As a Florida native who lives very near the beach, I would say that both coasts have beautiful water and beaches. Either side will have cloudy brownish water at the water's edge due to wave action, and blue water further out -- as shown in Gina's Daytona pictures above.
To me, the really spectacular CLEAR waters in Florida are in the middle Florida Keys -- not in the coastal beach areas on either coast. But that's a long drive from WDW.
The real difference to me is the
experience.
On the Atlantic side, you have real ocean waves. The Gulf coast (west) is much more shallow and much more tranquil water. Both are great -- just depends on what you want.
In addition to the contrast between real ocean waves and a lake-like body of water, another big contrast is between
developed areas and much
less-developed areas.
On both coasts there are areas which are very built-up, commercial, touristy, etc. Many like those areas because of the energy level and many things to do. Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach are examples of that on the Atlantic side; St. Petersburg Beach, Marco Island, Ft. Myers Beach, and others are similar on the Gulf side.
Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach on the South Atlantic portion of the coast are off-the-charts commercial and touristy -- which is why they are internationally-renowned tourist Meccas.
For a more tranquil beach, there are many beaches on both coasts. For example, just a few miles north and south of Daytona are St. Augustine and Cape Canaveral National Seashore -- both beautiful, pristine places. The same is true of the Gulf Coast -- many areas are built-up, but only a few miles away may be a quiet place where nobody goes.
*****
A couple of other random comments:
- Why on Earth would anyone want to leave Vancouver, BC?????
Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I've been a lot of places.
- Your Dad doesn't really want a hat from Daytona Beach -- he just thinks he does. What he really wants is a teeshirt, hat, etc from Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach!
