Miami Beach has its fancy hotels on the beach, but there are many different ways to enjoy the sunshine and seashore of Florida. With the Gulf of Mexico on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east, the climate ranges from tropical to subtropical, giving rise to a plethora of beach communities with a wide range of vacation cottages and inns for visitors to choose from.
Featured on Good Morning America and in the New York Times, Turtle Beach Inn is a funky, out-of-the-way Gulf-front establishment with only four rooms in the main house, one separate cottage and a two apartments stacked atop one another, set back a bit from the beach. Just 17 miles west of the oyster beds of Apalachicola, the Inn is located on Indian Pass, part of Port Saint Joe, on the site of a turtle spawning ground. If you pick a room in the main house --- for adults only --- you'll be treated to a view of dolphins and stingrays swooping through the clear Gulf water just yards away. The inn offers a mean breakfast every day and there is wine with snacks in the evening, but you'll want to take the 15-minute drive into Apalachicola for a truly fresh seafood dinner at Boss Oyster. There are no TVs in the rooms, but the main house has a flat-screen in the lounge, as well as Internet access. Many guests enjoy fishing for crab and scallops during the appropriate seasons. If you're more into pure relaxation, the outdoor hot tub is open to all and is a favorite spot for stargazers.
Turtle Beach Inn
140 Painted Pony Road
Port Saint Joe, FL 32456
850-229-9366
turtlebeachinn.com
On the Atlantic side of the state, Daytona Beach is known as a spring break party spot, but year-round there are nice family and couples cottages or inns with activities that don't revolve around chugging beer. Shoreline Inn offers not only very cheap suites, but also comfortable and clean cottages, many right on the ocean front, that are reasonably priced and far enough away from the Daytona Beach action to be peaceful. Built in 1927, every cottage has a tiny kitchen and an even smaller bathroom. There is a pool right on the beach, a barbecue on the shared patio space, and rates include a continental breakfast.
Shoreline All Suites Inn & Cabana Colony Cottages
2435 S. Atlantic Ave.
Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118
386-252-1692
daytonashoreline.com
The Jensen brothers operate a cluster of white and blue cottages dotted along a path that meanders through the palm trees down to their marina on Florida's Captiva Island, just offshore in southwest Florida. Rough pine furniture and walls decorated with paintings and watercolors created by visiting artists make each cottage an individual experience for couples, individuals or families. You might want to hang out on the private pier and visit with the manatees, egrets and pelicans, take a boat out for some fishing, or perhaps just stroll the beach collecting the varieties of shells for which Captiva is famous. If you're lucky, you might stumble upon a Horse Conch, the Florida state shell that can grow to two feet in length.
Jensen's Twin Palm Cottages & Marina
P.O. Box 191
Captiva FL 33924
239-472-5800
jensen-captiva.com
