Best Beach to Visit???

[mainelyj]

Right now I believe we are going to plan to go to Clearwater Beach and explore that area. But if we get up early and are feeling the extra drive, Siesta Key is a close second. I soo appreciate all the input. I have nothing against the East Coast, but I feel the beaches may be like our wonderful Maine beaches and we just wanted to explore something different.

Thanks again.

 

[three_kids_mom]

My kids would like to try to hit a beach while we are at Disney for Thanksgiving. If we just go for a day - how does that work? Are there places to clean up/change on the beach that we could go to a restaurant for a meal or do we have to bring our own food? Is there enough to do there for a day? Depending on the weather, they may not want to be in the water all the time! Thanks for any advice...I am just not sure how to plan for the day!

 

[MooksterL1]

I agree, we prefer Clearwater over others. We've also been to Cocoa, but not as enjoyable.

Clearwater has a finer powdery sand, the pier, sunset party, the pirate cruize (awesome fun!) and all the Frenchy's restaurants.

If you go, leave early, as parking right in front of the pier fills up fast. You can get there right at about 90 minutes from the s/e side of Orlando near Disney.

We love Frenchy's too!

We are staying 2 nights in Clearwater and spending one of the days at Fort De Soto because we like both beaches. Last year was our first time visiting Fort De Soto and it was fantastic. It doesn't have the city feel of Clearwater with all of the shops and restaurants, but it's a lot of fun for families. You can rent a 4 person bicycle and cycle around the trails. Lots of piers for fishing and the beach isn't overcrowded. The toll is minimal too. I think it was less than .50 last year.

 

[Beth D]

Dress in your suits going, and bring clothes to change. Most of the beaches have restrooms that you can change in. Cocoa has some inside showers, but both have outdoor and foot wash type showers.

In Clearwater I recommend the Captain Memo's pirate cruise. It's a little pricey at about $35 per person, but tons of fun. The crew entertains the kids the entire two hours with songs, treasure hunts and stories, and free beer and wine is included for the adults!

It was too rough to go out in the gulf on our day, but we sailed around the inner harbors and saw all the mansions we couldn't afford. We also got to see dolphins swimming alongside too!