Visiting Florida April 2009, advice on an apartment or hotel

[Olaf_Rostock]

Hi,

I am from the Baltic coast in Germany, visiting Florida in April 2009 for two weeks.

We are looking for an appartment or hotel that is close to a spot but from where I can also explore other spots across Florida (if necessary).

There is excellent information available in this forum on the spots in your region and I would appreciate your advice or tips on places to stay.

Olaf

P.S.: Not sure whether this makes a difference to the recommendations but am 42 and thus enjoy some comfort and I am less tolerant to noise than I used to be ;)

[ricki]

Hello Olaf,

Ironically, finding easy accommodations near main kitebeaches may not be as easy as it might be. Usually apartments can be more difficult to arrange for less than a month. In these times perhaps not as difficult as usual. Anyway, a good guide to apartments in SE Florida following indications from your email is at:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/classified/realestate/rentals/

For launch areas, you could consider NE 16 St. in Pompano Beach. There are some lower rent accommodations and hotels in that area I think.

You could search for hotels or apartments in Lauderdale by the Sea between Pompano and Ft. Lauderdale. There you might find a small hotel right on the beach or within a block or so away. You need to avoid crowds and the pier there otherwise you should be ok. There are waves off LBTS but not as large as might be found further north in Jupiter but bigger than you will find in the Keys. This might be a good area to take a close look at.

In the vicinity of Tiki Beach near 600 Seabreeze Blvd. in Ft. Lauderdale, there are mainly hotels nearby. You can find some information on those through:

http://www.aaasouth.com/home.asp?zip=33426
(this site lists a lot more hotels than most search engines. You may need to be a member to book through the site but if interested you could always go direct to the hotel)

http://www.expedia.com/

Another area, with some hotels likely more expensive ones would be kitebeach in Delray near Casurina Road.

In Miami, technically kiting is banned along the entire stretch of Miami Beach, has been for many years but they don't enforce it, usually. I understand guys go off 2 nd St. at times. There are a number of hotels and apartments in that area of South Beach. You can search some out through the search engines listed above.

Down in the Keys, I would use the search engines to checkout prospects in Islamorada and Key West. These two areas have some of the more readily accessible and obvious kitebeaches. You might consider doing a LONG day trip to Islamorada from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale but Key West usually merits an overnight stay.

There are still more options but these are some that come readily to mind. If you have specific questions about areas or hotels fire away. Likely know something about the areas and maybe or perhaps not about the accommodations.

Have a great trip!

[WindRyder]

YOu can always visit the panhandle for a more laid back atmosphere. April is a great month here, but spring break is going on. There are tons of condos along the gulf, and if you stay on the west end or more on the east end, you can find respite from the spring breakers. Check out www.pcbkitesurf.com for more locals kiter info.

[Olaf_Rostock]

Many thanks for the suggestions (incl. those via PM)!

Direct flights from here are mostly to Miami, which is why I started to look for hotels/motels between Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach. I then realised that spring break is going on until April 10. My inital intention was to come end of March and stay for three weeks as the wind appears better in March than April.

The problem is that once we arrive, because of jetlag I don't want to spend hours driving on the first day. This is why I decided against the Tampa area (and because someone wrote somewhere that the wind is stronger along the east side). Either I arrive later or look for a quiter place away from Miami (maybe staying for one night and then moving up north to Cocoa Beach).

Using Google Earth for hotels, unless one pays >200$, the reviews tend to be quite mixed. So far I could not find any accommodation offered by surf shops/schools.

Olaf

[Whitey]

You will fiind the northern part of the east coast much more layed back and easier to deal with than Miami Ft. Lauderdale for kiting. It is a completley differerent sene.