Follow the sun: beat the winter blues at these warm-weather escape hatches - Brief Article - Product/Service Evaluation

Travel America, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Diane Bair, Pamela Wright

LAST WINTER, WHEN MUCH of the northern tier of the United States was experiencing a very long winter, travel agents were besieged with requests to "Get me out of here! Now!" As one agent recalls, "They didn't even care where they went--anyplace warm would do!"

This year, regardless of what the Farmers' Almanac or the squirrels' bushy tail predicts, promise yourself you'll plan ahead. Not only will you lock in better airfares by booking early, you'll also have something delicious to look forward to as Old Man Winter settles in for a too-long stay!

Here are some of our favorite sun-kissed spots, all offering pleasant winter temperatures and some enticing extras to make this winter break your most fabulous vacation ever:

If your idea of a dream escape involves dazzling beaches and chic boutiques, you won't do better than Naples, Florida. This very civilized city, sitting just to the north of the Everglades, is like a mini Palm Beach, with a terrific contemporary art museum, great shopping, and fine dining. Coolest neighborhood in the city is undoubtedly Old Naples (at 5th Avenue South and 3rd Street South), a trendy district of shops, galleries, and restaurants lined with stately palms. The elegant boutique hotel, the Inn on Fifth (www.naplesinn.com), is a great choice, boasting a spa and a roof deck pool, and you can walk everywhere, even to Gulf of Mexico beaches. Come dinnertime, don't miss the local favorite Italian restaurant, Vergina, then work off the calories with a little Irish step-dancing at the inn's McCabes Irish Pub.

Is there another place on the planet that's more jam-packed with amusements and excitement than Kissimmee, Florida? As a gateway to the theme parks, Kissimmee offers convenient lodging options, at far lower rates than you'll encounter at Disney World or Universal Orlando on-site hotels and resorts. Choose among homey digs like the Wonderland Inn (www.wonderlandinn.com) or go rustic and pitch a tent at one of Kissimmee's campgrounds. After all, how much time do you really spend at your hotel when you're hitting the theme parks? Kissimmee still has vestiges of the Old Florida, when orange groves and mangrove swamps covered the landscape, and a bit of cowboy-cracker charm to boot. Pay your respects at delightfully old-timey Gatorland, founded in the 1940s. Attend live shows like the Gator Jumparoo and then take a walk 'along the boardwalk through a cypress swamp.

While tony Sarasota gets all the press, sister city Bradenton quietly draws sun-seeking families to its sandy stretch of coastline in southwest Florida. They've discovered that it's an easy escape to paradise here, thanks to a nearby airport (Sarasota/Bradenton has its own), numerous casual eateries, and a strip of low-rise motels right along Bradenton Beach. You walk outside, you're at the beach--what's not to like? Bradenton hasn't gone "all glam--you can still walk to a beach shack and get an ice cream cone or buy a big, inflatable gator to fide in the surf. Top resorts include BridgeWalk and Silver Surf Gulf Beach Resort, both on Anna Mafia Island, and Silver Sands. Gulf Beach Resort on Longboat Key (www.silverresorts.com).

Once you cross the causeway from Bradenton proper, via Manatee Avenue or Cortez Road, you've got your pick of a string of beaches. And what beaches they are! Soft, powdery sand, so pale, it looks like snow in the moonlight. Manatee Beach draws throngs of locals for its popular beachside pancake breakfast; afterwards, there's always an impromptu volleyball game. If you're lucky, you might see a few dolphins cavort just off the beach, or perhaps a manatee, as you stroll along the long luscious strand of sand.

Sometimes, only an island will do. When we get that urge to live like the Rockefellers, we head to Jekyll Island, Georgia, the private retreat of wealthy families at the turn of the century. Now part of an historic district that includes the cottages of folks like the Morgans and, yes, the Rockefellers, the Jekyll Island Club Hotel (www.jekyllclub.com) is a grand place to play croquet on the greensward (in whites, please) and take a horse-drawn carriage ride. Temps aren't steamy (the 60s are typical for February through April), but are just dandy for tennis, fishing, and bicycling through the maritime forest. Plan to spend some time in the port city of Brunswick, gateway to the Georgia isles. Watching the shrimp boats is a grand way to pass the time. Afterwards, head to a restaurant for the local specialty--Brunswick stew.

The Texas Gulf Coast lures snowbirds (they call 'em Winter Texans) by the score. Visit coastal communities like Port Aransas and Corpus Christi and find out why, besides the mildish climate, that is. Fishing is one good reason, and it couldn't be easier; of the 250 or so species found in the Gulf, many are taken from the beaches, jetties, and piers.

Port Aransas is set on Mustang Island, reachable by causeway and ferry. The town, with a population of less than 3,000, has the low-key ambiance of a fishing village. Most winter visitors stay at oceanside condos and spend a good bit of time strolling the windswept beaches. Bonus: Visit from November through March and see one of the most rare creatures on earth, the whooping crane, which winters here. Whooper-watching boat cruises are offered; the best way to get a good look at these birds is a cruise on the intracoastal waterway along the Blackjack Peninsula, up the heart of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Here on the Gulf Coast of Texas, everybody is a birder. For an urban side trip, head to nearby Corpus Christi for its state-of-the-art Texas State Aquarium, museums, and 290-acre botanical gardens.