HELP!! Galveston or Florida???

I have only been to Miami and Key West in Florida, and the beaches were really nice. If you want to go to a Texas beach, Galveston is not the most attractive option. If you dig down very far into the sand, it is black with oil/tar. There are a lot of other things to do, but it sounds like your son just wants to play on the beach. We go to Port Aransas every year, and it is very good for beach combing. It is hard to find a beach front place in Port A because of the dunes. We usually stay at the Courtyard. They have kitchens and are reasonably priced. They have a pool and are walking distance from the beach. There is a beach closer to Corpus Christi called Malachite Beach. The sand there is really pretty. You go there for the day, but you have to camp if you want to stay overnight. The prettiest beaches in Texas are in Padre Island. There are no dunes there, so many of the hotels have beach access. We went for Thanksgiving three years ago, stayed in a lovely condo and had a great time. Good luck!

I definatly reccommend Florida. I am actually vacationing in Florida now as we speak. In Sept airfare will be pretty cheap and driving to Galveston with children can be a pain and gas is expensive anyways. You may save a little money but not much and you definaly wont save time driving. Tampa Bay area is great! Clearwater beach is amazing and the water and beach look so great. Hotels are also very reasonable here too. The area is very nice and quiet and family oriented. Goodluck on ur search

My family has been going to Destin for years and we LOVE IT!! I recommend flying...it is a 2 hour flight and you can fly into Fort Walton which is the closest.

We stayed at Edgewater condos...there is a grocery store right across the street, also the outlet mall which is huge, and is very centrally located. Edgewater has a kiddie pool and 3 other pools.

If you go to Edgewater, I know the rates drop after Labor Day, so you can get a better deal. The website is:
http://www.edgewaterbeach.com/Resort.aspx

When I was growing up we drove. It wasn't bad, but the youngest of us 3 was about 6. It was a 10 hour drive and we would split it up between 2 days on the way there and then on the drive home we just drove the 10 hours...really wasn't that bad. My brother drove his family from Dallas to Destin a few years ago and he had a 3 year old girl and 6 month old twin boys...they did fine because they split the trip up in 2 days.

I HIGHLY recommend it! The first time my parents took us we originally went to Disney World for a week...after about 4 days we were done...so we stopped by Destin and stayed at Edgewater. That was it! WE were sold! The condos are like apartments...full kitchen, laundry room, clean sheets & towels...we just had to take our clothes and beach towels and we were set!!

Have a great time!
C.

FLORIDA!!!!!!!!!!! no question. We just moved back from FL, we lived about an hour south of Tampa. There are beaches all the way from Tampa, down 2 hours to Ft. Myers and they are gorgeous! St. Pete Beach and Clearwater are the Tampa beaches, you can stay in a hotel right on the water. The Hilton is in an awesome location, right on the water.
http://www.visitclearwaterflorida.com/

Clearwater Beach features a great thing called Sunsets at Pier 60 with nightly entertainment, live music, entertainers, crafts etc. every night at sunset. http://www.sunsetsatpier60.com/

If you go down to Sarasota about an hour south Siesta Key is very nice. http://www.siestakeychamber.com/beaches.php?id_cat=24

Siesta Key has white powder sand and beautiful water, my sister and family came out to visit a couple years ago and they found LOTS of shells, and even some baby sanddollars. There are restaurants right there, and there is lots to do.

Oh, and if you want to invite me to go, I will! :o) I miss it there..... lol.

~ t

Sanibel Island FLorida... right near Ft Meyers. It's the sea shell capital of the US and thebeaches and wonderful. very kid friendly - look on www.royalshellvacations.com for info. we go every year.

What about Corpus Cristi (spelling?)
It is closer than Florida,but the beaches are nicer than galvelston.

I cast my vote for Florida too! We were in Galveston for a cousin's wedding on the beach and found a syringe in the sand! Scary!!!!

As an ex-Floridian (LOL), I can vouch for the beauty of their beaches. Personally, I think the beaches on the Gulf side of FL are much nicer than the Atlantic side so if you go with Destin/Panama City, Clearwater/Tampa on down to Ft. Myers and the Sannabel Island area, you should have a great experience. Also, if you choose the Tampa area, you can hop right over to Orlando and go to Disney one day :-)

I've been to both, Florida wins hands down. I don't think I'd let me son play in the water in Galveston, and the beach itself can be questionable. Personally, we were in Ft. Lauderdale, but I have heard wonderful things about the gulf side too. Ugh.

FLORIDA! Destin is so fabulous and the beaches are absolutley beautiful! Galveston is a huge waste of money in my opinion. I am also not a big fan of Corpus...again not great. There are a lot of wonderful beaches in Florida! Have fun!

If I had my druthers (which I do...and it's why I'm going to Florida in October) GO TO FLORIDA. Galveston IS dirty, the water doesn't seem clean and the area habitants and those that it seems to draw are less than your ideal vacation.... think south Texas... think SOUTH SOUTH SOUTH Texas... The last time we were down there I swear we had crossed the border.

HI Stephanie,
Florida, Florida, Florida!! : )
Galveston is dirty and Florida beaches are beautiful! Alot further of a trip for Florida though but shouldn't be too bad if you're flying. We drove with our daughter to Florida when she was 3 and ohhhh that was a mistake! Way to long of a drive.
We went to Daytona Beach and it was really cool but there's so many great beaches there you can't go wrong. The Florida Keys (I've heard) are "really" beautiful as well.
Good luck and hope you guys have fun!

I am glad to see the positive news on FL! We usually vacation at South Beach and Love it but it is not appropriate for our 12 yr old daughter and her friend.

We are leaving on Friday, heading to Fort Walton and then to the Hilton Sandestin Resort & Spa. I will be happy to let you know how it goes. We got rave reviews about this place from friends and online, so we are excited to see it.

Susan

OK, I know this is a late response, but we just got back from Florida with our two sons (2 & 5). I can honestly say that we had one of the best vacations EVER!!!

We went to Fort Walton Beach, which is right next to Destin. It's not as fancy as Destin, but our condo was cheap and in a great location (we paid around $600 for a week). The beaches are white sand and better than ANY I have been on in Texas. Also, there is LOTS to do in the area including a Sea-World-type park, water parks, museums, etc. We have already made reservations for next year if that tells you anything.

Also, the condo was the way to go. We had snacks, drinks, etc in the room for the kids which made it so easy. The condos we were in were NOT fancy, but they were clean and had a wonderful family atmosphere. If you'd like to check into them, just let me know.

The drive was about 12 hours from McKinney. On the way there we stopped in Mobile, AL (a 10 hour drive) and visited the Battleship Alabama before goin on to Florida. On the way back we drove straight through, which was long, but not too bad!!

I was born & raised in florida, so I'm a little biased. However, the beaches on the gulf side really are awesome! We just got back from vacation down there last Wed. We went to St. Pete beach and stayed at the Tradewinds Island Grand. VERY family/kid friendly resort! Lots of activities for everyone in the family and we collected lots of shells. PM me if you'd like more info on our experience. You should definitely check it out.

http://www.tradewindsresort.com/ig_default.asp

I think there's no question that Florida's beaches are cleaner, but if you want to stay in Texas, I think Port Aransas has the best beaches.

I took my 5 year old this summer to Galveston. It does not have many shells. We did however have fun making sand castles. Stewart Beach was pretty clean and I think there is another beach on the island with even a better reputation. Can't remember the name, though. Stewart Beach you pay something like $7 a car to park for the whole day. You can also rent chairs with umbrellas etc. for $25 a day. I think you can make Galveston a great trip if you want. We also spent time at Moody Gardens. It has a ton of things to do including swimming on man made beach and IMAX ... Numerous other exhibits etc.
We stayed in Webster/Clear Lake area near NASA. The traffic was not bad getting to and from the beach to our hotel. Many chain hotels to pick from.

Gulf Shores Alabama or Perdido Key Florida (they ar pretty much the same) is beautiful. We went there for our family reunion in July and it is beutiful. Its also not very crowded.
Galeston has some pretty spots If you find the "park" areas there are tons of shells and the beaches are cleaner. Some of these places look like they belong to the house areas but they are public.

I would definitely go to Florida over Galveston. Yes, It is VERY Dirty from experience. I wouldn't take my son there. That is my personal opinion though. I heard Destin, Fl is AWESOME.

Good Luck on whatever you decide.

M.

Florida!! I too have heard Destin is the place to be. I personally have been to Naples, Ft. Myers, and Marco Island. They have beautiful, clean beaches.

Stay away from Galveston if you can. Dirty, smelly, seaweed filled beaches.

I have also heard that Gulf Shores, Alabama is a beautiful place to go with white sand beaches.