Beach close to Disney?

[tmcgraw]

were driving to Disney in April and it will be the first time my seven year old son will be visiting the ocean. My question is what is the closest (and best) beach to Disney? I don't want to take a lot of time out of our trip, we'll only be in Disney world for 5 days, but I am hoping to get a couple of hours to show him the ocean.

 

[nacho113]

Closest beach is Cocoa Beach at about an hour drive (you will need $5-$6 for the tolls). It's a nice quiet beach with a small pier and some souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels. .
Daytona Beach is about a 90 minute drive, great beach with tons of stuff to do. Large pier and Boardwalk with restaurants, souvenir shops, a waterpark, movie theater, lots of bars and restaurants, shopping and of course the Daytona Speedway. It's a lot more lively than Cocoa and our family's favorite. You can even drive and park on the beach.
The beaches on the Atlantic side have great sunrises and nice waves

The gulf side beaches are nice, water is calm and awesome sunsets, but you are looking at a 2+ hour drive. Our favorite gulf beaches are Clearwater Beach, Treasure Island, Indian Rocks Beach

 

[staceyrhood]

On the Atlantic side we like Jetty Park, it is at Port Canaveral. It is a very nice clean beach and the best part is you can see the cruise ships coming and going! It takes about 45 minutes to get there.

 

[JimMIA]

Where are you driving in from?

If you only want to spend a couple of hours, it makes sense to do the ocean stop either on the drive to WDW or on the drive home -- and your route will influence where your best stop might be. Depending on your route, there are numerous beaches and all of them are wonderful.

If you're doing a day trip from WDW, it's going to take the better part of a day, even to the closest places -- Jetty Park at Port Canaveral or Cocoa Beach.

Those are both an hour or a little more drive each way, so that's 2.5-3 hours of driving (If you catch part of Orlando's rush hour traffic either way, a little longer). Spend a couple of hours at the beach and you've spent half a day. Go to Ron Jon's for two hours for beach souveniers and you've eaten up most of the day.

Daytona is great, but it's a somewhat longer drive, and as Nacho113 says, there is a ton of stuff to do there -- really too much stuff for a quick "see the ocean" trip.

If you go to the West Coast, the beaches are great, but you could easily spend more than 4 hours driving due to construction delays, rush hour, etc, etc, etc.

 

[tmcgraw]

Thanks everyone!! After reading all your suggestions, we've decided to just leave half a day earlier so that we can stop in Daytona the day that we check in. That way we can experience some beach time, but not have to leave the resort to do it and take time out of our parks time!

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks everyone!! After reading all your suggestions, we've decided to just leave half a day earlier so that we can stop in Daytona the day that we check in. That way we can experience some beach time, but not have to leave the resort to do it and take time out of our parks time!

If you're coming down I-95, you might also take a look at some of the beaches in the Jacksonville area, and those between Jax and Daytona -- St Augustine and St Augustine Beach, Flagler Beach and Ormond Beach (and others).

Ormond Beach is just north of Daytona -- same beach, but less touristy. Flagler is just north of Ormond. Both are easier to get to than Daytona Beach.

The town of St Augustine (south of Jacksonville) is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the US, founded in 1565 -- 42 years before Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims came ashore at Plymouth. Interesting place, lots of history. And St Augustine Beach is as pretty as any in Florida.

If you want to have the beach to yourself, try Canaveral National Seashore, south of Daytona. Pristine National Park Service area (complete with environmentally-correct pit toilets), but more difficult to get to than even Daytona.

 

[aleksandr]

If you are coming down I-95 from the North as we do, we are big fans of the beaches just south of Daytona, on the barrier Islands. Places like Ponce Inlet, New Smyrna, etc. They are only a few exits south of where you would normally exit 95 to get on I-4, but there would be an additional 20-30 minute drive to cross from the mainland to the islands, and then drive along A1A until you find a beach spot you like. Many of these beaches allow you to drive your vehicle right onto the beach for extra convenience. Also, if you hit Ponce Inlet, you can check out the lighthouse, which is a nice landmark.