SARASOTA
Area: Florida
Country: United States of America


Location:
In the SE United States, on the Gulf of Mexico, halfway down Florida State's SW coast. 250 mls NW of Miami and its international airport; 55 mls S of Tampa and its international airport. 130 mls SW of Orlando. Sarasota-Bradenton Airport (flights from Miami) is about 3º mls N.

Telephone code from UK:
1 941

Website:
http://www.sarasotafl.org

Position:
The whole area is flat and low-lying. Sarasota itself is a city of considerable size situated on the mainland and sprawling inland from the sea. The name also covers the offshore barrier islands (keys) of Lido Beach, Longboat Key and Siesta Key as well as the much smaller Bird Key and St Armands Key, all reached by causeway or low bridge from the mainland.

Description:
LIDO BEACH starts near St Armands Circle, a collection of restaurants and fashionable shops, and continues a couple of miles S along Franklin Drive. Several hotels and apartment complexes line the beach, and the seaside road can be busy with cars, especially during the peak winter season. Public amenities include a swimming pool, shops and children's playground. LONGBOAT KEY is 9 mls long, with hotels scattered rather far apart, requiring a car. Smarter than Lido Beach, it has expensive apartment and villa accommodation, a few clusters of shops and restaurants; it is quiet with a residential feel. SIESTA KEY is about 7 mls long and just over a mile across at its widest. It is very green with lots of pine trees. Much more residential in feel, with 12,000 permanent residents plus as many again who come just for the winter. The resort areas have a much more family-oriented, middlemarket ambience than their posher neighbours to the N. SARASOTA itself is the cultural capital of the W coast, with thriving opera, ballet and theatre companies, a world-renowned art school and impressive museums, antique and art galleries. Sarasota has benefited from a two-year renovation that has transformed the centre into a clean and eminently walkable section which is busy and thriving.

Suitability:
Middle to upmarket.

Accommodation:
Wide choice, from apartments to good hotels.

Shopping:
Very good in downtown Sarasota; all types of merchandise available. Upmarket shops and boutiques at St Armands Circle.

Beach:
Some of Florida's best public beaches. Lido Beach is a 2-ml stretch of soft white sand; lifeguards on duty at various points. The beaches on Longboat Key are less accessible to the public, as many are closed off by the large swanky condominium complexes fronting them. Siesta Key boasts miles of fine white powdery sand beach on its W coast, most of which is public. They still talk about winning the 1987 "International Sand Contest" against several exotic Caribbean destinations.

Entertainments:
Daytime: several public and private golf courses. Two hotels, the Colony and the Resort at Longboat Key Club, have exceptionally good tennis facilities for guests. Public swimming pool with changing facilities, food and bar opposite the main beach at Lido Beach. Deep-sea fishing charters leave from Sarasota's bayfront marina; concessionaires offer water sports, including jet-skis, windsurfing, parasailing, small sailing craft, kayaks and aquacycles. At the S end of Lido Beach is S Lido Park with picnic sites and a nature trail. Circus Sarasota performs each weekend during the winter season. Nightlife: on the island resort areas, usually limited to dining out _ often in the open air _ and taking an after-dinner stroll or window-shopping. More life with clubs, bars and discos in downtown Sarasota.

Eating:
A good selection. St Armands Circle has fine _ but relatively expensive _ restaurants, as does downtown Sarasota.

Public-transport:
Public buses run during the daytime, hourly from Lido Beach and Longboat Key to St Armands Circle and downtown Sarasota; horse-drawn carriages ply St Armands Circle and the seaside road at Lido Beach. For the more remote hotels at Longboat Key, or touring farther afield, a car is advisable.

Local-excursions:
The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, the sculpture garden, its genuine Italian Asolo theatre and the circus museum in its lovely grounds. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has orchid exhibits; Sarasota Jungle Gardens feature reptiles and tropical birds, a children's play area and petting zoo. Bell's Cars and Music of Yesterday has antique cars and music boxes. Bay cruises; daytime, sunset or dinner cruises. The Mote Marine Aquarium has a shark tank, local sea life and 2 manatees in a huge tank for easy viewing. Pelican Man's bird sanctuary is filled with native and migratory birds. Cabins and nature trails are available at Myakka State Park, 15 mls SE of Sarasota.