daytona beach & seashells?

[kgreen]

Silly question really, but our family is staying on the beach in daytona a couple of days before our wdw vacation. my boys have never been to the ocean, & my youngest is hopeful to find a few seashells on the beach. any one been to daytona, that can comment if he might find at least a couple of seashells on the beach? I looked online & all i can find is that daytona is not a good beach for finding seashells, but hopefully he can find at least one. lol If not I'm sure they sell them in shops.

 

[OhMari]

Very tiny sea shells. I think your best bet would be right after high tide. Most resorts will post high tides and low tides. He will probably be happy finding some.

 

[MissyDVC]

My son and I found tons of great shells when we were there 2 summers ago. Have fun!

 

[loveysbydesign]

If you don;t find any shells then maybe plan a day trip to Clearwater..the gulf side has so many more shells than the east coast side!

 

[Stitchfans]

So funny you brought this up. Just yesterday my DD was talking about her upcoming senior trip where they are going to stay at some hotel on Daytona Beach and later go to Universal. (sorry, the class voted and Universal won out)

DD is not a "water" person and will not be swimming. She asked me what could she do while the other students were swimming? I told her look for seashells. Hopefully there will other things for her to do besides that because spending the day wandering through the sand looking for seashells would get boring real fast.

But now I am wondering if she will have that to do?

 

[kgreen]

we are looking at hotels, & being that we will be there in october... bike week in daytona will be going on. actually we arrive towards the end, but hotel prices are super high for our first night, and then drop by a $100.00 for the second night. My husband is leaning more towards cocoa beach instead which is about the same distance to disney, slightly shorter. Any one know much about cocoa beach?? Should we pay extra for daytona or try cocoa beach instead? We are wanting to stay at a hotel on the beach, so the kids can swim , find seashells... & we can relax.

 

[mvazul]

We recently moved to Florida and have been to Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach and Clearwater. All three places have been FULL of seashells. Our daughter brings some home every time we go. I prefer Cocoa Beach over Daytone, but only because I have been there more.

Have a great time!

Michelle

 

[kgreen]

We recently moved to Florida and have been to Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach and Clearwater. All three places have been FULL of seashells. Our daughter brings some home every time we go. I prefer Cocoa Beach over Daytone, but only because I have been there more.

Have a great time!

Michelle

Thanks so much Michelle Do you know of a good hotel on the beach to stay at in Cocoa beach?? I am clueless at this point. lol

 

[Gumbo4x4]

So funny you brought this up. Just yesterday my DD was talking about her upcoming senior trip where they are going to stay at some hotel on Daytona Beach and later go to Universal. (sorry, the class voted and Universal won out)

DD is not a "water" person and will not be swimming. She asked me what could she do while the other students were swimming? I told her look for seashells. Hopefully there will other things for her to do besides that because spending the day wandering through the sand looking for seashells would get boring real fast.

But now I am wondering if she will have that to do?

She'll have plenty to do & more than likely her friends will spend more time sunbathing than swimming anyway.

 

[lemondog]

Just got back from Atlantic Beach which is north of Daytona (near Jacksonville). Never seen so many shells in all my life! I am used to the Gulf and IMO there were WAY more shells in the Atlantic coast.

 

[kgreen]

I found a hotel we like in both daytona & cocoa beach, prices are actually about the same give or take. But leaning more towards cocoa beach. It's between the views that makes the price jump. Ocean view or Ocean front, I wouldn't think it would make too much of a diffrence, as long as we get to see the ocean. It's a thought in the back of my head that it would be nice to sit on the balcony with a head on view of the ocean... but is it really worth the exta money.. not sure... The hotel in Daytona is called Aku Tiki Inn, which I hear really good reviews about, & reccommended by a few here on the DIS. And for Cocoa beach, Best Western ocean beach hotel & suites. They are both on the beach, & stand out as great places to stay... however I have yet to make up my mind completely. lol

 

[mvazul]

I found a hotel we like in both daytona & cocoa beach, prices are actually about the same give or take. But leaning more towards cocoa beach. It's between the views that makes the price jump. Ocean view or Ocean front, I wouldn't think it would make too much of a diffrence, as long as we get to see the ocean. It's a thought in the back of my head that it would be nice to sit on the balcony with a head on view of the ocean... but is it really worth the exta money.. not sure... The hotel in Daytona is called Aku Tiki Inn, which I hear really good reviews about, & reccommended by a few here on the DIS. And for Cocoa beach, Best Western ocean beach hotel & suites. They are both on the beach, & stand out as great places to stay... however I have yet to make up my mind completely. lol

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I have never stayed in a hotel in Daytona or Cocoa. When we go, it's just a day trip. However, we did stay in a hotel in Virginia Beach directly ON the beach. It was SO worth the extra money, in my opinion. We had a balcony that overlooked the ocean. We left our doors open at night to hear the waves. In the mornings, there was a group of dolphins playing very near the shore. It was one of the best trips we have ever had.

Good luck with your decision!

Michelle

 

[lucas]

Shells? Sanibel Island, FL, is the shelling capital of the world. But, it is on the west coast of Florida.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I found a hotel we like in both daytona & cocoa beach, prices are actually about the same give or take. But leaning more towards cocoa beach. It's between the views that makes the price jump. Ocean view or Ocean front, I wouldn't think it would make too much of a diffrence, as long as we get to see the ocean. It's a thought in the back of my head that it would be nice to sit on the balcony with a head on view of the ocean... but is it really worth the exta money.. not sure... The hotel in Daytona is called Aku Tiki Inn, which I hear really good reviews about, & reccommended by a few here on the DIS. And for Cocoa beach, Best Western ocean beach hotel & suites. They are both on the beach, & stand out as great places to stay... however I have yet to make up my mind completely. lol

We prefer ocean front & actually the place we like to stay in Panama City Beach has ALL the rooms facing the water. That said, wherever you stay make sure it's ON the beach, not "near" the beach (and it looks like you have that covered). You don't want to have to cross the highway to go down to the water.

 

[missmeg]

I would say go for ocean front. It is SO worth the extra money. My husband and I loved our beach vacation. It was priceless being able to have the balcony doors left open at night and go out and watch a thunderstorm from the balcony. There is nothing like a thunderstorm over the ocean. Absolutely stunning.

We're debating spending a day or so at Clearwater, Daytona, or Cocoa Beach during our trip next year too. I'll be watching this thread with interest. We cannot make up our minds ... We want to stop in Daytona to check out the race track (my husband's idea of a good time ) but I think Clearwater seems to have the best beach ...

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We want to stop in Daytona to check out the race track (my husband's idea of a good time )

It's really pretty cool