Thinking about booking Vero Beach. What is there to see and do?

michelleiada

michelleiada

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 12, 2006
Our youngest will graduate from college next May. She loves the beach. I was thinking about booking a week at Vero post graduation. Is there enough to do there to fill a week? If you've been, tell me what you love and enjoy about it.
 
I would think unless you just love to sit on sand, VB is good for 3-4 days max.
 
I love Vero for about 3 nights.

Hilton Head is 5-6 nights.

The beach is much more interesting at Hilton Head as are the restaurants.
 
Snurk71 said:
Haven't been to HH yet. What makes the beach more interesting than VB?
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I have been to both and we are going back to VB next week. HHI was our first choice but impossible to get in the middle of the summer with out owning there.

HHI is a shady island with beautiful beaches and beautiful intercostal waterways. You can bike all over the island. Very nice restaurants some within walking distance to the resort. Harbourtown and the rest of the Sea Pines community is a great place to visit. Mini golf, kayaking, boating, and of course golfing. You can ride your bikes to the Disney Beach House , or drive or take the shuttle. The Beach House is has a pool, bar, Counter service restaurant, a club house, billiards, ping pong and pool volleyball. It just feels very contained. And there's a lot to do.

VB is a beautiful ocean front resort with very nice amenities. But the surrounding area is very quiet. Anything you want to do is about 20-40 minutes away. VB resort is north of VB in what I guess is Wabasso Beach or Seabastian.

We will be going o VB for 4 nights, which gives us 3 full beach days. That is enough for us. We will be at WDW at SSR prior to VB. We plan on hitting the parks and the new improved Disney Springs. So, a few days of sleeping in
and the beach will be great.

I agree with the prior post 3-4 nights at VB and 5-6 for HHI. You could do HHI for a week, with that I would take a day trip to Savannah.
 
If we can get Hilton Head for the last week of May we will do it. Otherwise, maybe 2-3 nights at Vero and the remainder at WDW.
 
WE love Vero Beach and have spent the week there a few times. But we are perfectly happy to alternate our time between the beach and the pool, sitting, reading, walking, eating, drinking, reading, walking and on and on. WE do go out to dinner most nights, but seldom stray far from the beach in the day. It is good for us, but most others seem to feel a few days is enough.
 
We stayed at Vero a few summers ago after a Disney trip. We went for 4 nights I believe and I agree that YES 3-4 nights IS ALL YOU NEED. There is nothing to do besides the resort. We had a hard time finding restaurants when we there. Maybe we should have planned that part out better but Vero is off the beaten path which is nice in some regards. We were there in July and it was so darn hot that the pool felt like bath water so the lifeguards were tossing buckets of ice in the pool. We also think that Vero would be better for US before a trip to Disney. We were sad to leave Disney and Vero just did't do it for us.
 
We just returned from our 6th trip to DVB. We stayed 5 nights, with 5 nights at BWV before VB, followed by 3 nights back at BWV. Our previous trips have been 3-4 nights. We love swimming in the ocean. That is THE reason for us to be there. We only went into the pool to wash the salt water off before heading back to our 1-BR villa. The pools at WDW are also too warm in the summer.
Our family does not eat at restaurants as much as it seems that others do. We make good use of the kitchen, daily. I personally can't see booking the Inn rooms, for that main reason (also the lack of space for the 4 of us).
The restaurants we did visit this time were Riverside Cafe (only because we met my aunt & uncle there, wouldn't go back) and Mr. Manatee's. Silly name, but great oysters, decent draft beer selection, and friendly bartender. A WDW CM recommended we try it when she saw we were going to be in VB, and we are very happy we did.

It's almost impossible to get a reservation at the 7-month window for us non-owners.
 
After reading this thread, you guys have me worried! I was just able to piece together a trip during Thanksgiving week at VB in a Garden View studio. This will be our first time visiting VB and was thinking we would stay at VB for 6 nights (11/19 thru 11/24) and have Thanksgiving dinner there and then the following day, head to Clearwater Beach for two nights (11/25 thru 11/26). We like to eat "out" when on vacation, explore, and have two girls, ages 11 and 13, who love riding bikes, swimming and beaches.

Now I'm wondering if 6 nights at VB might be too many and maybe we should increase the Clearwater Beach part of the trip? Another concern is that I get the feeling that Disney (at Shutters) would put on a better Thanksgiving dinner than a random restaurant in Clearwater Beach...

Evan
 
I think we are going to check out Hilton Head Island imstead. Seems there is plenty do see and do there.
 
We love both VB and HHI. The thing to understand about VB is it is out in a remote location with not much around it. HHI is right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of an island with lots around it. At VB we have a hard time finding anything to eat. I really got tired of the VB restaurant and to eat anywhere else you have to drive a good distance. At HHI you just walk across the bridge to the resort and have lots of options to eat. If we stayed a week at VB, we'd have to have at least a 1BR with a kitchen. At HHI there are plenty of things to do in addition to pools and beach. At VB, not much else to do. You really have to love the beach or pool if you go to VB.
 
Well there is the resort, the small beach, and a pizza shop down the road. That's about it.

:earsboy: Bill
 
Some ideas on other things to do besides going to the beach or pool, might include a visit to the old Dodger baseball spring camp which is nearby. Another option is driving down to Miami and see the Marlins baseball team play a game (Can you tell I am a huge baseball fan). There are some nice restaurants in the area away from the resort, but are some distance away. My family stayed for three nights before going on a Disney Cruise a few years back.
 
We are heading there in a couple of weeks for our 4th trip - it's one of our favorite resorts! We always debate on getting points there but the MF's are just too high to justify when we can book relatively easily 7 months out. We love walking on the beach at night - the stars are amazing and we almost always find turtle tracks. It is so relaxing and peaceful and everyone is always smiling and happy. We've actually never once left the resort for food - we cook or just enjoy the resort options. VBR offers honest to goodness rest and relaxation, but that may not be what your family has in mind.
:beach:
 
otterpop said:
After reading this thread, you guys have me worried! I was just able to piece together a trip during Thanksgiving week at VB in a Garden View studio. This will be our first time visiting VB and was thinking we would stay at VB for 6 nights (11/19 thru 11/24) and have Thanksgiving dinner there and then the following day, head to Clearwater Beach for two nights (11/25 thru 11/26). We like to eat "out" when on vacation, explore, and have two girls, ages 11 and 13, who love riding bikes, swimming and beaches.

Now I'm wondering if 6 nights at VB might be too many and maybe we should increase the Clearwater Beach part of the trip? Another concern is that I get the feeling that Disney (at Shutters) would put on a better Thanksgiving dinner than a random restaurant in Clearwater Beach...

Evan
Click to expand...

Vero rolls up the carpet and shuts the porch lights off by 9:00 even in the summer. Can't imagine there being anything much at all going on over Thanksgiving. We went for 3 nights a few years ago (in August) and 3 nights were plenty - even in the summer so I don't know what might be going on in the off-season. It's a beautiful resort but the area is just DEAD. I got the impression most of the area is more of a retirement age community. Early bird dinners then lights out.
 
We prefer Vero. It's actually located on the beach, unlike Hilton Head. I prefer to walk directly from my room to the beach without taking a shuttle or driving.
That said, Vero is very quiet but there are things to do there. We like spending about a week there, but we are not teenagers, lol. We enjoy spending days at the beach and relaxing around the resort. We also have taken drives into town for movies and eating out. The staff is so happy and glad to be there, unlike some of the WDW folks.
 
If you require constant entertainment/stimulation, Disney's Vero Beach Resort may not be the best place for you to visit. However, there is certainly enough to do at the resort or within a 20-30 minute drive to easily fill a week of vacation time.

Of course the most obvious thing to do is enjoy relaxing on the beach or by the pool. But there is also much more.

You can rent bicycles and ride along the historic Jungle Trail. Or visit the Environmental Learning Center which is just up the road.

Enjoy a morning or sunset kayak excursion on the Indian River Lagoon through the resort. This is a wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon.

Take a short drive south and west to the McKee Botanical Gardens to explore the wooded paths and see the beautiful flora.

Since Disney's Vero Beach Resort is in the heart of Florida's Treasure Coast, you can explore not just one, but two nearby treasure museums. Check them both out to learn more about the shipwrecks from a historical perspective (McLarty Museum) and to see the priceless treasure collected from the wrecks of the doomed Spanish fleet (Mel Fisher's).

The resort is also located on a beach that is a prime nesting location for species of threatened or endangered sea turtles. Visit during turtle nesting season and you'll enjoy related activities like guided night walks where you might observe (but please don't disturb) a mama turtle laying her clutch of eggs or an early morning survey of a newly laid or recently hatched nest.

Book an airboat ride or a nature tour of the Indian River Lagoon.

As far as dining, the options are limited in the immediate resort vicinity, but there are lots of restaurants to try within a fairly short drive of the resort. Ask any Cast Member and they'll be happy to share the names of some of their favorite restaurants.

You can even find a little nightlife if you try. Captain Hiram's Sand Bar has live music most nights and at the resort itself they have game nights for adults in the Green Cabin Room featuring Pictionary or Trivia. There are even prizes for the winning teams. Can you say free Dole Whips?
 
It's a beautiful resort, but it's rather remote and the beach is narrow and a bit steep. True, the resort is right on the ocean, and Hilton Head's is not, but I much prefer the HH resort. I own points at VB, and I wish I didn't. Really high maintenance fees. I use the points for other things/stays. The last time we were there, my son was a senior in college, and he referred to it as "Zero Beach" Haha. Kinda true, in a way, if you're looking for excitement rather than pure relaxation.
 
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