Warm FL beach in January?? Vero Beach?

[bunnysmum]

My dd (5 yrs) and my mother are planning to visit WDW for about a week in January. My dd has been begging me to take her to "the beach" since she learned to talk. We just visited Lake Michigan this past weekend and it made me want to take her to a REAL ocean beach.

I've been to Ft. Lauderdale (April) and Miami (Jan) on business in years past, but those two trips are all of FL I have ever seen.

I'm trying to figure out if any Florida beaches will be warm enough for swimming or at least wading/playing in the sand in January. Am I deluded? I am willing to drive a bit, if necessary, but I'd have to say the Keys are out!!

I considered Disney's Vero Beach, but I'm not sure if it would be warm enough?

Any input?? TIA!

 

[CleveRocks]

According to travel agents I've talked to in the past, you really can't guarantee ocean bathing weather ANYWHERE in Florida in January. I was looking as far south on the west coast as you can go, Marco Island, and they told me no guarantees. I was there in 2001, last week of January/first week of February and it was fine, but my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were in the exact same spot one week earlier and it was in the 50s and they wore heavy sweatshirts and jeans to sit on the beach.

I'm sure there are people here much more knowledgable about Florida than me, and I'm always eager to learn.

-- Eric

 

[manhattan]

On Christmas day my husband wanted to go to the beach (Hollywood) and the water was warmer than the water is in NJ in August. The day was beautiful and there were people swimming in the ocean. However, we went up to Orlando in February and it was in the low 50s....it was a cold front moving through. So while most days are very nice, you just never know.

 

[Zoesmama03]

Gulf side is warmer to me so probably your best bet would be gulf side but Januaray is ify somedays warm some really cold.

 

[NotUrsula]

The southernmost really good beach in the state is Bahia Honda State Park, about 2-3 islands north of Key West, on Big Pine Key. The avg. water temp there is the winter is in the 70's. (Floridians generally won't swim in water that cold, but if you are used to colder swimming water such as lakes or northern unheated pools in summer, 70-something degree water won't be bad for wading.) http://www.bahiahondapark.com/

If you didn't want to go all the way to the Keys, I'd say your best bet would be somewhere in the Naples area on the Gulf Coast, perhaps Marco. If you want to stay within about 3 hours of Orlando, go with the Gulf Coast side; the Atlantic will absolutely be too cold that far north, and often rough, too.