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If only going that far…might not be worth it to make advance plans:

Message from Mike coastal CT



Being a registered East Coast sun/warm weather nomad ….I learned a few strategies from the pros (retired folk, those who move with the seasons…etc): One was try to wait until “last minute” to make any reservation down the coast if you’re not going as far as central or south Florida: While winter is the “in season” from around Cocoa Beach south to the Keys…north of there, the season incrementally starts later. Often it’s not hard to find hotels or even rental condos in the dead of winter (January) anywhere between Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach or west along the Gulf coast. This way, you can watch the forecasts it see how far south you have to get to get warm weather/sunny skies. Often, you can always find something by making reservations 4 or 5 days before in most of the bigger coastal resort areas .

I used to do this strategy for years (and still do now and then) and it worked well. If you see a week of warm weather (whatever that might be to you) in Myrtle Beach, Folly, HH, St. Simons, maybe Pensacola Beach…etc …, then call and find a hotel/condo. If it looks like cool weather/and or rain, go further south until you find your temp. Several times, we even were headed down I-95 to places like Folly Beach or Pensacola, but changed plans on the road because of cooler than normal weather…and ended up in St. Augustine or Cocoa Beach (mid 70’s F instead of upper 50’s F). What do you do if the week you booked a hotel in Hilton Head, and instead of being in the lower 60’s F and sunny (what is normal for Jan)…it’s raining for 3 days and in the mid 50’s F? Sometimes a driving a bit more south at the last minute is really worth it. If you are flying, then you might not have this option.

Also, you might be renting a private beach house (that’s what mostly available on Hilton Head) and not be able to wait till last minute. I’ve been to Hilton Head a few times in January, it’s nice, and you can catch warm weather (even 80’s F) , but normal Jan highs are like 60 F and lows in lower 40’s F. In terms of SST just going another 300 miles south to off Daytona or Ormond Beach is much warmer. As of today the beach surf temp in Hilton Head is around 68 F…but it’s about 77 F off Daytona.

Just some thoughts from a nomad of blue latitudes....lol.


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