What beach should we go to???

[sjanus]

Thanks Mermaid&Cinderella! We ended up renting a private condo from vacation rentals, property #5620--the owner was really nice and he was willing to rent to us for a couple of days as he had a partial rental for the week we are going to be there. We really had difficulty finding anyone who would just rent a couple of days, as they all wanted one week or more.

We were going to stay 2 days, and the price was so reasonable (he had a 20% off special), so we decided to stay 3 days. It looks like a decent place--there is a great balcony--and it is right on the ocean. We are looking forward to it! So, we'll be cancelling our reservation at the Holiday Inn in Clearwater Beach. We just really appreciate the room of a condo. There is just the two of us, and this is just a one bedroom condo, but having the living area and kitchen is always a plus.

Sandy

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

Thanks Mermaid&Cinderella! We ended up renting a private condo from vacation rentals, property #5620--the owner was really nice and he was willing to rent to us for a couple of days as he had a partial rental for the week we are going to be there. We really had difficulty finding anyone who would just rent a couple of days, as they all wanted one week or more.

We were going to stay 2 days, and the price was so reasonable (he had a 20% off special), so we decided to stay 3 days. It looks like a decent place--there is a great balcony--and it is right on the ocean. We are looking forward to it! So, we'll be cancelling our reservation at the Holiday Inn in Clearwater Beach. We just really appreciate the room of a condo. There is just the two of us, and this is just a one bedroom condo, but having the living area and kitchen is always a plus.

Sandy

Thanks great! I bookmarked that one so please let me know how you like it when you get back.
Make sure to head to Johns Pass for shopping and dining and walk the pier and watch the fishermen!

 

[Sawhiskey]

Ive never been to Coco beach but, my grandparents love and they live in Sarasota,Fl.. She says its the best beach around.. Just my 2 cents.. Have a great trip!

 

[sjanus]

Thanks for all of your help! I'll let you know how the condo is when we get back (in June). My big thing is cleanliness, one thing you don't know until you get there. However, there is a management company that maintains it, so I'm hoping for the best!

 

[Andrea from PA]

Just found this thread -- Thanks so much for it!

I wanted to add a beach day to our June trip and this thread is just what we needed!

 

[dandelion]

We just got back from a 5-day trip to Treasure Island. TI is between John's Pass and St. Pete Beach. We stayed at the Best Western, there are both larger and smaller motels there all along the Gulf.

TI was very family friendly, that is, not a lot of bars and spring break crowds.

We also saw some dolphins swimming through John's Pass.

Another day we visited a small but fun aquarium in Clearwater, and took their 2-hour boat tour. http://ded183-lin-79-183.netsonic.net/~admin164/cms/

We were very happy with our beach trip to that area - if we'd had a full week I would have looked into a condo for sure. Though it was nice to have the daily maid service to help with the sand!

 

[Disney10]

Has anyone stayed here? We have 2 nights booked through AAA for $100/night for the end of June.

Trip advisor has mixed reviews and I am getting kinda of scared.

My husband wants to stay right on the beach. What should I do????

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[sjanus]

My sister is a AAA agent and also had recommended that one to me. I saw the reviews on Trip Advisor, and that scared me off. However, who knows about reviews whether or not they are accurate??? Certainly, the price seems right! Try it and see, and let us know when you come back whether or not it is a go or not!

Sandy

 

[freaksloan]

Was at Clearwater Beach for Spring Break and did not like it at all. Not a fan of Daytona Beach. I like Cocoa Beach, Melbourne and Fort Lauderdale. My favorite is Ormond Beach just north of Daytona, non-puplic beach and no cars.

 

[IDoDis]

I would highly recommend you looking into New Smyrna Beach, it is just south of Daytona and is a much more quiet, typical, beach community. Like Daytona, you can drive on the beach -which the kids will probably think is pretty cool(I know they have restricted access since I lived in the area, but I believe there are still several places you can drive right on). The surf there is moderate and generally safe -actually you tend to find more surfers here than Daytona. Cocoa Beach has great surf and can be rough -maybe not the best for inexperienced ocean swimmers. It does have Ron Jon's which is worth the visit, however. I love the Gulf Coast beaches as others have mentioned, but it's not the ocean and offers virtually no surf. Check it out on the web, I'm sure they have a pretty good website. Also, I've heard pretty good things about a casual seafood restaurant in New Smyrna called Boston's Fish House(they have a website, not sure if I can post here). The only thing I ask is please don't tell too many people about New Smyrna -it's kind of our own little secret!

We had planned to stay two days at New Smyrna Beach. DH had researched it and said we should go there. Now we're thinking about going to Sea World and then a day at Busch Gardens instead of doing Universal Studios and then the beach for 2 days. If we go to Busch Gardens that would take us in the direction of Clearwater Beach instead of going to New Smyrna.

The problem is that our kids (ages 10 and 13) love to body surf and don't think the waves will be big enough at Clearwater. Is that true? They've only swam in the ocean a handful of times, but love, love, love the waves. I watched some video of Clearwater online and the waves do look small. Are they big enough to body surf?

 

[IDoDis]

We were just at Indian Shore last week.....it was so hard to leave!
We used this rental company and stayed at the Beach Cottages II:
http://www.plumleegulfbeachrealty.com/

And I know alot of people that have used this website to find a condo down there:
http://www.vacationrentals.com/

Indian Shore is great b/c there are fabulous restauants, beach is perfect for kids, soft white sand, nice small waves for the kids to buggie board and you are inbetween Clearwater and St Pete's, 15-20 mins to get to either one from Indian Shores.
You won't be disappointed!

Is India Shore closer to Tampa than Clearwater?

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

Is India Shore closer to Tampa than Clearwater?

I would say yes but not by much. You have to take I275 across the water from Tampa and it goes south a bit so it would be closer to go to Indian SHore than Clearwater but not by too much to really make a difference in choosing one from the other!

 

[TXmom2princesses]

We have never been to Florida before and for our July trip we wanted to go to the beach for a day. Can you tell me which beach is closest to Disney and good for a 5 and 3 yr old? Thanks!

 

[MamaLema]

I
I do want to offer a little advice for anyone going to Clearwater. Make sure you have maps to anywhere you will be going and allow plenty of time to get there. We found the roads in Clearwater to be very confusing and we got lost several times. I remember one road that we ended up on several times and it seemed to keep changing names.

The same thing happened to us! After driving 24 hours straight from Canada, our 3 boys were just itching to get out of the car. We got lost for 2 hours and even somehow ended up in DunedinIt was horrible

 

[dandelion]

The problem is that our kids (ages 10 and 13) love to body surf and don't think the waves will be big enough at Clearwater. Is that true? They've only swam in the ocean a handful of times, but love, love, love the waves. I watched some video of Clearwater online and the waves do look small. Are they big enough to body surf?

My perhaps less than helpful answer is: it depends. We spent 5 days in mid-April in Treasure Island (south of Clearwater). One day the waves were coming in so fast even the adults could barely stand, and yes my 10YO son had a blast body surfing. Other days it was just bobbing waves, which I also enjoy.

Besides the 10YO boy, I have a daughter 12.5, so about the same ages as your kids. We all really liked the Gulf beaches area. We also don't get to the ocean often, and if we do it's usually cold (Maine, Cape Cod). Besides beach time we went to Busch Gardens and a small but interesting aquarium in Clearwater.

 

[IDoDis]

My perhaps less than helpful answer is: it depends. We spent 5 days in mid-April in Treasure Island (south of Clearwater). One day the waves were coming in so fast even the adults could barely stand, and yes my 10YO son had a blast body surfing. Other days it was just bobbing waves, which I also enjoy.

Besides the 10YO boy, I have a daughter 12.5, so about the same ages as your kids. We all really liked the Gulf beaches area. We also don't get to the ocean often, and if we do it's usually cold (Maine, Cape Cod). Besides beach time we went to Busch Gardens and a small but interesting aquarium in Clearwater.

Thanks for your help. I read your reply to my DH and kids, and we looked at more photos. We decided to stick with our original plan to go to New Smyrna Beach near Daytona and not do Busch Gardens in Tampa.

 

[saralexander97]

Thanks for your help. I read your reply to my DH and kids, and we looked at more photos. We decided to stick with our original plan to go to New Smyrna Beach near Daytona and not do Busch Gardens in Tampa.

YEAH your trip is almost here, you will have to let me know how New Syrna beach is, we will be down there June 7th-17th and one day we plan on going to the beach. Keep an eye out for some good seafood resturants.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Cocoa Beach
1550 N Atlantic
Avenue

Cocoa Beach is your closest option. The beach is beautiful and quiet.

Daytona Beach
611 S Atlantic Ave

Daytona is a bit further. Daytona is beautiful and there is a lot of action on the beach. Bikes to rent/food vendors, you can take a beautiful drive along the beach. Note: I would not choose this option if you do not want to be on a beach with cars.

I've done both. Love them both.

 

[connie1042]

Went to Daytonna last year. Did not like it. Beach was okay, but surroundings pretty run down. I also did not like that the cars could drive on the beach. To dangerous for kids. we usually go to Cocoa Beach. Love the pier and RonJon's , lot of food places to eat at. I love the waves. Have fun where ever you go.

 

[Jachred]

You might want to get a snorkel / Mask set if the waves arent to rough one day. I remember being young and having so much fun looking for shells / Sand Dollars (Don't know if your still allowed to take em).

Also a warning, if your driving up the coast, esp on Indian Shores / Clearwater area, go UNDER the speed limit. I have read a few newspaper articles of people getting ticketed for 1-3 over.
A Must see is Johns Pass. Lots of shopping, Great food, though expensive.

http://www.johnspass.com/

All along the gulf shore are great places to eat, I haven't been in a bad one yet. AYCE = All you can eat... Common to have that for fish/crab.

Also if you want to try fishing.

http://www.beachhunter.net/redington_long_pier.htm

You can rent poles / equipment needed to fish off the pier. Check the local papers for best fishing times (Lunar table?) Early morning sunrise or eve / sunset are best times usualy to catch fish. Not Uncommon to catch Redfish, snook, magrove snapper, catfish, flounder, stingrays, Pin Fish (Some people will pay you for them, used to catch bigger fish) and Grunt Fish (Funny Grunting noise). They let you bring a cooler on the pier, so maybe, Bring some drinks, sandwitch stuff and have a sandwitch dinner to offset the cost of fishing.

Larry