help me pick a beach PLEASE

[themudd4]

Were planning our next big WDW trip and decided to add a few days at the beach as well. The trouble is we can't decide which beach. We have looked at Daytona, Cocoa, and St Pete / Clearwater but would like some extra imput for those that have been more recently than use. We have not been to a FL beach in a long while.
TIA!
Penny

 

[SpideyHulk24]

St pete Clearwater is the nicest in my opinion. Also Daytona, but it's the party beach. Cocoa is nice, but not in my first two. St Pete has the clearest water of the three.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I agree, Clearwater and St.Pete's are further away, about a 2 hour drive from Orlando but much nicer than Cocoa/Daytona.

 

[ashbee]

Clearwater Beach is great. My family love it there. We go about 10 times a year. They have a really neat pirate ship cruise. Which is alot of fun. The sand is so white and clean. If you have any questions about Clearwater I can do my best to answer them.

 

[ss0414]

I, too, and a big fan of St. Pete's Beach. I would recommend the Tradewinds Resort. You can go to www.tradewindsresort.com The rooms, beach and resort are exactly as they appear on the internet. You can get a room with a kitchen for a reasonable price. If you have kids, it is definitely the best resort in the area for kids, IMO. So much for them to do.
There are many restaurants in walking distance, reasonably priced and the restaurants in the hotel aren't bad.
If you'd like anymore information, please feel free to ask.

 

[themudd4]

I am ready to go now...thanks for all the help so far! I think St Petes/clearwater is on top for sure! My DH is not a "beach guy" but we all love it. His thing is there is just not enough to do (although we all loved Mrytle Beach with everything around it...you couldn't get bored!!!
Thanks for all the imput so far!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

These beaches offer a different experience. Clearwater/ St. Pete Beach are on the Gulf. The sand is nicer (fluffy white), & the water's more clear. The water's also very smooth. Kind of like a huge lake. Daytona & Cocoa are on the Atlantic, & have waves. None of them have as many things to do as Myrtle Beach. Then again, what beach does? Clearwater Beach has more to do than the other Gulf Coast beaches. It's also not that far from Tampa, where there's lots to do. Your DH may want to take in a Devil Rays baseball game, if you're there in baseball season. Their stadium is in St. Pete. He may enjoy Fort Desoto too. It's south of Clearwater. Tarpon Springs, north of Clearwater, is also a nice place to spend a day.

 

[tropical depression]

I don't care for cocoa at all. we were at Daytona a couple of months ago, but the water was too cold to go into. I still think of it as an average beach.

Siesta Key is my favorite, but some people don't want to make the drive. Anna Maria is a great, I'd go to Sand Key over Clearwater, but all of our barrier island beaches are pretty interchangeable.

if you just want to relax, Ft. DeSoto is favorite. unspoiled, undeveloped and massive. two fishing piers, picnic areas, very old school Florida beach area.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Siesta Key is my favorite, but some people don't want to make the drive. Anna Maria is a great, I'd go to Sand Key over Clearwater, but all of our barrier island beaches are pretty interchangeable.

We also prefer the beaches further south than Clearwater & St. Pete, but we're local & do day trips. The OP said her DH doesn't like beach vacations, because there's not enough to do. Clearwater is a nice beach, & definitely has more for tourists to do than the beaches further south.

 

[SusanDK]

Siesta Key is my favorite, but some people don't want to make the drive.

I agree! We drove to Siesta Key from Celebration (5 minutes from WDW) on two separate days in April. It took us about 2 hours one way.

Beautiful beach, and if you're there, also have a bite to each at SKOB (Siesta Key Oyster Bar). Great seafood.

Susan

 

[momof2intx]

Lived in Clearwater for a few years, loved it! There are beaches all along the Gulf coast from Clearwater all the way to Sarasota. The website http://www.beachdirectory.com has some great hotel and attraction lists and a list of the beaches. We usually go every summer. Clearwater is about a 1.75-2 hr drive from Orlando. Have fun!

 

[CarolA]

I have done all three.

Daytona is my least favorite. If I never go there again, I will be just fine. (Sorry running the risk of having a drunk run you over while driving on the beach is not my idea of relaxing!)

I liked Cocoa since it was close, but I was also there to see a shuttle launch so....

Clearwater is very nice!

 

[My2Cinderellas]

After our trip last year, it just didn't feel right to be so close to the ocean and not visit. So next year, we are adding 2 nights at the beach. We chose Venice on the advice of friends. We are going to fly into Tampa and out of Orlando, renting a car one way.

 

[tropical depression]

After our trip last year, it just didn't feel right to be so close to the ocean and not visit. So next year, we are adding 2 nights at the beach. We chose Venice on the advice of friends. We are going to fly into Tampa and out of Orlando, renting a car one way.

we had friends down last year and took them to Siesta Key and their last night to Venice beach.

they got to see dolphins breaking the water and splashing around guys sitting on their surfboards close to sunset.

 

[motofox4]

the 2 beaches i would recommend going to would be st. pete beach or clearwater beach. we've been to both beaches lots of times and in fact are going back to clearwater in 2 weeks! i prefer the beaches on the gulf side as opposed to the atlantic because the beach sand is softer and feels better when taking walks and i don't really like going in the water "that" much, but the calmness of the gulf is just something i really enjoy!

 

[mh1973]

We always go to Anna Maria Island, very beautiful, however, there is really not much to do there except the beach, there is the bishop planetarium where you can see snooty the manatee. You can see pictures in my signature below. Beach pictures start on page 5.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I'm sure many will call me crazy, but we went to the Keys for our Disney sidetrip break. Yes, it is a drive. It took us a little over 5 hours to get there, but it is mostly turnpike driving. There was absolutely no traffic. I literally set the cruise for 4 of the 5 hours, rarely having to pass a lone car or two.

What we got in return....paradise. My husband and I LOVE the Keys and have gone on adults only vacations there at least once a year since our honeymoon. The Keys are much more than a beach trip...there is so much to do. Fantastic state parks to explore, historic sites, fishing, snorkeling, boating, and wonderful restaurants. You feel like you are in the Caribbean. There are tons to do in Key Largo and Key West.

And there are some wonderful beaches. We go to Bahia Honda State Park for snorkeling and swimming.

We were at Disney a couple of weeks ago and we experienced some pretty bad thunderstorms. There were plenty of rip current warnings out. We would never consider going to an Orlando area beach with our 5 little kids. We could never keep track of them in the crowds, waves, and unclear water. We went to Bahia Honda and experienced this instead...

The state park is an island, so there was plenty of areas to have all to yourself. The kids could walk forever through crystal clear water, looking out for colorful tropical fish. The beach is imported Bahamian sand. There were areas were the older ones could snorkle in water that was rarely above their knees.

We ate at our favorite local restaurants, feasting on Key West shrimp and Key Lime pie! Of course we had to have a couple of margaritas as well! The kids feed tarpon and walked in mangrove forests. Just wonderful.

So that is my pick.

 

[madge]

I've been thinking about our Fall trip this week ... and, with the price of airfare these days, it looks like we're going to be driving. I was initially bummed about that, and then I started to consider the possibilities...

We're driving from Kentucky, and while we "can" make the trip in approx 13, driving it in one day, we don't really enjoy doing that any more. This particular trip is going to be more along the lines of going to FL and visiting WDW while we're there, if that makes sense. LOL.

Anyway, what I'm thinking is that we'll drive to Ft. Walton Beach on our first travel day - it's a 10 hour drive, from what I understand. We'll spend Friday & Saturday night there before heading down to Orlando on Sunday. We already have plans to go to Cocoa Beach one day during our trip - our older boys like to play in the waves

So we'll have the best of both worlds - seeing two completely different beaches (and avoiding Atlanta on the drive to FL ) and it won't really be that much more driving ... 3 hours, maybe?

 

[tropical depression]

We always go to Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria is still considered a semi-secret spot.

 

[mh1973]

Anna Maria is still considered a semi-secret spot.

you know, I thought about that before I posted, it is so relaxing there!