Daytona or Cocoa Beach?

[becalubob]

 

[ginnymac]

We spent a day at Cocoa Beach last year prior to a cruise and were not impressed with the beach. We found it to be a little dirty. We had fun anyway, but the beach was not 'beautiful'.

I don't know about Daytona.

 

[skiyalater]

We were there 4 yrs ago and Cocoa Beach was a "not so lovely" area with the most tattoo and "peep show" parlors in a row that we had ever seen! Once we were on the beach it was really nice, but we were amazed that the "unhappy side of town" was on the main thoroughfare! We have not been back to that area since and hope that it has cleaned up now. Maybe we were still in the thralls of Disney, where the magic is evident and the dark side of life- nowhere is sight! Nevertheless....,

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

We live on the coast and if you're looking for something a little quiet and a great beach - try New Smyrna Beach. It's about 1/2 hour south of Daytona. You can drive and park on the beach. Our personal fave & recommendation to our out of town friends is the Riverview Hotel. It overlooks the intercoastal waterway on the end of the North Causeway leading to Flagler Avenue which is the tourist district. If you like a nice relaxing walk, you can walk from the hotel, down Flagler checking out all the little shops along the way, to the beach. The hotel has a fantastic restaurant and a Spa for another relaxing aspect of your stay. I think they have a website - just google Riverview Hotel New Smyrna Beach & I bet something pops up. You can always take a ride up to Daytona if you're into NASCAR and want to check out the speedway.

 

[KatMark]

We haven't been to the beach in years...since our boys were like 6 and 4 (they are now 22 and almost 20). We are tacking five days on to our trip this year and staying in Daytona for four nights. We will probably stay at Perry's Ocean Edge...it has been a family tradition with my husband's family forever. My inlaws will be there and we are going to spend those five days with them (since we only see them a couple of times a year at home because of our schedules). They have stayed at Perry's Ocean Edge forever. It is a very nice hotel. We love Aunt Catfish's for dinner.

 

[Ennazus8810]

Personally I find both of these beaches dirty, with Cocoa being in a less than nice atmosphere. Our favorite beaches are near Clearwater. Maderia Beach and Treasure Island (where we are staying for a few days after Disney in May) are both very clean and have plenty to do. This area is also known for dolphin spotting from the beaches! It is about an hour to an hour and a half from Orlando.

 

[deej696]

Neither are great. If you want a nice beach, I would usually suggest the Clearwater/Caladesi Island area. I will say that Daytona has tried ot clean up their image in recent years, and it is nicer than it used to be. There is a big Hilton hotel, and some other decent places on A1A. As far as restaurants, there is pretty much anything you would want in the way of casual dining. If you want a nice dinner, hop over to the Charthouse. Great steaks and seafood right on the Intercoastal waterway.

 

[goin2fl]

We had a lovely beach day last week at Honeymoon Island State Park. It's on the gulf coast near Clearwater. We had a great time swimming, finding shells, and watching dolphins.

 

[deej696]

We had a lovely beach day last week at Honeymoon Island State Park. It's on the gulf coast near Clearwater. We had a great time swimming, finding shells, and watching dolphins.

This is a gorgeous area, and is adjacent to Caladesi Island as well. Either would be a great choice for beautiful beaches.

 

[koolmom2]

You can't go wrong on the Gulf side, there are many beautiful places to visit. If you do go on the ocean side, Daytona Beach is far better than Cocoa Beach. We actually enjoy Daytona Beach for a day or two. But would never stay longer.

 

[fishynancy]

I prefer Maderia Beach ..

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Daytona Beach has really cleaned up it's image from the past years when it was party central for all the spring breakers. It's now geared alot towards families especially with the revitalized boardwalk area. We were just there on Saturday and visiting Daytona Lagoon waterpark and the Ocean Walk Shoppes makes you realize how much they're trying to do for the families. Also the beach is nice and clean and rebuilt after all the hurricane damage from 2004. Give it a try.............you might find that you like it!