Florida Beaches-where to go?

[shortbun]

There is nothing like the Bahamas in the Panhandle; take a look at St. Georges Island, it's the closest. Bahamas like can be found on Upper Captiva or a few of the smaller keys in the chain south of Miama. Also, Santa Maria Island off the coast of Sarasota could suit you.

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

I am clearly in the minority but I am not of fan of the Emerald Coast. The beach is pretty but terrible to walk on and you end up tracking sand everywhere!

I love Atlantic Coast wide beaches with packed sand that you can bike on, walk on, etc. I also prefer the waves. Swimming/playing in the gulf waters is boring to me.

I am not too familiar with Florida Atlantic beaches as we usually go to Hilton Head, SC but I have been to Amelia Island which is beautiful and have heard that New Smyrna Beach is nice.

 

[lillygator]

Sad to see negative about Daytona Beach. DH and I Daytona!

We spend 3-4 nights there every time we go to Florida, it's one of our favorite places to go. We always stay at an oceanfront (make sure it's oceanfront and not just oceanview - big difference!) hotel (Desert Inn, it used to be kind of run-down but has been renovated, also Comfort Inn and The Cove, which is condos). Love having the balcony door open to hear the sound of the waves in the ocean. Love walking (and driving!!, not many beaches you can actually drive on!) on the beach and there is a lot to do there entertainment wise, or you can just walk the beach and hang out at the pool and relax. Quite a few good restaurants too (we love Crabby Joe's, which is built out over the water, and Barnacle's, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. which is in the Oceanwalk area). We enjoy driving out to the lighthouse, and walking out onto the fishing piers too. If you're at all into NASCAR you can take a tour of the Daytona race track too.

Daytona is very much a party place to me. In high school, I spent a lot of thime there and Clearwater. You can get oceanfront and view pretty much at any beach in Fl.

 

[MIGrandma]

Daytona is very much a party place to me. In high school, I spent a lot of thime there and Clearwater. You can get oceanfront and view pretty much at any beach in Fl.

DH and I have never found it to be a party atmosphere, but then we wouldn't go during spring break season when it's full of college kids as probably is just about any beach in Florida at that time of the year.

 

[rie'smom]

We spent our summers in Destin when I was a child. Once my husband and I went at Thanksgiving and made sand angels. People thought that we were lying because the sand was so white, they thought it was snow. A fun thing we loved as kids was running on the beach because it barks! The water is turquoise and absolutely gorgeous.
Last summer we stayed at the Emerald Grande resort which was fabulous!

 

[duranfan]

It just depends on what the person wants looks wise and price wise. Look on line at the hotel, chamber of commerce sites. Also, the travel chanel has a lot of shows about Florida's top beaches. That way you can see the cities and what they look like and have to offer. THats probably as important as the beach. Do you want tons of skyrise condos on the beach as your back drop or do you want something resort like.
Daytona is NOT big for spring break anymore. The hotel owners don't want the crowds they are so destructive. The panhandle seems to be the spring break place in Florida. Cancun has probably taken the top spot for where to go.
I do not think the waters in the pan handle can compare to the other beaches. I agree I like Daytona, I visit their beaches 1-2 times a year even though I live in Vero Beach. If you want true ocean go to Daytona or Vero. If you want major shelling, tourist stuff to to Sanibel.