Planning May trip

Is the second week of May a good time to visit? is it too warm? We are staying at the Marriott through a time share promotion adn woudl appreciate any input on fun things to do with a 4 year old.

Planning May trip

May 9th starts Harley Week till May 18th. Although I am pretty sure they do not allow motorcycles at the Marriott. You will find more traffic, certainly more noise. The weather is quite nice.

Planning May trip

Weather is generally great that time of year. It will be crowded and noisy because of the bikers. If you are planning on spending most of your time at the beach and resort, won%26#39;t be much of a problem. If you are planning on be out and about to restaurants, shopping, etc...another week may be better.

If you are not a biker, avoid MB at all costs during Bike Week. We were there a few years ago for the weekend at the start of Bike Week, it%26#39;s horrible, noise, traffic. You will not have a good time.

I have to agree with above poster, if you aren%26#39;t a biker, avoid this time at all costs.

Disagree with the previous posters.Was there last year during the time frame you have and it was not bad.If your at the Marriot GrandE Dunes you will be in a great secluded location and I would not expect any bikers there.Pick up a copy of the Sun News and it will map out the locations where the bikers will be at.Weather should be in high 70%26#39;s or low 80%26#39;s.

Visit Broadway At The Beach,go to the aquarium there. Go to Alligator Adventure. Your 4 year old should love these.Doubt if you will see many bikers at these places.And why all the panic,these bikers don%26#39;t bite and they probably behave better than a group of drunken golfers.

Go for it.Enjoy yourself.

I%26#39;ll straddle the fence and say both sides of the debate are right. If you go to beach during Bike Week with a ';can%26#39;t beat em join em'; mind set you can have a decent rip.

We were at beach during Spring Rally couple years ago. We are non-bikers but like them for the art and design. Split up our time between beach and bike shows. Warm sunny days we were on beach. Cooler windy days we checked out bike shows and vender villages.

Like Tony said. The ';bikers'; are evreyday people. Lawyers, truckdrivers, store clerks, etc.....Not the biker gang types. Yes around the biker bars you might see some ';wild'; behavior but out in the more public areas there is nothing to be afraid of.

Yes the attractions are open and very few ';bikers'; go to them. Over half the parking lots are set up as vender villages. Bike builders, dealers and supply outfits set up displays. Still no problem finding parking for family vehicle. Usually to the side or rear of where you want to go.

Shops in places like Barefoot Landing and Broadway at The Beach are like ghost towns. With all the people out in parking lots and vender villages you%26#39;ll see very few shopping.

Getting around in traffic is an adventure. Very stressful. Have to be on your toes every second. 75% of the traffic is motorcycles.

In normal driving situation your eyes and attention might have to keep track of 5-8 cars around you. In a Bike Week situation you might have 20-30 bikes in the equation. No way of knowing which one will turn, stop, pull out into traffic, switch lanes........

And then you have the noise. Early in the week we laughed about it. Ate at outside tables to watch bike go by. So loud we couldn%26#39;t carry on a conversation. By end of week we were looking forward to home and some peace and quiet.

I am going to be staying at the Sandcastle South the week of April 26- May 3. What will the ocean be like that time of year. Also what is the beach like in that area?

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I think we are gong to visit the week before to play it safe. Any great restaurants you would recommend? we love local places more than chains. Thanks again.

What area will you be staying in?

We%26#39;ve gone the last 2 yrs and again this year and haven%26#39;t had any problems. Yes there is more traffic but it%26#39;a amazing all the colorful bikes and colorful people. Can%26#39;t wait and we are not bikers. An open mindset is all that is needed to have a great time.