Which beach on off days??

[DCWarrior]

We will have a couple of days not in the parks during our trip in September and would probably like to hit a beach on at least one of those days. So, which beach do you like to go to on your days off from the parks?? Atlantic side or Gulf side?? Daytona, Cocoa, Clearwater, Tampa, any one not "too" far for a day trip drive from staying right outside of Disney property?????? And why do you prefer that beach???

Thanks!!!!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Check out our family friendly beach over here at New Smyrna Beach. Quieter than Daytona and not far from WDW. There's alot of info on the web about our area.

 

[ckergald]

Cocoa beach area is good if your interested in surfing, or stopping by the space center. The water is rather murky and if standing in waist deep water you will rarely be able to see your knee's. The water on the gulf coast is much more clear, but smaller waves. If you are interested in the space center there is a web page called spaceflightnow that has a launch schedule of all upcoming launches, there may be something going up while your visiting.

 

[Ametista]

I would drive to the gulf and go to Clearwater, Treasure Island, or St Pete. All have sugar sand and crystal clear water, especially when the tide is going out. Sometimes at high tide the water gets a little cloudy but most of the time its clear and you can see your feet in the water even if you are chest deep. We are up near Clearwater and found a starfish last night and watched dolphins breach for an hour at sunset on Monday.

 

[Sunshine25]

Clearwater!
Love the sugar soft sand, and the pier has some nice evening entertainment at times, and a kids playground.

 

[Beth D]

I second Clearwater! Cocoa is closer, but there is not as much in town. Clearwater has more shops, restaurants, and the great sunset at pier 60 festival.

Plus that sand is so soft!

If you go to either, plan on leaving Orlando early in the AM, as parking fills up quickly at the beaches!

 

[SarahKate]

We usually alternate every trip. One year we will go to the Tampa/Clearwater area and the other year we go over to the Atlantic side. On our last trip, we went to the Atlantic side and did something a little different - we went to the Canaveral National Seashore, which is in the same general area as Cocoa.

It was a totally different experience than other beach days. For one, the whole area is VERY uncrowded and untouristy. We usually love the touristy stuff, but this was just refreshing. There were a bunch of stop-offs where you could park and walk to the beach, so we did this a handful of times so we could see different beach areas. The beaches were really pretty and love that there weren't many people.

Also, after several FL trips, this was the first time we had EVER seen gators. They would just be sitting alongside the road. It was awesome.

The gulf side is beautiful, but does take a little long to get to.

I think you'd be fine going to either side. But based on true convenience, the Atlantic side, especially Cocoa Beach, is super easy to get to. BTW, Dixie Crossroads is pretty much on the way and they have awesome seafood!

 

[DCWarrior]

Thank you all for the responses!!!! You are actually making the decision harder, Ha!!!!! Sounds like we can't go wrong with any of your suggestions.

 

[staceyrhood]

We went to Jetty Park at port Canaveral a few weeks ago and it was great, took about 45 minutes to get there.
We also love Honeymoon Island in the Tampa area, usually about an hour and a half drive.

 

[FINFAN]

we prefer the Gulf side, but that said this trip we are hitting Daytona. DS got a jeep last summer and wants to drive (crawl it, lol) it on the beach. It has been over 15 years since my kids saw the Atlantic side so it will be a nice change to see sunrise instead of sunset lol. We are also using hotel points for a free stay so that worked nicely over there as well. We also only have a saturday and in to sunday evening so wanted to hit the east coast for the smidge of a shorter drive.

 

[JimMIA]

The beaches on both coasts are great. The difference is that the East Coast has the Atlantic Ocean and the West Coast (St Pete, Clearwater, etc) is the Gulf of Mexico. So on the Atlantic side, you have real waves -- in fact, many of the beaches are popular surfing venues. On the Gulf, you've got a more tranquil, often waveless, setting.

We were just there last week on a non-park trip and went to both coasts.

The other difference -- which matters for a day trip -- is driving time.

The closest Atlantic Beach (Cape Canaveral & Cocoa Beach) is about a one-hour drive from WDW, expressway the entire way.

On the Gulf side, we went to St Pete Beach which was about 2 hours, complicated by major construction just west of downtown Tampa, but also expressway virtually the entire way. Beaches in Northern Pinellas County (Redington and others) would be a little less drive time -- maybe 15 minutes less. Clearwater would be about 2 hours or maybe a little more because it's more north.

We actually went to St Pete Beach first, then Cocoa Beach, and finally Daytona, New Smyrna and Canaveral National Seashore. Daytona (especially Daytona), Cocoa Beach, and St Pete Beach are very touristy. Nice, with lots to do, but touristy. New Smyrna is much less crowded, much more laid back.

Canaveral National Seashore is a ghost town. If you want to see Florida beaches like they used to be, go to Canaveral National Seashore! If you want a day in utter tranquility...go to Canaveral National Seashore. For more info, www.nps.gov/cana

Full disclosure/Fair Warning: This seashore is a National Park Service site. Don't expect all the creature comforts or elegant restrooms!

The facilities are more, um..."environmentally friendly" (or maybe not really, but at least waterless).

 

[Monykalyn]

we loved Clearwater side but it does take a bit longer to get to. It may not be as big of a factor in September but we avoided Pier area in june-instead we found this gem
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/15_sand_key.htm
state park and much less crowded; there was a guy renting chairs and umbrellas for the day too. small parking fee.

 

[UCFGrad01]

Clearwater, IMO, is worth the longer drive. The sand is soft and stays cool, water tends to be calm/clear.

 

[jlsmith376]

Does anyone know what the traffic will be like from Kissimmee to Clearwater Beach on Labor Day weekend? Should we just plan to leave Kissimmee really early to avoid it?

 

[kitty2kidz]

Considering a day trip also Labor Day week.... following

 

[JimMIA]

Does anyone know what the traffic will be like from Kissimmee to Clearwater Beach on Labor Day weekend? Should we just plan to leave Kissimmee really early to avoid it?

I would allow 1 1/2 hours, maybe a little more. There is major highway construction in downtown Tampa, and even if they are not actively working on that weekend you will have some delays.

There also could be a lot more local traffic going to the beach; hopefully someone from the Tampa Bay area can give you better info on that.

 

[jlsmith376]

I would allow 1 1/2 hours, maybe a little more. There is major highway construction in downtown Tampa, and even if they are not actively working on that weekend you will have some delays.

There also could be a lot more local traffic going to the beach; hopefully someone from the Tampa Bay area can give you better info on that.

JimMIA thanks so much for the response and the heads up on construction in Tampa - we definitely want to avoid that. Do you think traffic would be any better towards Siesta Key instead of Clearwater?

 

[LovinD]

Can I suggest Fort De Soto State Park? Same beautiful beaches as Clearwater, but cheaper parking (just $5 for the whole day!)...and it's a state park, not a tourist destination, and it's uncrowded. Visit the North Beach when you enter the park. It's just beautiful!

 

[Detailor]

Can I suggest Fort De Soto State Park? Same beautiful beaches as Clearwater, but cheaper parking (just $5 for the whole day!)...and it's a state park, not a tourist destination, and it's uncrowded. Visit the North Beach when you enter the park. It's just beautiful!

Yes, Fort De Soto!

It's a bit further down the peninsula than Clearwater but it's a really nice spot. I suspect that all of those beaches are busier on weekends and especially so during holiday weekends but we've always found the Fort De Soto beaches to be much less crowded than most of the others we've visited.

Dick Taylor

 

[jlsmith376]

Thank you all for the Ft. DeSoto tip! It looks beautiful!