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Florida 2015 vacation...Advice...

gruberguy

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We have changed plans, instead of Grand Canyon next year,June or July... we are looking at Florida... We really want to be on the beach, looking at Emerald Grand (but hear their "private beach" isn't great), also looking at Panama City resort.... Any advice? We aren't real big fans of the "high rise" resorts, but seems we don't have a choice here, as it looks like Beach Street is too small (party of 6) and Bay Club 1 and 2 aren't exactly right on the beach....Thanks in advance....
 

DeniseM

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A gentle suggestion: If you join TUG, you will be able to access our extensive Ratings and Reviews for Florida Timeshares, which is a member's only feature.
 

NHTraveler

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We have changed plans, instead of Grand Canyon next year,June or July... we are looking at Florida... We really want to be on the beach, looking at Emerald Grand (but hear their "private beach" isn't great), also looking at Panama City resort.... Any advice? We aren't real big fans of the "high rise" resorts, but seems we don't have a choice here, as it looks like Beach Street is too small (party of 6) and Bay Club 1 and 2 aren't exactly right on the beach....Thanks in advance....

I've been to PCB and Destin to check out the resorts in the panhandle of Florida. IMHO, PCB is the better of the bunch. The building is a highrise and older, but the higher you are the less noise you here. In Destin, the EG is in a busy area with lots of people and noise. This is from my experience. I will take PCB hands down. Every unit has the same view of the Gulf...The beach is great and the staff is pleasant. The Beach Cottages are squished together with no real view of the ocean, and Majestic Sun has a view of the ocean, but it situated across the street from the beach and not really oceanfront.
 

vacationhopeful

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That is a GULF Coast beach --- I prefer the real beach on the South Florida coast. You can find some nice Gulf beaches along the Texas coast line ...

Now South Florida - great beaches with super food. And June, July and August winds are coming onshore - is cooler than the sun baked midland.

So go view your youth ("Where the Boys Are" with Connie Francis and George Hamilton), figure a day of deep sea fishing, a day exploring the Everglades, a bus trip to Key West, a dinner on South Beach, paddle boarding (or watching the paragliders on surf boards), a Water Taxi day of listening to the who & what costs of housing on the intercoastal, try some Cubana food, walk the beach for shells as the sun comes up and toast the sunset while eating your Jamician dinner.

South Florida is a mixture of the islands, the gateway for South America, the largest cruise port in the USA, a shopping destination ....

PS If you still are bored, go gambling at the Hard Rock on the reservation --- it is the big white complex about 3 miles SOUTH of the Ft Lauderdale airport on I-95. It is on an American Indian reservation (as the chain is now owned by the those American Indians also).
 

scootr5

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That is a GULF Coast beach --- I prefer the real beach on the South Florida coast. You can find some nice Gulf beaches along the Texas coast line ...

I'd rank Pensacola Beach ahead of most of the other beaches I've been to (with the exception of Shoal Bay and Rendezvous Bay in Anguilla).

There's a handful of timeshares on P'cola Beach in RCI.
 

cotraveller

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A gentle suggestion: If you join TUG, you will be able to access our extensive Ratings and Reviews for Florida Timeshares, which is a member's only feature.

I'd give it a strong push, not a gentle suggestion. After one bad exchange experience when I didn't pay attention to the reviews I won't consider any exchange without first checking on what others on TUG have said about a resort. Best $15 you will ever spend.
 

NHTraveler

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That is a GULF Coast beach --- I prefer the real beach on the South Florida coast.

I enjoy South Florida beaches, as well, and go every year. However, I thought the OP was just talking about the panhandle. Maybe not...lol.
 

vacationhopeful

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Asking or describing prior beach stays to me stated WHAT and WHERE they HAD been ... the state of FLORIDA has a whole lot of coast line.:D
 

Don

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That is a GULF Coast beach --- I prefer the real beach on the South Florida coast.
I just looked up the Forbes "Best 10 Beaches In The U. S." for 2012 and 2013 plus past #1's. Key Biscayne is the only one of your "real" beaches listed . All the rest of the listed Florida beaches are on the gulf coast.
 
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