Sarasota to Miami Beach - roundtrip. How?

[DJ Frustration]

FYI, this trip shouldn't be an issue when two things happen within the next few months.

1. Tesla releases a CHAdeMO adapter.
2. Village of Pinecrest, Florida completes the installation of the first publicly owned DC Fast Charging Station in Florida. See my post here: Village of Pinecrest Authorizes Installation of Level 3 DC Fast Charger in SE Florida

 

[rawady]

Martyk,
thanks for the info. I am trying to the the same trip you did but from Miami to Sarasota. Any suggestions where to charge in Sarasota? I am staying in a Hyatt at Siesta Key. Unfortunately they don't have charging there. I read there are free charging stations in Sarasota but not sure if those work. Thanks

 

[EdA]

There's a Nissan dealer not far away...

 

[Larry Chanin]

Martyk,
thanks for the info. I am trying to the the same trip you did but from Miami to Sarasota. Any suggestions where to charge in Sarasota? I am staying in a Hyatt at Siesta Key. Unfortunately they don't have charging there. I read there are free charging stations in Sarasota but not sure if those work. Thanks

Hi Roberto,

So far we only have one hotel in Sarasota with charging.

Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota / Bradenton

However, we do have quite a few public chargers in Sarasota County. Here's a screen shot from Recargo.com of the downtown Sarasota area.

I don't do a lot of local public charging, but I have never run into a problem charging.

I think the best public chargers to kill time shopping or eating while charging are located at Saint Armands Circle, in the parking lot behind The Met.

Finally as a club member you have the option of joining our club charging network. Here's our current coverage.

There are two of us who live in Sarasota County that are members of the network. If you are interested in joining the network just contact me at [email protected].

Regards,

Larry

 

[Larry Chanin]

Roberto,

I mapped your route from your home, to the Fort Myers Supercharger to the Hyatt Siesta Key Beach.

The first leg of your trip is 146 miles. If you do a full range charge at home and drive at the speed limit you should have about 90 miles of range left.

At Fort Myers there are plenty of restaurants at the Gulf Coast Town Center where the Superchargers are located. You might want to take your time and get a full charge before heading off to Sarasota.

From the Supercharger to your hotel in Sarasota that leg of your trip will be about 86 miles. Again if you drive at the speed limit you should have about 151 left when you arrive. If you don't do much driving while in Sarasota, in theory you should be able to get back to the Fort Myers Supercharger, but it would be wise to charge at the Sarasota public chargers. You should note that you will be lucky to get 18 mph of charge at a public charger, so it will take a bit of time to get a reasonable safety margin for the return trip, particularly if you choose to drive at above the speed limit.

Have a safe trip and enjoy beautiful Sarasota!

Regards,

Larry

 

[rawady]

Larry, this is great. Thank you so much for taking the time. That was exactly my plan. It seems I need to go for dinner or something around Armands Circle. If I can get an extra 50 miles of charge there I feel comfortable to drive back to Ft. Myers. Any Restaurant recommendations in the area? I just emailed you with my info to join the network.
Roberto

 

[Lawsteve]

I used the Palm Ave public charger a few months ago. The chargers are on the first floor on the East side of the garage. Got about 18 miles per hour of charge. The parking garage is close to several Sarasota restaurants, as well as the Sarasota waterfront. If you want to go fancy, it also is only a couple of blocks from the Sarasota Ritz Carlton. They have some pretty good restaurants there too.

if you use the garage, make sure to obey the signs re "no backing into spots". I not only got a parking ticket, but the meter officer also turned off the charger I was using. I discovered it when I checked my app and saw I was getting no charge. Lesson learned the hard way.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Larry, this is great. Thank you so much for taking the time. That was exactly my plan. It seems I need to go for dinner or something around Armands Circle. If I can get an extra 50 miles of charge there I feel comfortable to drive back to Ft. Myers. Any Restaurant recommendations in the area? I just emailed you with my info to join the network.
Roberto

Hi Roberto,

Here's a link to Google map of St. Armands Circle and nearby restaurants.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=rest...318133,-82.576504&fspn=0.003296,0.004045&z=18

The green arrow marks the parking lot where the chargers are located. The chargers are two aisles west of the arrow.

To be honest I have not had a problem with any restaurant ar St. Armands. The ones we go to often are:

Placemarker A: Crab & Fin
Placemarker B: Columbia
Placemarker D: Le Colonne


For chargers not located at St. Armands Circle:

If its raining the Palm Avenue public charger, located in downtown Sarasota, that Steve mentioned is a good choice because its sheltered.

Attached to the parking garage building is Louies Modern Restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. If its raining you can walk from your parking spot to the restaurant while totally sheltered. I've been there for dinner twice and enjoyed my meals.

The Marina Jack's charger (as labeled on Recargo.com) is about a block from the Marina Jack's Restaurant. The restaurant is located on the Sarasota bayfront. It has a scenic view and the food is good.

All these public chargers should be free and will charge at about 18 mph.

Larry

 

[rawady]

On my way from Miami. Arrived at Ft. Myers supercharger with 50 miles to spare. Cruise control set to 73 mph. No need for AC today. Got full charge in about an hour. I could have used more time to check out the whole Bass Pro Shop!!!

Will try some or the restaurants for lunch! Thanks for all the help!