Vero Beach - Tell Me About It!

[My 2 princesses]

We have only stayed at the WDW resorts and this time we are thinking of trying out Vero Beach. Do we have to eliminate WDW altogther? In other words, can we stay for 1 week at Vero Beach? Is there enough to do at the resorts and around it? Or should we split our stay between Vero and WDW?

Also, which is the closet airport? And how far is the drive from the closest airport.

TIA.

 

[Travel60]

Melbourne is closest but small airport and may limit options. Orlando or West Palm are each about 95-96 miles. Orlando is probably more convenient and cheaper.

VB has never been my favorite resort even though we seem to stay there every couple of years before/after a cruise (including last month). The resort is several miles from the town of VB so you have to drive 15-20 minutes to do anything. The restaurants at the resort have improved in the last few years, still not great and still pricey - we onloy ate there one night this trip. The poolside sandwich shop is more reasonable and decent casual food. The pool is very nice, the beach is great for walking miles and miles. You can rent bikes. There are some programmed activities for the kids.
When we were there last month, I thought our room needed freshening up (paint, windows, sofa, etc.). We were in building 14.

The little beachside downtown of VB - maybe 10 miles down A1A is cute to walk around in and a few good restaurants. We generally went back across the bridge to the mainland every night to restaurants on US 1 or along Royal Palm Bvd. for dinner. There is also a local live theatre that has good productions.

You can definite "do" Vero Beach in 3 days and go to Orlando for the rest of a week.

 

[CruznLexi]

2-3 days is plenty! We love the laid back attitude of Vero. Best water slide

 

[job09]

VB is my home resort, it is a wonderful low key restful place. Kids love the pool and the beach. Great kid activities by the pool, make sure to sign up early for the un-birthday party it fills up fast. Good seafood buffet at restaurant. We split a spring break trip last year, 4 nights at BLT and 3 nights at VB, so much fun. Enjoy

 

[Snurk71]

We've flown out of Melbourne a couple of times - super easy, not very busy airport. There aren't a lot of flight options, but Delta had at least a couple flights/day going to Atlanta for connections. I don't remember who else flew out of MLB though.

 

[AnnaS]

We split our stay here two years ago - 3 nights Vero and 5 nights WDW. We really enjoyed our stay and would love to come back soon. We felt three nights was too short - check in and check out day are almost a waste so next I would personally go for at least four nights.

Happy planning - you gotta try everything once and don't forget there is also HH to split a future trip with.

 

[My 2 princesses]

Thanks all for your input. We were so close to booking but then chickened out and am now staying the entire week at WDW. I am sure gonna have to try this one out next time as we really want to do another trip with no parks and chill (if that is eevn possible on vacation This is great information. I will have to look into HH as well.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I know you made the decision not to go, but I wanted to add that I spent 6 nights in January with a DF, both in our 60s, and that wasn't enough time! There were many couples, and families that I met at the hot tub, pool area, who were there for 2 weeks! It really is a lovely resort.

 

[My 2 princesses]

I know you made the decision not to go, but I wanted to add that I spent 6 nights in January with a DF, both in our 60s, and that wasn't enough time! There were many couples, and families that I met at the hot tub, pool area, who were there for 2 weeks! It really is a lovely resort.

This is making me re-think my decison as this is availability even at the 7 month mark. Decisions, decisions...

 

[bobbiwoz]

This is making me re-think my decison as this is availability even at the 7 month mark. Decisions, decisions...

Don't fret! With DVC you'll have other times to consider doing VB! It took us a few years of membership to try out HH, and once we did, we actually bought points there!

 

[Anal Annie]

We spent 7 nights at BCV followed by 3 nights at VB a couple of summers ago. While VB is a gorgeous resort (and the OVIR were HUGE and a terrific value) we thought 3 nights were plenty. It was a nice way to unwind after a hectic week at the world but it's a pretty sleepy town that closes up tight at 9:00 PM. We're used to late nights & late dinners - felt like they were sweeping up around us a couple of nights while we were finishing dinner. After dinner we found little to do. During the day we just spent time going between the beach & the pool. At the time we went the beach was pretty steep & the waves were rough & the water was full of seaweed (days after a tropical storm had moved thru) so we didn't spend much time in the ocean. When we got hot we went to the pool to cool off so we wouldn't be covered in seaweed. The pool was nice but the water was like bathwater warm. We'll probably go back again some day but not for more than 2 or 3 nights and it will be tacked onto the end of a week at Disney again as a break in the routine.

 

[disneygrandma]

This is the 2nd time I've read something about the beach being so steep. Another thread showed a steep wall of sand, with a sand ledge on top where the rental chairs & umbrellas are. This worries me because we'll have a toddler. Also, there is no way that I would be able to climb up & down that sea wall.

Has anyone been to VB recently? I would appreciate hearing about the current beach situation.

Also, how long of a drive is it from WDW?

Thanks!

 

[amyy]

My mother-in-law (in her 50's) lives in Vero in the winter and 2 of my co-workers have relatives who winter there also. Because of this we think there is plenty to do there. You can search and find a few different threads about local restaurants etc. Vero will always be there for a future trip.

 

[disneydivermom]

Our family was just at VB for a couple nights in January. The walk down to the beach was no problem at all. The deck walks you right to the top of the beach, then there was 1 step down to the beach itself. If I hadn't read the thread I wouldn't really have even thougth about the 1 step.

OP we loved our stay at VB so much we have booked a full week in August. We considered doing a split stay at WDW then VB. Asked DH, DS16, DD10 and all voted for a full week at VB. Having said that DD & I are doing a WDW long week-end in May so we will get our Disney "fix" this year.

We also stayed at HH and enjoyed that as well but VB was our favorite of the 2.

A 3 day stay after a busy WDW trip would be a relaxing way to recuperate, enjoy the pool (coolest slide), beach, unbirthday party, lizard hunt, shark tooth necklace, fishing at conservation education centre etc. They also have both pin and vinylmation trading. VB IMO is a Disney must do!

 

[akl-fan]

We went to VB for 3 days 2 years a go and were really disappointed. The hotel and pool area are lovely but the hotel is situated on a long stretch of other gated communities. We found very little to do outside the complex. It is so steep to get down onto the beach and we struggled with our baby. In short although it was relaxing we could not wait to get back to WDW.

 

[disneygrandma]

The steep beach is exactly what I'm worried about. The picture I saw was very steep. However, someone posted that it wasn't that way last month. My guess is that it changes, depending on the storms that have gone thru the area. ???

 

[Hopefully]

The steep beach is exactly what I'm worried about. The picture I saw was very steep. However, someone posted that it wasn't that way last month. My guess is that it changes, depending on the storms that have gone thru the area. ???

Yes, it is a result of shifting sands caused by storms. We were there one time when it was very steep, but we still were able to get up and down every day, and we are in our 60's. This year the county came in with heavy equipment and leveled out the slope a lot. It was fin, don't worry.
We went to VB for the first time 2 years ago for a week. We loved it. We found plenty of restaurants locally and did not feel they rolled up the sidewalks at 9. The Green Cabin room at the resort is also open and they have live entertainment many nights. We found it very relaxing. There were lots of activities all day at the pool.
We loved it so much, we went back for 6 nights this year, after 5 nights at the F & W Festival. We cut our WDW vacation short so that we could go to Vero,
Good Luck

 

[CruznLexi]

We went in both Oct for 3 nights prior to a cruise and 1 night prior to a cruise last month. Both were wonderful. We did nkt use the beach either time. Just hung out by the pool which is fantastic. It is now our precruise place.

 

[scootert]

We love Vero and usually go for 6 nights each year. The resort is very quiet and peaceful with lots of activities for children. You won't find a lot of night life in Vero - it's a quiet place too.

For us, it is a place where we can just relax - we spend most of our time on the beach, reading, walking and yes, snoozing under the umbrella. Some folks think the beach is too narrow, but we think it's fine. But we both grew up in the Midwest and you know how the beaches are there

 

[cayennews]

I would say try VB at some point. I went there for the 1st time last summer and it was nice. It is situated among gated communities and there is not a lot to do around the resort, but if you want to just go and relax and sit by the pool or on the beach, it's a great place. If you drive 15-20 minutes you can go to the mall or the movies or to a reasonably priced restaurant. The grounds are well kept and the rooms are nice. I would go there again for a low-key vacation.