<p>We are starting to look for a destination in the South for a relaxing family week in the spring (2 college age kids and parents). We are not so fond of the giant Disney/Hilton scale of things. Anyone familiar with a small coastal (or inland) place you like?</p>
<p>Hilton Head; Kiawah Island…or if you’d like a city atmosphere; Charleston, SC…</p>
<p>Sea Island, Georgia. It is expensive, but worth it.</p>
<p>The Tides Inn, Irvington VA</p>
<p>Amelia Island. Beautiful and you can rent a condo and spread out. </p>
<p>Treasure Island in Florida - near Clearwater/Tampa - a few nice beachy condo resorts. No crazy spring break scene. Great shaded cabanas on the beach. </p>
<p>Sanibel Island in Florida. Laid back. Lots of shells.</p>
<p>Little St. Simon’s Island in Georgia. (not St. Simon’s island) Very expensive but it is all inclusive. It is as far away from Disney/Hilton as you can imagine. Completely unspoiled nature (and that’s all there is). Great food.</p>
<p>I second Sea Island in Georgia. Went there to a business meeting with dh and loved it. We talked about bringing our kids and extended family for Christmas. I’m partial to the Cape and islands beaches (Nantucket) and I thought the beach at Sea Island ranked right up there with those. I think it’s possible to rent homes at Sea Island as well as staying at the resort–which had great service and excellent food.</p>
<p>We like Jekyll Island (next to the more commercial St. Simon’s island. Definitely possible to combine the two.)</p>
<p>Savannah and Charleston are two of my favorite cities.</p>
<p>I’ll second Kiawah Island. Easy day-trip to Charleston from there, too</p>
<p>Another choice near Charleston–Wild Dunes. condos of all sizes can be found beachfront.</p>
<p>Seaside on the Gulf coast of Florida is also fabulous.</p>
<p>BIG HEADS UP for anywhere other than south Florida–in spring, the weather will not be warm enough for swimming in any of the North Florida/S. Carolina/coastal Georgia locations–check the average weather temp for when you plan to go and decide whether you are ok with “walking and biking warm” as opposed to “swimming in the ocean warm”. That said, all these above-mentioned locations are great.</p>
<p>Island’s End Resort, Pass-a-Grille, Florida (southern most part of St. Pete’s beach).</p>
<p>Another mellow, low-key place that is a bit like going back in time is Anna Maria Island, off Sarasota/Bradenton FL. You can go to the Ringling museum and other nearby activities, buit it is remarkably quaint.</p>
<p>Ditto on Seaside! Also might want to consider Grayton Beach and points around including Watercolor.</p>
<p>Sea Island. Sigh. Beautiful. But pricey.</p>
<p>I apologize in advance for hijacking this thread–however, since people have mentioned resorts in Florida, here’s my question. My H is a huge baseball fan and we’re planning to go to Red Sox spring training in March (Fort Myers). We went for the first time two years ago and stayed at a resort in Naples (which was very nice, but more like suburbia). Any recommendations for nice resorts that aren’t high-rise condo type places and within driving distance of Ft. Myers (more than an hour is probably too far from my H’s perspective)? Something old and funky with a little bit of character?</p>
<p>bromfield…check out places on Sanibel Island and Captiva Island. Much more laid back and natural than Naples. Lots of shells. Tripadvisor has good reviews…</p>
<p>These responses are all great and so helpful and Bromfield, having others jumping in makes it even better. I am vague about the weather in March in that part of the world too so any advice is welcome…Little St. Simon’s is my husband’s favorite so far; the kids will have a final say though since this may be the last time we have a common spring break as a family for a long time (and we have to sort out the price part too…) and we want them to love it wherever we go.</p>
<p>mmaah, Little St. Simon’s is a very special place! What sets it apart is that is is utterly unspoiled. It is essentially a wild island with a small compound on it for guests. It is one of the most relaxing and beautiful places our family has ever been to — you don’t even have to figure out meals,–no reservations!-- and everything from boats, kayaks, bicycles, fishing gear, rides to the beach if you don’t want to walk or ride a bike, is included and accessible. You can walk for miles on the beach without seeing another soul. The meals are all served family style, so it’s very sociable and we’ve met all kinds of interesting people. There are all kinds of animals and birds too, armadillos, crocodiles or is it alligators, can’t remember, and the largest population of rattlesnakes on the east coast, apparently (our S loved that). </p>
<p>We’ve gone there several times and it’s the only place that our grown kids will drop everything to come to on a family vacation. And there is no TV, no internet! Just nature.</p>
<p>Also, it is expensive, but once there, there aren’t any additional expenses.</p>
<p>Little St. Simons sounds nice, all the other places mentioned are tourist/resort destinations that will be crowded in the spring. As an alternative to Little St. Simons, Florida’s St. Joseph Peninsula/Cape San Blas in the panhandle has everything St. Simons offers–less the beds and meals part. The beach is one of the world’s best. It is very inexpensive–bring a tent and sleeping bags!</p>
<p>Another suggestion would be drop your kids off at Daytona for the week, then grownups drive down to Port Canaveral and hop on a cruise ship for the week and scrape up the kids when you return.</p>