One day beach trips

[goofeyken]

We're coming down in summer and I really want to take one day in the middle of the trip and spend a day and night at a beach. We're traveling with a 3 year old and I think we'll all just need an easier day. No real plan other than letting the kid play and eating some excellent meals with great views.

Which beach would you go to for family fun? Can you recommend a nicer hotel/resort in that area? I spent a bit of time looking at Daytona and Tampa yesterday.

thanks.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We have been to both Daytona and Cocoa beaches. We preferred Daytona to Cocoa by a slim margin, but very much enjoyed both locations.

The gulf beaches get a lotta love here on the boards (and you'll probably get quite a few recommends for those).... but for us, there's just something special about the Atlantic ocean.

Easy drive to both. There are multiple tolls en route to Cocoa and none to Daytona. Daytona is much more commercial (amusements and restaurants galore, running the stretch of the beach) while Cocoa is a little more "natural".

Cocoa:





Daytona:

 

[staceyrhood]

We are locals, when we go to the beach we like Jetty Park at Port Canaveral, it costs to get in ($10 a car I think) it is very nice...great restaurants close by, nice bathrooms, a snack bar, great beach, only about a 40 minute drive, and our favorite part is you can see the cruise ships leaving port. I can't do Cocoa beach...once was enough, personally I thought it was dirty and not a very nice area, Daytona was the same for me too. We also LOVE Hammock Beach, about an hour and 15 minutes drive from here and a beautiful resort.

My in laws live in the Tampa area and when we go that way we really like Honeymoon Island, its a state park.

 

[whiporee]

One thing to keep in mind is wave action. The east coast beaches have waves that roll in from Spain, so there will be some surf there. You can body surf (or even real surf if you're okay with 2-3 swells.) The beaches are wider and harder sand. I like New Smyrna on the east coast -- I don't like the sand at Cocoa, and haven't been to Daytona in lower than I can remember.

The west coast doesn't have much wave action at all -- maybe a foot when they come ashore. For small kids that's nice because there's not a lot of undertow, but it can be rather unexciting. You're likely to see more rotorcraft on the west coast -- jet skis and such. It can be a little noiser from man-made sounds - the east coast has more natural noise. Clearwater is nice.

The east coast is closer to Orlando by about an hour -- you've got to get all the way through Tampa and through the causeway (ro the Sunshine Skyway) to really get to a beach.