Travel in Punta Gorda, FL

February 17, 2005 4:50 AM

My husband and I will be staying with my very retired aunt and uncle in Punta Gorda, FL, near where my very retired parents stay in their RV. Main objective of the trip is total relaxation, but are there any cool things we should try to see and do that might be under the radar of the snowbird set?
posted by ferociouskitty to Travel & Transportation around Punta Gorda, FL (4 answers total)

My parents have a house in PG Isles, but I haven't been there in quite a while, so these are what I can still remember:

- Ponce de Leon park has fantastic sunsets and like a little nature trail thingy

- Fisherman's village is a bit "tourist trap"-like, but sometimes has huge, luxurious yachts anchoring there for us plebs to gawk at

- Sanibel Island has some of the best beaches round there, not touristy, fantastic for walks
posted by slater at 5:17 AM on February 17, 2005

If you are up for a little drive, Fort De Soto Park in St. Pete has the most beautiful beach in Florida. Go to the North Beach, though the east beach has a great view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. When you get to the North Beach, wade out across the shallow water to get to the outer beach. You will be rewarded by a beach that is so perfect you will think you are in the southern Caribbean, not Florida. While you are there, see if you can find the camera my wife lost there in 1998.
posted by internal at 6:55 AM on February 17, 2005

I'll second Fort De Soto Park. The gf and I happened upon it looking for neat stuff to do and spent the better part of a day there at the beach and looking at the old fort. It's a really neat place and the day that we were there it was nearly empty. It's awesome to just have a beach to yourself.
posted by ttrendel at 8:30 AM on February 17, 2005

Also in St. Pete, the Dali museum is well worth the drive.
posted by ttrendel at 8:32 AM on February 17, 2005