We want to share our social distancing vacation with you and hope that you are able to take some tips from us.
On June 30th, we were supposed to catch a flight to Lisbon, Portugal for a family vacation. Unfortunately because of Covid, all of our flights were canceled. July 1st, is Stefanie’s birthday and it was important for us to still take some time off to relax and celebrate.
We decided to book 5 nights at the Shephards Beach Resort in Clearwater Beach. We decided to stay in a room with a kitchen so we could eat at the hotel as much as possible. Additionally, we reached out to the Hotel to ensure social distancing is encouraged. The hotel has private beach access and a pool. Each guest is required to wear a wristband to avoid outside guests to enter the hotel.
Day 1: As we don’t feel comfortable flying, we decided to drive to Clearwater Beach from Charlotte. The drive is around 9 hours long so we stopped at a hotel in Brunswick, GA on the way down to the Beach. The Best Western Plus Brunswick Inn &Suites was very clean, had a pool and provided a breakfast. I would recommend staying here when driving long hours on 95. We ended the night getting takeout from the nearby Waffle House (not our first choice but it did the job). The next morning we only had 4.5 hours left on our journey to Florida.
Day 2: We decided to stop at the store for snacks and other groceries before checking in. Once we made it to the hotel, we received our wrist bands and explained to the staff that we do not require any housekeeping needs. Having less people in our room decreases the chances of any infection. We spent the next hours by the pool and beach with a drink in our hands. Since it is Stefanie’s birthday we booked a tiki sunset tour for 730pm. The tour is 2 hours long and costs $67. You are able to bring your own drinks, food and music. The Boat that looks like a tiki hut fit only 6 people so it was perfect for social distancing. We danced through the night and witnessed a picture perfect sunset. After the sunset cruise we had dinner at Crabbys, Zach enjoyed a Florida Grouper sandwich and Stefanie tried the Jerk flavored shrimp tacos.
Day 3: We made homemade brunch in our room before heading down to the beach. Again to avoid people we decided to rent two chairs and an Umbrella. The prices was $25 and you could keep the chairs until sunset. It was important for us to stay away from people so we took advantage of the great offer. While laying on the beach the hotel send servers to order drinks. We had a couple Bahama Mamas for $7 each. Again, this is the price at the private beach hotel. Gotta love Florida. While laying on the beach we noticed the hotel had a restaurant with a perfect view of the sunset. We decided to stay close by and have dinner there. Jimmy’s Fish House and Iguana Bar was a little overpriced for the portions provided. One of the staff members counted down the sunset which we have never experienced. I would come back for sunset drinks but skip the food.
Day 4: It is Friday, 3rd of July and we knew the hotel is going to get busier for the long holiday weekend. Zach and I decided to rent some Kayaks from Hunter Kayaks Crystal River. Crystal River is located 80 miles north of Clearwater Beach. We rented a double seated kayak for 3 hours for $47. 3 hours was plenty of time to explore Crystal River, Kings Bay and the famous Three Sister Springs. Three Sister Springs is a natural spring and and a habitat for manatees. Unfortunately manatee season is from November to March so we did not see any. However, the water was crystal clear and helped us cooling off from kayaking. We highly recommend to take the drive to see the beautiful nature. For a moment we forgot we are still in Florida, US. The area is also famous for scallop diving so we decided to end the day close by with a fresh seafood restaurant. We had scallops and shrimp at ZigZag Scallop. It is a small hidden place with nice outdoor seating in the Weekiwachee Gardens.
Day 5: 4th of July is finally here and we were thought a relaxing day at the beach would be perfect after a full day of adventure yesterday. We started the day of running for 30 minutes and discovered some beautiful boats, houses, plans and wildlife around Clearwater Beach. By the time we go to the Hotel Beach, all chairs were booked but luckily we brought our own equipment and took advantage of the little private beach space next to the chair and umbrella area that was completely empty. After a couple of hours we moved to the hotel pool and enjoyed ourselves there. Again, we found two chairs in a secluded area to avoid people. Our server got the drinks going and we had the perfect day. At night, we ordered take out pizza and a European greek salad from Gondolier Pizza. We brought the food and a blanket to the public beach area to watch the sunset and fireworks. Fireworks were canceled but tons of people brought their own. There is something magical about fireworks at the beach. The night ended at the hotel with life music. It was so nice to see musicians in action and some people were dancing around their tables. Zach and I did not feel comfortable to be close by so we watched the band from the beach area.
Day 6: Today is our last day and we picked another adventure to explore the area. We drove to Honeymoon Island which was about a 35 minute drive from our Hotel. Honeymoon Island is a state park and it costs $8 to enter. Worth every penny. We parked at the far north of the island and walked the Osprey Trail. The trail is a nature trail with plenty of wildlife. We also walked the Pelican Cove trail, however that trail was very sandy and flooded. At the top of the island you have a very private section perfect for swimming and bird watching. On our walk we saw dozens of turtles just hanging out and eating grass. We also saw Ospreys and their nests. It was just stunning to walk up to turtles in nature and an unforgettable moment. After the walk we were all sweaty and wanted to jump in the ocean. We drove 2 miles to the Main Beach. The Beach is the widest at that point. We had to wait out a storm in the car but once the rain passed over we enjoyed some time on the beach and the refreshing water. The island had bathrooms that were very clean. There is also a Honeymoon Cafe, however we brought own snacks and drinks. We left at around 4pm to head back to our hotel. We decided to have our last dinner on the beach and to walk to Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill. On our way to the restaurant we stopped at some souvenir stores to get our traditional Tourist magnet. We witnessed another beautiful sunset on the beach while waiting for our table. The restaurant decided to put tables on the sand to ensure social distancing is taken serious. It was just beautiful to end the vacation at this special place. And one would say if it wasn’t for Covid 19 we wouldn’t have explored so many different social distancing options and activities.
Feel free to reach out to us for any tips and tricks to enjoy a beautiful vacation down in Clearwater Beach. We described it as a mix of Miami and a small beach town. White sand beaches, clear water, good food. On top of it it was one of the cleanest cities we have ever seen.