5 days at the beach-which beach from orlando?

[socalgirl]

hi,
going to wdw in june, 1st timers. after 2 weeks at wdw, we have 5 days yet unplanned. thinking of going to cocoa beach and visit kennedy space center, daytona, what else? where to stay (cheap, but on the beach)?

also thinking of gulf beaches, but which ones? i read a post about clearwater. how long from wdw?
other suggestions? what to do in clearwater besides beach?

or do we just spend those 5 extra days in wdw area and go day trips to the beach, allowing the option of doing more park days if we want?

thanks,
gayle

 

[Emmyfaye]

In December we stayed at The Oceania Plaza in New Smyrna Beach, which is more or less halfway between Daytona and Cocoa. NSB is a smaller, less tacky place than both Daytona and Cocoa, and we really enjoyed our stay there. The Oceania Plaza is a small condo resort, with spotless two bedroom, two bathroom condo units with balconies facing the ocean. The master bedroom and the living room both open on to the balcony. The only thing separating the OP from the beach is the pool.... Rates are seasonal at the OP, but are quite reasonable (less than $600 a week in December).

 

[jolinegkg]

bump

 

[Chris2597]

Just about any beach in Fla is very nice. My all time fav is Jupiter/Juno Fla, but it is south of Orlando. Your best bet would be Tampa/Clearwater. There is also a state park on the west coast called Homosasa Springs. It is awesome. They have manatee that are being rehabilatated there and you see them up close....there is a great ride on water that lets you see so much of fla wildlife. They also have aligators, a hippo, monkeys and a great snake expo. Well worth it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

When I saw the high temp. on the Atlantic side I quickly decided on the Gulf side. I am torn between Clearwater which is closer to Orlando, or Sanibel Island which is also known as 'shell beach' which the kids would love.
I had better get on the stick since we are going in June. Jeannine

 

[socalgirl]

mommy,
we're going in june too! we'll be hitting the parks from the 15th-28th, checking out on the 29th and then 5 days still unplanned. clearwater is beginning to sound good. how far is clearwater from daytona/space center/cocoa beach? there's a launch scheduled on the 30th, so we'd want to be able to get to the space center on the 30th (of course, the launch can change still, but we'd like to plan for this anyway)
gayle

 

[Chris2597]

Sanibel and Captiva Island are beautiful. The shelling is awesome and the waves are usually very small, especially compared to the east coast of fla. There are several small hotels and condos in that area. I think some of them are listed on the web. The prices are usually pretty reasonable in June.