Lakefront House, 5 minutes to Beach! Sarasota, Venice Area

View of the picturesque lake from the back yard

Living room area seen from front door

Master Bedroom

About the house:

The master bedroom has a queen size bed. One bedroom has a twin bed, and the other bedroom has two twin beds, which can also be made up as a double if desired. All bedrooms and the living room have ceiling fans. The large living/dining room has comfortable seating plus a full size dining table. The furnishings and décor are ''casual Florida''.

The entire house has new ceramic tile floors, accented by attractive area rugs. Both bathrooms have combination tub/showers. The air conditioning/heating system is brand new, and the house also has a washer/dryer. There's a small wooden deck at ground level for outside dining, and a park bench at the water's edge for relaxing or birdwatching.

Bed linens and beach towels are provided, plus a full complement of kitchen utensils, tableware, dishes, toaster, microwave, and coffee-maker. There's a new TV with cable service, plus DVD player. Unlimited use broadband Internet connection is included - just plug in your laptop!

Getting There:

You can fly into the Sarasota airport, which is about a half hour from our house or you can often find lower airfares to either Tampa or Fort Myers, each about an hour away. Exit 200 from Interstate 75 feeds you onto Route 41 (Tamiami Trail) a few blocks from our house.

Other Rental Details:

10% local taxes are added to all rentals. A refundable $300 damage deposit is required, and there's a $75 departure cleaning fee. Local phone calls are free; long distance calls can be made with a phone card. Sorry, no pets are permitted.

Nearby attractions:

For us, the greatest feature of our location is our proximity to Nokomis Beach. It's a lovely quiet beach, with calm waters for swimming and lots of space to spread out. Just bring a book and a beach chair (and maybe a beach umbrella), and relax in the sun. If you walk about 15 minutes south on the beach, you will arrive at Venice's North Jetty, especially interesting at sunset when dolphin watchers join the ranks of fishermen who have spent the day.

You can drive to other nearby beaches: Caspersen Beach, the longest beach in Sarasota County, and Venice Municipal beach, which has a coral reef a quarter mile offshore. More info at http://www.venice-fla.com/beaches.htm. Or head north and visit Sarasota's Siesta Key, Turtle, and Crescent beaches.

And when you get hungry, there's no end to your choices. Try Sunset Grill, right across from Nokomis Beach. Or Casey Key Fish House, also nearby. Or explore dozens of other local restaurants and cuisines, from Mel's Diner, home of delicious diet-busting southern home cooking, to the famous Captain Eddie's Seafood, for some of the freshest casual seafood and friendliest service in the area. Try the nightly specials and weekend music at Saltwater Cafe, in Nokomis Village shopping center. Or drive over to Venice Island, whose downtown area offers a variety of charming restaurants of all types.

Here's a link to a selection of Sarasota and Venice restaurants: http://www.4sarasota.com/review/

There are cultural events and festivals in and around Venice throughout the year - parades, food festivals, concerts, and more. Here's a link to some of them: http://www.fl-esi.com/desc-venice.htm. Check out http://www.venice-fla.com/index.htm for even more Venice information.

And don't forget to explore Sarasota, just to the north. Sarasota offers a full range of cultural attractions - theatre, opera, ballet, music concerts, galleries, fine and casual restaurants, and water sports and activities of all kinds. Drive downtown, then cross over to nearby Lido Key, browse the shops on St. Armand's Circle, laze at the beautiful Lido Key beach, and head back to St. Armand's Circle for a relaxing dinner and people watching at Columbia Restaurant or one of the other great restaurants on the circle. Visit famous Ringling Museum, set in John Ringling's mansion, or see a Cincinnati Reds spring training game. Lots more to do in Sarasota - here's a link to more Sarasota info: http://www.sarasotafl.org/

We are proud to be a member of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For more info, see their private website.