not entirely on-topic...need beach suggestions

[thenewgirl]

Hi everybody!

We are going to Disney the week starting Easter weekend (I know......nuts ). We are driving down from NC with 2 LOs (8 and 2). We have a house rented for our trip, but we are planning to leave a day early, find a place to spend the night oceanside (we LOVE the beach, and we are used to NC's beautiful beaches) a few hours out, get up and spend part of the day at the beach, drive the rest of the way (hopefully about 2-3 hours or so) and then arrive at the house at dinner time, after a quick stop at the grocery, ready to hit the parks early the next day!

So, I need some suggestions...any good places to stay on the beach along the way? Maybe in very southern Georgia or very northern Florida? What do y'all recommend??? For the record, we don't want to spend toooooo much, so it kinda fits the budget board!


TIA!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Assuming that you are coming down I95, probably your best bet will be around Daytona Beach; that is about 2 hours from WDW. The water in the Atlantic at that time of year is still going to be pretty cold. If you just want to play on the sand, I'd recommend a detour to the northern part of Canaveral Nat'l Seashore, which is just south of New Smyrna; that is a truly splendid natural beach, but the surf can be a bit high early in the season.

Our favorite place to stay in the Daytona area is Sun Viking Lodge in Daytona Beach Shores. They have an indoor pool AND an outdoor one, which is unusual in that neighborhood.

If you're coming down the west side of Florida the water would be warmer, but IMO still not warm enough to swim unless you went as far south as Ft. Myers.

 

[Golf4food]

The southernmost beaches in Georgia are Cumberland Island, which has no hotels and is a national wildlife refuge and requires a boat or ferry for access, so it is pretty much out of the equation. That leaves you either farther north on pricey St. Simons Island or over the border into Florida. The first Florida island is Amelia Island and it is beatiful and quaint with many B&Bs and hotels and some very, very expensive resorts. It is also quite a distance from the interstate, but does have some nice beaches, including the one for Fort Clinch state park.

Next best place to stay would be one of the Jacksonville beaches or St. Augustine. The Jacksonville beaches have more hotels and restaurants and shopping available and the beaches are nice enough as well. St. Augustine beaches are probably going to be less crowded in general but further from civilization, so to speak. The Jacksonville beaches will offer you the fastest on-off to the interstate and save you time for travel (you take SR 9A which is the beltway loop and catch I-95 again south of town).


ETA: times to WDW from...

Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach: about 3 hours
Jacksonville Beaches: about 2.5 hours
St. Augustine beaches: around 2-2.5 hours

 

[Shelby5514]

We just Pricelined a *** oceanside resort in Daytona Beach Shores for $78 total cost for Saturday 3/20. It is at the height of the college spring break so I didn't think that price was too bad.

As for Jacksonville:
We live 5 mins from the beaches in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Beaches are made up of, from north to south, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach.

Atlantic Beach is nice and has a little town center with multiple shops and restaurants literally steps from the beach. Neptune Beach is mostly residential. Jacksonville Beach is where all the larger name brand hotels are. There is a fishing pier, a small boardwalk with stores and restaurants and lots of parking. Ponte Vedra Beach is more residential and I would say more upscale than the rest. Also, PVB does not have the easy beach access that the rest do unless you are staying at a oceanfront property.

 

[pantherlj]

Hi everybody!

We are going to Disney the week starting Easter weekend (I know......nuts ). We are driving down from NC with 2 LOs (8 and 2). We have a house rented for our trip, but we are planning to leave a day early, find a place to spend the night oceanside (we LOVE the beach, and we are used to NC's beautiful beaches) a few hours out, get up and spend part of the day at the beach, drive the rest of the way (hopefully about 2-3 hours or so) and then arrive at the house at dinner time, after a quick stop at the grocery, ready to hit the parks early the next day!

So, I need some suggestions...any good places to stay on the beach along the way? Maybe in very southern Georgia or very northern Florida? What do y'all recommend??? For the record, we don't want to spend toooooo much, so it kinda fits the budget board!


TIA!!!

LOL! That was us last September 7 yr old and 10 yr old, driving from NC, staying in a condo in Orlando and wanted to knock out most of the driving Friday before check in on Saturday.

We stopped at a hotel at the border of SC/FL for the night. It was nice and only about $60. Comfort Suites at Kingsland, GA. We got up in the morning and drove to Daytona Beach and spent a few hours there. Had lunch and arrived at our condo at exactly 3 PM for check in! DH stayed at the condo with the girls and I ran to the store for some groceries.

The beach was really nice. We drive on the NC Beaches (OBX) but this was a very different experience - we have never seen an ice cream truck on the NC beaches LOL

 

[Kies99]

Hi everybody!

We are going to Disney the week starting Easter weekend (I know......nuts ).

Can't help with beaches, but wanted to comment on this.

My wife and I get down there maybe every 3-5 years. We love going on Easter weekend! Easter Sunday at Epcot is FANTASTIC! It's so empty until later in the day!