Sebastian and Sebastian Inlet (Melbourne, Vero Beach: environment, relocate, hotel)

[Magnolia1354]

I live over in Saint Cloud, and would love to spend more time at Sebastian Inlet, both for fishing and the beach. My husband and father are the fishermen, while mom and I are beach bums. Tell me what you know and how you feel about this area. Is it safe? Where are the best places to stay and eat?

[Magnolia1354]

Aw...c'mon....please?

[Sueilp]

OK you can eat at any of the locals places here - Like Captain Hirams and you can stay there too - have never stayed there or eaten there but have heard it is good...plenty of places to fish and the beaches are good too

BTW I live just on the outskirts of Sebastian and been here almost 2 years.....

[twistedsista1]

I have only vacationed in Sebastian so I have less direct knowledge than those who live there - but they haven't responded.

I found Sebastian to be pleasantly free of the congestion, traffic and rudeness that I often see in south florida. The town seemed like a laid back place and people were friendly. Loved the inlet!

Use the search function on this board to pull up postings on Sebastian. Good luck.

[Magnolia1354]

Thank you.

[smash731]

Sebastian Inlet is certainly safe. And Hiram's is yummy There's not much there besides the state park and a few seafood joints.

[familyof8]

We live in Sebastian and there is plenty to do especially if you love the water. You can regularly visit the river and find dolphins almost every time and head to the inlet where the manatees roam the tidepool. Turtle watches too but just last week they were swimming just offshore at Ocean Sands Beach along with several dolphins probably curious over the divers who were lobstering. Sea life is abundant, the fishing is great. Head to the local restaurant called Squid Lips (about a block from Hirams on Indian Rier Drive) for the best food (and great fishing tournaments) - and don't miss great food at Country Ham and Eggs at the end of Sebastian Blvd and US 1 across from Riverview Park. Bring peanuts, you can feed the squirrels at the park from your hand they are so tame and cool off in the little splash fountain area adjacent to the park too. Several public fishing docks and a walking path along the river there (Indian River Drive) make for some interesting conversation and you will meet many friendly folk. With any luck, you will visit when the park has their clambake or one of the several craft fairs, shows, or festivities. A beautiful view of the Space Shuttle going off can be seen from almost anywhere here too. The Mel Fisher museum is about a block from here, off US 1, as well as the Chamber of Commerce which has plenty of info for visitors and newcomers. If golf or skydiving is your thing, we have that right here too- just off Main Street, close to our little airport. When you head over the Wabasso bridge (going to the inlet), make sure to stop at the Environmental Learning Center - great nature walk through the mangroves and super views as well as their lab and information areas. You may want to see when their excursion trips along the river are too (elcweb.org) or camp over on an island for the evening. Lots of places to canoe along the Indian River Lagoon (river) and many little islands to explore. And if you want to skip the sand for a day and just enjoy the water, you can head to the County Aquatic Center on Sebastian Blvd (CR512) and swim in the huge lap pool/ diving well or enjoy the water playground and rapids style slides. Vero Beach and Melbourne are 20 minutes in either direction if you are looking for more museums, beaches, theaters, and such. Plenty of places to stay but we've heard from vacationers that the best are the ones that don't have well known names. The Best Western is the closest to big names we have here but it's just a hotel that recently renovated in '05. For being on the water, check the ones along Indian River Drive including the pricey Hiram's; also Oyster Pointe, Ferndale Lodge, or Sportman's Lodge. As you can tell, we love this place and moved here after vacationing here. Great place to raise a family- much to do, yet quiet times too.

[TerriW58]

Do you work for the City of Sebastian, familyof8? I was born in South Florida, still live here and now you've made ME want to move to Sebastian! LOL

[familyof8]

Definitely do not miss the crazy hectic S Florida pace! Lived there for twenty years and don't miss it. Life can be pretty hectic with six children of all ages but can you imagine how much more crazy it would be if we worked for the city!??! Yuck!

[CoventryDude]

My in laws live just north of Sebatian (Barefoot Bay) and we visit every March during our kids Spring Break- we've been going for 10 years, now.

My family LOVES Sebastian. Everything familyof8 said I say +1 to. It's relatively quiet, full of natural beauty, and is generally a pleasant place to visit.
If my wife and I could find our lines of work in the area we'd probably relocate from New England to Sebastian.

Eating at Captain Hirams is our annual tradition, it is the equal of the better seafood places up here (I'm going to try Squid Lips this year, too).

It's close to Vero and Melbourne, and some beautiful beaches along Rte 1A are nearby. My boys like to use their metal detector along the coast, looking for Spanish gold!



(I joined just to post that-Sebastian is great)

Now if anyone can point me to web design and financial services jobs (non-sales) in the area, I'll move down there!