Clearwater Fl

[Bethislucy]

On our trip this Nov we are going to take a mid week break & spend the day away from Disney (something new for us) my cousin & travel partner wants to see blue water & we were told to go to Clearwater. So my question is since it will be Nov we aren't going to want to hang out at the beach all day what else is there to do? Do you have a favorite place to eat or shop or even maybe a must see. Thanks in advance!

 

[jmb120]

I really can't help you out much with things to do in the area, but want to make sure that you are aware that Clearwater is 2+ hours away from Orlando. That being said, the water and beaches are beautiful on the Gulf Coast.

 

[Capt_BJ]

if you want to see 'blue water' you really have two choices

you can go west to the Gulf or east to the ocean

from WDW to Clearwater beach is a tad over 90 miles so figure 90 minutes plus .... most of the way is interstate. Once at the beach, I like the Johns Pass area, which is a tad south. http://www.johnspass.com/ the beach is nice around here and just off the beach is the 'village' with some touristy shopping and dining options. Take I-4 to Tampa then 275 to 60 and follow this west to Clearwater Beach. Most parking around this area will be by meter. When I go to Clearwater I usually go a bit farther to Pass A Grill and the Hurricane for lunch http://www.thehurricane.com/ but it IS another 20 miles

The ocean is 60 miles east .... the first beach you'd encounter is Jetty Park at the mouth of Cape Canaveral. http://www.jettypark.org/ There are some concessions at this park and a fee is charged per vehicle. You'd find yourself on 1A as you get close to the shore, follow this south and there will be some amount of parking (meters again) at most beach entry points. Many head the few miles further south to the Cocoa Beach Pier area http://www.cocoabeachpier.com/ where you'll find in addition to the pier (with pay parking) some of the surfer crowd if the conditions are right. From WDW I take 417 past the airport to 528 - The Beachline - which dumps you on to A1 at Port Canaveral. (417 and 528 are toll roads ... cash accepted) For places to visit or eat, the Cove area in the port has several places to eat on the water, as does the Pier.

For me, I'd go ocean rather than gulf as it is closer (but I'm biased living here!)

Another option, but farther away is Sarasota with excellent beaches.

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

On our trip this Nov we are going to take a mid week break & spend the day away from Disney (something new for us) my cousin & travel partner wants to see blue water & we were told to go to Clearwater. So my question is since it will be Nov we aren't going to want to hang out at the beach all day what else is there to do? Do you have a favorite place to eat or shop or even maybe a must see. Thanks in advance!

If you like a Dolphin Tale, you can always go see the aquarium there, and maybe even see Winter. There is also a small exhibit about the movie that's separate.

 

[Bethislucy]

I'm not worried about the drive & we want to go gulf way. We live 3.5 hours from myrtle beach and go there a few times each year.

 

[jagmama]

My husband i went to Clearwater Beach last year. I think there is plenty to do if just going for the day.... We enjoyed just walking around downtown in the shops and seeing all the dolphin statues around. Walking along the beach and out on the pier. They had some thing going on at the beach... they had built sand sculptures, we walked thru that. We also enjoyed going down to John's pass, Madeira beach area. There are some good places to eat at John's pass. Would also recommend going into Tampa to eat... we loved Tampa Bay brewing company ( as seen on Diners, Drive in, and Dives) We are going back to Florida this year with the kids but plan to take a day trip to Clearwater beach area.... We want to go to the Clearwater beach aquarium and go to the beach, John's pass and go on a boat ride to see Dolphins. And to go back to the tampa bay brewing company.....loved the s'mores dessert!

 

[Brewersprts]

There is lots to do at clearwater beach. Like people have said there is tons of shops and restaurants right on the beach. Many nights they have street performers and street magicians there too. Out on the pier people are always selling arts and crafts that are usually made by the people selling them. There is also lots of dolphin cruises which would be cool to do for someone who hasn't seen dolphins in the wild before.

If you drive south a little bit there is one of my favorite restaurants ever, Shell's Seafood, on St. Pete Beach.

If you go a little south of that you can get to Ft. Desoto park. I think it's $5 to get in for the entire car. There are great beaches. One looks over toward the skyway bridge and the other out toward the gulf. There is an old fort there that you can explore along with some of the original guns and a little museum. It's a very cool part of old Florida history.

There is a light house and other cool things on Egmont key, which you can see from Ft Desoto. You have to take a boat/ferry over there but it's very cool. Great snorkeling area over there too. Lots of wild life, tortoises and turtles and lots of birds.

 

[Brewersprts]

Actually, for better looking water and beach I would go down to sarasota. The water is beautiful there. And the sand on Siesta Key beach is so white that you can't hardly look at it when the sun is out.

Another beautiful beach and spot to visit is Honeymoon Island / Caladesi Island. It's just north of Clearwater, in Dunedin. The beaches there are beautiful and lots of beautiful, old Florida hiking trails. You can kayak through the mangrove trees as well. Also the sea shells here are particularly nice.

Clearwater is nice but I prefer hitting the less popular beaches. I also love hiking through the wild life preserves.

Whatever you decide to do, you can't go wrong. Florida is a beautiful state.