With seven miles of beaches that are best described as “perfect”, and a climate that has been likewise described, it’s no wonder that this city on Florida’s southwest tip was named after Italy’s Naples. What is even better than the Italian version – no volcano!

Naples has its own airport and if you want to see more of southern Florida, Fort Myers is 40 minutes north and Miami is around 2 hours to the east. With that kind of drive time, it’s usually faster to take the scenic drive than wait at the terminal!

Now what is there to do in Naples? Well, just about any activity you can think of common to Florida. The beaches and access to the Gulf of Mexico are an obvious water lover’s dream, but there is also another Florida staple – Golf! There are more than 50 courses available, so there is no way you can NOT have a place to play a full round. And the Everglades are just to the south of the city, so you can invite family apes down to see the wildlife. Ask the ones who become the proverbial “guest who never leaves” if they want to see a real alligator up close – but don’t mention us when you do.

Naples is home to over 300,000 residents and that number can grow dramatically in the winter months thanks to the influx of snow apes who know a good thing when they see it. In the summer, Naples gets pretty hot. Temperatures in the high 90’s are not unexpected, but with the beaches providing a cooling breeze, the smart Neapolitan ape stays near the Gulf or finds a golf resort with air conditioning and those drinks with the paper umbrellas. Even in the worst of the winter you are still looking at average temperatures in the fifties and sixties. That still beats shoveling snow.

If you have an eye towards a winter vacation home or a year round place to hang your fur, Naples is one of the best spots. And not just in Florida, but the world.

And if you do get one of those drinks with the little umbrellas, can you ask exactly how much rain they expect to get inside the bar? It’s just something we at BHA have wondered about for a while.