Marika21

Hi!

We are travelling to USA at the beginning of march with our 6 months old baby girl and are having some doubts about our Florida itinerary.

Some infos:

We will have a car
Have alredy been in Miami and Everglades
We are not interested in Orlando’s parks
Would love to stay in Siesta Key Village but can’t spend much time on the beach with our baby and the accommodations are sooo expensive, is it easy to get there if we sleep in Sarasota instead?
We are spending 2 nights in Key West before going back to Italy

So, after St Augustine we have some options for march 7-12:

A)
- 2 nights in Sarasota
- 1 night in Naples/Marco Island
- 2 nights in Miami

B) - 2 nights in Sarasota
- 1 night in Fort Lauderdale
- 2 nights in Miami

C) - 1 night in Sarasota
- 1 night in Naples/Marco Island
- 3 nights in Miami


But of course we are opened to all new ideas!
What would you do?

Thank you in advance

Sassafrass

You never know about Florida in March. It can be OK or freezing. Have you considered the Caribbean instead?.
I would not bother returning to Miami or going to Ft Lauderdale.
Consider Tampa. It is interesting with lots of areas for walking and tons of restaurants.
Look at Clearwater for gorgeous beach and seafood.
Look at Pass-a-Grille as a place to stay. It is a cute, beach town. You could probably find a sweet little vacation house there.

Marika21

thank you!
we’ll be in Florida for sure because we are roadtripping from NYC to Miami

Sassafrass

You posed the question, “What would you do?” Not sure what I “would” do, but can say 100%, I would not come from Italy to US in beginning of March and road trip with a six month old baby from NYC to Florida.
If you already lived in NY and needed a car in Florida, maybe, but rather than rent a car to spend time and money driving down boring 95 in what is often a miserable time, weather wise, until you are at least south of DC, I would just fly NYC to Florida and rent a car there.
Do you have family in NYC?
Can you postpone this trip until May?

Sassafrass

Look on Vrbo.com for rentals in Siesta Key and just stay there. Nice condos at reasonable rates.

Sassafrass

Where are your stops on your road trip? How much time do you have for that?

Marika21

thank you for your comments, I’ll take a look on vrbo

We have 21 days and already planned the first part of our itinerary, just need help with the days we are spending in Florida

Sassafrass

Might be of use.
https://havebabywilltravel.com/the-m...packing-lists/

bluegrass1

This trip makes absolutely no sense.
You're flying into NYC from overseas with a 6 month old, planning on driving more than 1500 miles to Key West, with multiple stops in between?

In Florida alone, you're planning on FIVE separate overnight locations?
What is the point of so many short stops, staying only 1 or 2 nights in each location.
You won't have any time to do much of anything with a 6 month old besides driving, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, ect

Sassafrass

I tried to kindly express that same thought, but the OP apparently is not open to any advice except for Florida and wants to zig zag across that state. The trip is only a month from now. It is so miserable along the North East coast right now, we are hardly going out. Supposed to be nicer next week though, so the OP may be lucky.
Some babies too, are just wonderful until they reach a certain age, start teething (5 or 6 months usually) or have their nightly routine messed up. Stopping in cold places to change diapers is also miserable. OTOH, the OP has not shared plans, they may be used to cold weather car trips with a baby, so they likely have that all comfortably worked out and our caution is not needed. I sincerely hope so.

Marika21

thank you! Also to bluegrass1
yes, we are used to travel with our baby also in cold places and don’t have doubts about the kind of trip

As I said on the first post, only needed some advice about our Florida itinerary.
I of course appreciate your thoughts, but my question “what would you do?” was about the days in Florida that we still didn’t plan (we have more days there already planned) and the options I shared, not on the entire trip, we’re confident about it.

Anyway we just finished to plan everything. Thank you again

bluegrass1

Trying to fill in the blanks of your vague post, this appears to be your current itinerary...

1) xx nights - St. Augustine (4+ hour drive to...)
2) 1 or 2 nights - Sarasota (2-3+ hour drive to...)
3) 1 night - Naples/Marco Island OR Ft. Lauderdale (4-5+ hour drive to...)
4) 2 nights - Key West (4 hour drive to...)
5) 2 or 3 nights - Miami (fly home from here?)

What are your goals of this FL trip?
Are you just trying to cover as much ground as possible, without having much time to visit/see/do much of anything?

Marika21

This will be our itinerary in Florida

- 1 night in St Augustine
- 2 nights in St Petersburg
- 2 nights in Naples
- 3 nights in Miami
- 2 nights in Key West

as I said, we are used to travel with our baby and I can assure that this is perfect for us

bluegrass1

Did you extend your trip?
This totals 10 nights, whereas your first post only had 8 nights in Florida (unless you originally planned to spend 3 nights in St Augustine).

Are you flying back to Italy from Key West?
Or must you drive back to Miami first?

This trip is taking place next month (not March 2024), correct?
That is quite short notice to be travelling all over Florida during peak Spring Break season.
Were you able to secure lodging in all of those places?

Marika21

I never said that we had only 8 nights (we only add one night since we decided to fly into Charleston from Washington instead of getting there by car) but that I was looking for help for the days between march 7-12. The trip will start next month from NYC but we’ll be in Florida in March.

I’m flying back to Italy from Miami in the late evening and I already booked all the accommodations

bluegrass1

You asked for help planning 5 nights (in your A/B/C options) + 1 night prior in St. Augustine + the last 2 nights in Key West = 8 total nights.

Either way, good luck with the trip. Should be quite eventful.
15+ hours of driving across the state and most of your destinations are likely to be filled with partying Spring Breakers.

Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time your final day, since you'll be driving from Key West to catch a flight in Miami.
Much of the Keys is only 2-lane roads, so any type of accident/emergency can back up traffic for hours, especially with heavy Spring Break traffic.

Marika21

thank you!

Sassafrass

If you did not go there when you were in Miami before, this is a truly beautiful place to tour and visit. You can also get a nice lunch and sit outside on their patio. It will be easy since you have a car and they have parking. Believe me, it is memorable.
https://vizcaya.org

There are a couple of dozen wonderful botanical gardens in Florida and around Miami. This is a little different and wonderful for walking.
A Touch of Heaven.

If your flight is from Miami, logistically, it would be wise to go to Key West first and Miami right at the end of the trip.

The museum near the port in Key West is much more interesting than you might think, especially the history of the development of the Keys and the photos. Some of the art exhibits are really unique. It is worth a little time. Do this at the beginning of the day so you are more familiar with what you will then visit. If you are at all a Hemingway reader, seeing his house and cats is very memorable. Check hours and ticket availability. Those are the two best things to see. Other tours are OK, only if you have extra time.
Key West is small. In one day in Key West, we visited the museum, toured a cemetery, did a hike, toured Hemingway house, toured another house (would skip that), shopped and had a snack - all just walking and not hurrying. You might want a stroller.

Relicsab

That's a really big trip with a 6 month old and a ton of driving.

As far as the timing on the itinerary portion for Southwest Florida, I say go ahead and take the 2 days in Sarasota. Staying in Sarasota will give you plenty of access to Siesta Key which is just a beach community in Sarasota anyways. Miami is going to be hugely confusing with a baby, crowded and busy. I wouldn't do the extra day in Miami.