Renting a car at Disney and driving to the ocean, has anyone done this?

[traces7]

I'd like to rent a car for one day of our Disney trip in Oct. to drive to the ocean. Neither me or my DD have ever seen an ocean! Can this be done easily and not too expensively? I don't like driving in unfamiliar surroundings too much, so how bad would the drive be? How expensive to rent a car at Disney? And which beach should we drive to? I was thinking of Cocoa Beach or Cape Canavaral since they seem closest. Any suggestions? Also does anyone know, can you find seashells on any beach at anytime? My DD would really like to find some. Thanks for your help.

 

[bdklein]

I can't tell you where to go in FL, or how best to get there, but you have to see an ocean at least once in your lifetime. I live only 10 minutes from the Atlantic in NY, and go there dozens of times per year, and I still get a rush. Nice to see something natural, unlike all the fake stuff at Disney. Just my opinion.

 

[Blondiex46]

Daytona Beach is my favorite and only totally not far and you will love it, you can drive on the beach.

 

[traces7]

I can't tell you where to go in FL, or how best to get there, but you have to see an ocean at least once in your lifetime. I live only 10 minutes from the Atlantic in NY, and go there dozens of times per year, and I still get a rush. Nice to see something natural, unlike all the fake stuff at Disney. Just my opinion.

So we're going to be so close, I just have to do it!

 

[traces7]

Daytona Beach is my favorite and only totally not far and you will love it, you can drive on the beach.

That was one I was thinking about going to.

 

[camdensmom]

I vote that you drive to the west coast. The Gulf side is SO much nicer IMO. You can rent a car from Budget in DTD at the Doubletree Hotel. Florida is very easy to navigate and I4 will have you to the sand and surf in under an hour. I recommend going at sunset.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

National and Alamo have desks at the Dolphin and Car Care Center. Check mousesavers.com for discounts. I would guess around $30-$35 for the day.

I like Cocoa Beach, closer than Daytona. It's a very easy drive, under 1 1/2 hours. It's also easy to get to the West coast, about the same distance to the Tampa area. I haven't been to the beaches there. Mapquest can give you directions to both coasts.

You can find broken shells all the time. To find really nice shells, you need to find beach that is protected from the large waves (which of course smash the shells).

Have fun, it will be worth the drive!

 

[MICOL]

We did that drive in Feb after visiting Kennedy Space Center. We saw the sunset from the beach. The water was cold but nothing compared to New England in the summer. We just parked along the beach and took a nice walk. A bit over an hour drive.

 

[msklcassidy]

My family and I have been going to the beach since I was really young (I'm 38 now) in Florida. We live in Missouri which is NOT known for its beaches (just the Arch). Anyway, I've gone east toward Coco and Daytona....and I've gone west toward St. Pete, Clearwater, etc. I'd vote WEST...definitely WEST! A beach, IMHO, is for walking on, building sandcastles on and collecting shells. Clearwater Beach has a nice public access area...but we always drive a bit north (up toward Dunedin) and take the ferry over from Honeymoon Island to Caladesi Island. It's a State Park, there are NO cars on the beach and when I was there last (about 2 years ago) it was just lovely. Now, I know they've had some hurricanes go through that area and I don't know if they've had to replenish the beach or not. So...unless you are planning to go to NASA for the day....go West!

One more thing...you can also drive down toward Sarasota, cross the causeway to St. Armand Circle and there's a great beach over there too (that's less crowded than Clearwater).

Last thing (I promise)...google the top 10 beaches in Florida and see which ones pop up...that's probably the best guide! Have a great trip.

 

[Webbie]

You have to go!! I live in the Ocean state( Rhode Island) and see the ocean all the time but each time I see the ocean I am in awe of the natural beauty.

If you are staying at Disney resort, you can rent a car from the car care center outside of the MK. Alamo has the rights to that site. Alamo will pick you up at your resort and bring you to the center and do the same in reverse for you. We looked into this option but decided it was cheaper to rent by the week instead of a 2 day rental.

Make sure to put those feet into the ocean too!!

 

[traces7]

You have to go!! I live in the Ocean state( Rhode Island) and see the ocean all the time but each time I see the ocean I am in awe of the natural beauty.

If you are staying at Disney resort, you can rent a car from the car care center outside of the MK. Alamo has the rights to that site. Alamo will pick you up at your resort and bring you to the center and do the same in reverse for you. We looked into this option but decided it was cheaper to rent by the week instead of a 2 day rental.

Make sure to put those feet into the ocean too!!

We live in Wisconsin though-pretty far from the ocean!

 

[aide4]

We drove to Clearwater Beach, and that was nice also!

 

[bdklein]

if one has never been to an ocean, you have to go there before visiting the Gulf of Mexico.

 

[ptrbryant]

Let's say we choose to visit Clearwater Beach...do we just follow the signs to Clearwater Beach and we'll end up at a nice beachfront area for a daytrip? Is it more complicated or as easy as that?!?!?

Karla B.

 

[powellrj]

We usually go to Cocoa Beach because my kids like to go to the Ron Jon shop. You pretty much just get on the interstate and follow the signs! Make sure to have some change with you because you will pass some toll roads, but I don't remember how much or how many. You might want to check out the weekly rental price, it maybe about as cheap using discount codes for the week as it is for a day. Last year we rented a Toyota mini van off national EA for the week using the codes from mousesavers.com for $99 total.

 

[CarolA]

Maybe it's me, but Daytona is my least favorite beach ever. I really don't want to share my beach with an SUV or other vehicle. The best part about Daytona is watchin the folks get stuck in the sand... (And there aren't many shells there)

For shelling it's Sanibel, but that's really not a day trip.

 

[traces7]

National and Alamo have desks at the Dolphin and Car Care Center. Check mousesavers.com for discounts. I would guess around $30-$35 for the day.

Or can you just call them the day before you want to rent a car? I'm not sure what day of our trip we'll do this.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Or can you just call them the day before you want to rent a car? I'm not sure what day of our trip we'll do this

.

You can just call, but you will probably pay a much higher rate and you may find that there are no cars available. If you use the discount codes online (like the Wal-Mart code with Alamo) you will get a much better deal, and be assured that you will get a car.

Another thought is to reserve several different days, and cancel the reservations you don't need. There is no charge to cancel, and they don't take a CC or anything to make the reservation.

 

[AMcaptured]

I guess it depends what you really want to get out of the experience of seeing the "ocean". If you want to see crashing waves and nature at its finest, go to the easts coast, I prefer Cocoa. The Ron Jon surf shop is there and its much more relaxed and closer than Daytona. On the other hand, if you want to just see water and enjoy a leisurely day at the beach, Clearwater is great but longer and IMO more difficult direction wise to get to because of having to go thru Tampa.

If you call the day before to rent a car you are going to spend a lot more $$$ on the rental. If you can decide in advance and book accordingly, you will save some money. Also, depending on where you are staying will determine what rental agency is best for you.

Good Luck

 

[cindyfan]

We've done both Cocoa Beach and Daytona.
I remember it takes about an hour for either one.
Cocoa is quieter. Daytona you can park right on the beach and have all your stuff in your car right with you. Plus we got caught in a couple rain storms and were able to sit it out in the car. Then the beach cleared out!

Lots of fun for just a day trip. Makes it a nice break between the busy park days.