swim/sit is probably most of it. I enjoy fishing but I doubt if we'd do any.
 
EdFred said:
This. Jack Edwards airport is right there. Was just there in February.
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+1 on KJKA Jack Edwards airport and the Gulf Shores, Alabama beaches. We stayed at the Island House.

The Island House Hotel
26650 Perdido Beach Blvd.
Orange Beach, AL 36561
For Reservations Call: 1-800-264-2642
 

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AdamZ said:
Marriott Keywest.

Warm, Great Food all around, laid back, Interesting sights, Even more interesting people, walk out of your room onto the beach. Airport close by.

http://www.beachsidekeywest.com/
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Might be nice, I throw BS on the one picture in their gallery, yoga on the beach with a big hill in the background. I don't believe there's a spot above 10MSL in Key West.
 
A buddy on mine just landed in Puerto Rico in his RV-6. He flies there every year. Grenada, Costa Rico, Bahamas, nice.
 
Geico266 said:
A buddy on mine just landed in Puerto Rico in his RV-6. He flies there every year. Grenada, Costa Rico, Bahamas, nice.
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Puerto Rico is too far for this trip. Long weekend.
 
Brad Z said:
Funny, when someone asks "what plane?" the thread will usually result in a million dollar multi-engined heavy iron ship.

When Ted asks for a Hotel with room service, we've offered up airbnb!

Let me take it a step further...have you considered couchsurfing.com? :)
Click to expand...

We see this phenomenon all the time.

Arrive in a Baron, add $500 in avgas -- and then try to chisel us down from $79 for a hotel room that includes a free car and delivered breakfast. :D :banghead:

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
 
Jay Honeck said:
We see this phenomenon all the time.

Arrive in a Baron, add $500 in avgas -- and then try to chisel us down from $79 for a hotel room that includes a free car and delivered breakfast. :D :banghead:

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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That's why I'm less concerned with cost of where we go, within reason. Most of the expense will be in operating the 310 anyway, why skimp on where we stay? Better to pay for what we want. It is, after all, a vacation.

Actually airbnb had some good options, but also some really bad ones. :)
 
Ted: Take a look at Kiawah Island SC just south of Charleston. We went with two babies last year and Granddaughters. For years, we went to Destin and really liked it but it was getting more and more crowded and expensive. Had to sit in a line of cars at times just to go to lunch. One main drag all the way from the airport to Sandestin area.
We found Kiawah to have beeches very similar to Destin except you're on the ocean instead of gulf. Very laid back and family oriented. They have homes, townhomes and there are a couple hotels on the beach. We've done a home and a townhome. Townhome will be maybe a block as you cross protected green area on a wood ramp/bride to the beach but you could get a unit facing beach and one could watch the other from the unit if they didn't want to go out. I have some contact info and picks if you'd like. Drive into Charleston for the history and other shopping/restaurants if you'd like. We flew into Charleston EX and rented a car there.
Many great suggestions on here, but we liked the laid back/family environment and being right on the beach. Signature at Charleston Ex is a bit expensive but you can negotiate if making a decent sized fuel purchase. You would need a rental car.

Map of area. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf...w=text&ei=U892UbGFGIrD2QWHqoGgCw&ved=0CDkQtQM

Map of Island. http://www.kiawahresort.com/interactive-map/

We rented from Resort Quest the first couple times; then, got a house.

Best.

Dave
 
Alamogordo. Plenty of sand there. You're welcome.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Ted: Take a look at Kiawah Island SC just south of Charleston. We went with two babies last year and Granddaughters. For years, we went to Destin and really liked it but it was getting more and more crowded and expensive. Had to sit in a line of cars at times just to go to lunch. One main drag all the way from the airport to Sandestin area.
We found Kiawah to have beeches very similar to Destin except you're on the ocean instead of gulf. Very laid back and family oriented. They have homes, townhomes and there are a couple hotels on the beach. We've done a home and a townhome. Townhome will be maybe a block as you cross protected green area on a wood ramp/bride to the beach but you could get a unit facing beach and one could watch the other from the unit if they didn't want to go out. I have some contact info and picks if you'd like. Drive into Charleston for the history and other shopping/restaurants if you'd like. We flew into Charleston EX and rented a car there.
Many great suggestions on here, but we liked the laid back/family environment and being right on the beach. Signature at Charleston Ex is a bit expensive but you can negotiate if making a decent sized fuel purchase. You would need a rental car.

Map of area. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf...w=text&ei=U892UbGFGIrD2QWHqoGgCw&ved=0CDkQtQM

Map of Island. http://www.kiawahresort.com/interactive-map/

We rented from Resort Quest the first couple times; then, got a house.

Best.

Dave
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This looks like what we had in mind. Thanks!
 
Gulf Shores. KJKA is very close to all of the resorts.

My family loves Rosemary Beach, but to get one of the places right on the water is STEEP!
 
St. George Island is nice and a lot more low key. No high rises aloud on the island. Just across the bridge from Appalachicola.
 
Laurie said:
This looks like what we had in mind. Thanks!
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Seabrook which is the next island down the road is even more private. Coming down Betsy Kerrison Parkway from Charlesto Executive, turn left to Kiawah, right to Seabrook and Straight to Freshfields Village for groceries and restaurants.

Cheers
 
Biggest differences with Gulf coast beaches and the rest of world is the sugar white sand. :D I like the east coast, but the beaches are much harder packed grayish sand, not bad, but when you get used to the panhandle of Florida.:rolleyes: Another thing about Destin, it really depends on where you stay as to how bad the traffic is, we are on Holiday Isle, right across Hwy 98 from Winn Dixie, so we don't ever have to get into traffic if we don't want to. :yes: Sandestin is nice, but it can be a traffic nightmare, but so can most resort areas during prime seasons. Avoid the 4th of July, just a tip. :mad2:
 
Does Seabrook have ocean front hotel? I think it was gated or limited access when we went. Also, more expensive.

Dave
 
If you are looking for really quiet, peaceful and out of the way . . . Fripp Island.

15 miles seaward of Beaufort SC.

Or Harbor Island. No hotels - all condos. But you will not be with 125000 of your closest friends competing for restaurants and tee times - thats for sure.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Ted: Take a look at Kiawah Island SC just south of Charleston. We went with two babies last year and Granddaughters. For years, we went to Destin and really liked it but it was getting more and more crowded and expensive. Had to sit in a line of cars at times just to go to lunch. One main drag all the way from the airport to Sandestin area.
We found Kiawah to have beeches very similar to Destin except you're on the ocean instead of gulf. Very laid back and family oriented. They have homes, townhomes and there are a couple hotels on the beach. We've done a home and a townhome. Townhome will be maybe a block as you cross protected green area on a wood ramp/bride to the beach but you could get a unit facing beach and one could watch the other from the unit if they didn't want to go out. I have some contact info and picks if you'd like. Drive into Charleston for the history and other shopping/restaurants if you'd like. We flew into Charleston EX and rented a car there.
Many great suggestions on here, but we liked the laid back/family environment and being right on the beach. Signature at Charleston Ex is a bit expensive but you can negotiate if making a decent sized fuel purchase. You would need a rental car.

Map of area. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf...w=text&ei=U892UbGFGIrD2QWHqoGgCw&ved=0CDkQtQM

Map of Island. http://www.kiawahresort.com/interactive-map/

We rented from Resort Quest the first couple times; then, got a house.

Best.

Dave
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I second Kiawah or Seabrook. Both very relaxed and family oriented. Charleston is also worth a visit for a day as Dave said but would need a rental car. I've done the flight from Lexington (KLEX) in a Cherokee and it wasn't bad. A 310 should make a quick trip out of it.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Does Seabrook have ocean front hotel? I think it was gated or limited access when we went. Also, more expensive.

Dave
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It is gated and there are a number of condos that are on the Edisto River inlet with beaches. There are also some condos across the street from the beach club. Resort Quest manages a lot of the condos on both Seabrook and Kiawah.

There's no hotel on Seabrook. All private / Vacation houses and condos.

Downtown Charleston is about an hour drive from either island.

Cheers
 
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