Vero Beach

[RLevy29]

We just booked Vero Beach and OKW for next July. Four nights in an Inn ocean view room and five nights in a 1-bedroom at OKW.
Anyone who has been at Vero Beach- Do you have any advice on restaurants? We also like to snorkel and ride bikes. Do they rent bikes at the resort? Is there snorkeling anywhere close to the resort? Any information would be helpful.

 

[vbfamily]

I would definately take advantage of some of the restaurants at the resort itself. Shutters is good for a casual meal. Sonya's is also very good-great seafood buffet if you like seafood.

Even the snack bar out by the pool has pretty good food. Great restaurants near the resort-Capt. Hirams (? spelling), Ocean Grill,
Casey's Place (hot dogs, blt's, other "fast food"-the best you will ever have)

The resort does rent bikes-not sure where to snorkel-I'm sure the guy working at the beach chair, jet ski rental place on the boardwalk would know. Also, they have guided waverunner excursions which we wanted to try last time we were there.

I'm sure you will love the pool, the ocean and your room. They will give you a list of scheduled activities when you check in-Enjoy

 

[ncligs]

Here is a link for a lot of restraunts at VB with the addresses included.

http://www.metatiki.com/index.cfm?m...ity=VeroBeachFL

P.S. If the link above doesn't work.....try this one below....

http://www.metatiki.com/index.cfm?m...ngs&BusinessType=Food/Dining&city=VeroBeachFL

 

[Scoootch]

Definetly try out Capt.Hiram's!!

We stayed at VB a few yrs ago and some friends of ours that live in Sabastian took us there and it was great! Shutter's and Sonya's were wonderful as well.

Enjoy!!

 

[vernon]

The surf at Vero is kinda rough so I doubt you'll get much decent snorkling at the resort, but you could try the wildlife reserve that is just north of the resort. There is a lagoon/beach area there and I believe the water there would be better for snorkling. Can't remember the exact name of the park, but if you come out of the resort and turn right onto the A1A it's a couple of miles. It might be the Sebastian Inlet. Anyway it's pretty easy to find and there is information about it in the resort.

For restaurants I would suggest looking through the book they have by member services in the lobby. It contains information and sample menus from many of the restaurants in the area. I liked Jack Baker's lobster shanty ( it has a great view at sundown over the water) and if you like authentic Mexican Hirmana's is a few minutes drive from the resort ( get to US1 and go north a couple of miles).

 

[RLevy29]

Thanks for all the replies. We are excited about trying this DVC and we have never been to the east coast of Florida. We may even decide to buy more points there!

 

[JulesMom]

Thanks for the info!

We will be staying for 2 days in June

 

[PamOKW]

I just came across this site for Vero information. I posted the link to the page with snorkeling/diving info but the site also has some nice pictures of the area (including the Ocean Grill restaurant) and may be useful to all of us.

http://verobeach.com/index.cfm?action=showPage&id=52

 

[BobH]

Sunday Brunch at Sonya's is fantastic! Make reservations.

Shutters is OK - good service but hwe had Mahi Mahi and the fish was overcooked and dry.

Http://www.blackpearlvero.com

The Black Pearl was very good. About $85 for two with a couple martinis. probably not for kids. Try some of the early bird specials.
Eat between rought 4 and 5:30 pm. Have a nice trip!

 

[jsinohio]

Just an FYI.....

Both Shutters & Sonya's at VBR share the same kitchen/chefs, so if there is anything you want from one menu or the other, just ask. Since I prefer the casual atmosphere of Shutters (along with the friendships we've developed with several of the CM's there), we usualy dine there. I routinely order appetizers/salad/entrees from Sonya's menu if I'm in the mood. In fact, we always insist on Sonya's bread......we love the sun-dried tomato bread

 

[sumessefui]

On our resent stay at VB we ate at the Italian Grill. The service was great and the food was super. The homemade cannoli was very good.

 

[madcoco]

Great tip jsinohio.RLevy29 Heres a link to an old thread.Try searching.We have had a number of discussions on area restaurants.Enjoy your stay.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=247340

 

[blossomz]

I was wondering if anyone has done the trip to Vero after a week at WDW. Did you rent a car? Was the trip worth the extra money? We will be taking our first DVC trip this summer and planning a week at the Beach Club. We thought it might be fun to follow up at Vero. But we weren't sure how much it would cost to get there as we will be flying in to Orlando. We weren't planning on renting a car. But I understand that there is no transportation available to get from one to the other and then back to the airport. Any suggestions or advice?

 

[vbfamily]

BLOSSOMZ:

We have gone to Vero after WDW-last October we did one week at WL and then went to VB for one week. We have also done Vero only.

We loved going there after WDW-perfect place to go after all the hustle and bustle of the WDW. We can't wait to see the ocean after we check in.

If you can get there after WDW, I would say go for it. In my opinion it would be worth it to rent a car and drive over. We always have our own vehicle. The drive is a little under 2 hours. Vero is the perfect place to relax and yet still be in a Disney kind of place. They have a lot of activities for children, food is great, beach and pool are awesome.

Rent the car and drive over from Orlando, you won't regret it. There have been weeks when we were there when we never left the resort and other times we have taken rides into town to go to Publix or to get Rita's Italian Ice. I think there may be some sort of car service that would drive you over to VB but it would probably cost as much as renting a car.

If you go, let us know with a trip report or something.

Every time I read about people wanting to go over to VB I think Disney should operate some sort of shuttle service so people could get over there from WDW.

 

[kel3420]

We have been to Vero twice. The last trip over Thanksgiving was after 4 nights at BCV's. We did rent a car, but got a good price on it.

I can't imagine going to Disney anymore without ending it at Vero. Actually I am leaning more on the side of spending more of our time at Vero and less at Disney, at least for the next couple of years

I agree with the previous poster in that there should be some sort of shuttle between Disney and Vero. The logistics would be a nightmare though, would the shuttle leave from the airport or one of the parts or resorts? And at what times? They certainly wouldn't be able to please everyone, lol.

We love Vero and are so glad it is our home resort. We had some bad feelings regarding this when we tried to make resservations last year for a Disney resort and everything was booked, but in the long run, it looks like it will work out very well for us.

I think the only complaint I have with VB is that there are not enough 2 bedrooms with an ocean view, most of the best views are 1 bedrooms. So we either leave the kids home next time or we will be forced to rent one of the cottages

 

[Barb]

blossomz, we're doing exactly that. We have about a week at BCV then we're heading over to Vero Beach for a few days. We did this last year and loved it. I already have all our reservations in place. And, I have to agree Capt. Hiram's was great! We ate outside, right on the water. It was a wonderful meal!! I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

 

[blossomz]

Thanks so much! We are looking so forward to this summer! It looks like we need to look into a rental car and head to the beach!

 

[PamOKW]

It is possible to book a car service to Vero but the cost is in the $150-$200 range each way. I would only recommend it for those who can't drive for some reason. Everyone else would be better off renting a car and then also having it available to explore the Vero region.

Now, don't everybody let out the secret about how great Vero is.

 

[JMWSR518]

we are also going to vero and than okw in july also staying in a inn room at vero but staying in a studio at okw. staying 3 days in vero and 9 in okw, we are also fron n.j., smithville to be exact. have a great trip.

 

[mbhoxsie]

In November, we flew into Orlando and got a great deal on a Minivan from Dollar-Rent-A-Car for getting to VB... (About $250 for a Grand Caravan for unlimited miles for a week... ) I surfed around to different rental cars sites, and looked for deals.. We called MS to see if they could match it, but our CS couldn't get anything even close to that... Picking up and dropping off the car at MCO was easy...

If you are looking for things to do at Vero... I would recommend the Harbor Branch Oceanigraphic Institute tour.. (Especially if anyone in your party likes science...) My DW, DS, and I went on it two years ago, and had a great time... It's a tad on the expensive side, but HB provided lunch, a four hour driving and walking tour, and a boat cruise on a pontoon boat on up and down the Indian River Tributaries dolphin spotting... Also our DVC escort took us on a drive down the AIA pointing out good places to eat and places of interest...