Ocean Day Trip...

[kaismahma]

My daughter would like to see the ocean so we have decided to rent a car on our last day. (We do not have park tickets this day.) Would you go to Coco Beach or Daytona Beach? They seem pretty close in drive time. Which one is better. I honestly don't think we will stay more than a few hours. Clearwater seems like it would be too far of a drive for one day. I would love any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks!

 

[NinaBella]

Coco Beach

 

[HopperFan]

Ditto. Cocoa Beach.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

Cocoa is pretty nice. But if you have the time, St. Pete beach makes the rest pale in comparison

 

[Gentry2004]

We are thinking of driving to Cocoa Beach during our Disney vacation in March. It looks to be about 70 miles. If we go on a weekday during spring break, will the traffic be horrific? We were thinking of leaving our hotel around 8am, getting to the beach by 9:30 and staying until about 2/3pm. Will the drive be awful? We'll have our 7 and 10 year olds with us in the car. Or should we just bag it and do a pool day instead? My 7 year old really wants a beach day...

 

[julezdisney]

I've been to Cocoa Beach twice while in the area- once on a free day from parks and another after debarkation from a cruise. I really liked it. Would love to hear more opinions of St. Pete beach though!

 

[toandjo]

We did a day trip a few years ago in the summer to both cocoa beach and to Clearwater beach, both were doable day drives, cocoa beach was an extremely easy drive. My kids were a little older about 14 and 17, they loved it so much we are doing 4 days at cocoa beach and 7 days at Indian shores beach (just south of Clearwater ) this year. Gonna do 1 day at bush gardens to get a theme park fix in!

 

[MinnieMouse2017]

I'm going to be the odd man out and suggest Daytona. I like the small downtown with the shops and restaurants. The beach in Daytona is also easy to walk on since the sand is so hard, plus they have a cool pier. There is a seafood restaurant on the pier and rooftop bar/eating area. There are also a couple of rides on their boardwalk.

You could also tour the Daytona racetrack. I have zero interest in car racing, but I'm hoping to get there one day and see it while we are living in Florida. The facility is mammoth!

Daytona is a little dated though, it's a bit like taking a trip back to 1992. I've been up there a couple of times since moving to South Florida.

Yes, the beaches on the Gulf are really nice too. I'd recommend Madeira Beach or Siesta Key, but it's probably too much of a drive.

 

[KLAIT]

Have to agree that the gulf side is so worth the little extra drive

Like Clearwater but for us it is too tourist and busy

Like others have said St Pete or anywhere North is great. We Love Madeira and Indian Shores!

 

[Woodview]

We are thinking of driving to Cocoa Beach during our Disney vacation in March. It looks to be about 70 miles. If we go on a weekday during spring break, will the traffic be horrific? We were thinking of leaving our hotel around 8am, getting to the beach by 9:30 and staying until about 2/3pm. Will the drive be awful? We'll have our 7 and 10 year olds with us in the car. Or should we just bag it and do a pool day instead? My 7 year old really wants a beach day...

It is a 2 lane Hwy ( Both sides ) & a Speed limit ... so have no worries of traffic

 

[Gentry2004]

Have to agree that the gulf side is so worth the little extra drive

Like Clearwater but for us it is too tourist and busy

Like others have said St Pete or anywhere North is great. We Love Madeira and Indian Shores!

I agree the gulf side is worth the drive to stay over. But for a day trip, it’s quite a bit further than Cocoa - maybe 30-40 minutes each way, no? That would definitely make a difference to my kids.

 

[100AcreWood]

For those of you that booked a vacation on the Gulf Side, how did you find a place to stay? It doesn't look like there are many hotels. Did you go through VRBO for a condo?

 

[toandjo]

We booked both of our accommodations for cocoa beach and Indian shores beach through vrbo, will try to avoid at all costs staying in a hotel with 2 teens!

 

[Macprincess]

For those of you that booked a vacation on the Gulf Side, how did you find a place to stay? It doesn't look like there are many hotels. Did you go through VRBO for a condo?

We love The Palm Bay Club on Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota. www.palmbayclub.com at 5960 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota, FL 34242. Phone is (800)725-6629. They have a tower of condos on the beach, as well as what they call club units, condos that do not face the beach but which are within a 2-6 minute private walk to the beach. There are also units across the street on the bay side which are allowed to walk across the street and use the private beach access. We have stayed in both the ocean front tower view condo as well as the gulf side club units several times. All condos are individually owned and decorated but we have always had lovely units. We have found that we prefer the gulf side club units, as nice as the ocean front view from the tower is, we don't mind walking a few more feet to the beach to cut cost a bit and stay a few days extra. Prices are seasonal and drop a bit for longer stays. They do require a minimum of a three day stay. I just looked up gulf side club unit pricing as we are going spring break this year, low season starts at about 120 a night and high season peaks at $411. Price differ on location, size of condo, season, and length of stay. For example, we just booked 7 nights spring break, at the peak of high season and we are paying 318 a night for a 2 bedroom/2 bath with no ocean view but a 2 min walk to the white sand beach.

The area is wonderful as well, tons of restaurants, water sports, shopping and absolutely breathtaking sunsets. It's about and hour and a half drive from Disney to Sarasota/Siesta Key.

 

[100AcreWood]

That looks perfect! Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I'm thinking of making a short visit to the St Pete's beach as a day trip from the Orlando area.

Questions: Do all the toll roads on the way there and back allow cash payment? Will it probably be too cold to do this in December, or is it OK if I just want to go for a short walk at the beach (no swimming or sunbathing)?

 

[GMG_3]

Want to try vero beach resort.

Check out burns steak house in Tampa and Dali museum in saint petes. My two cents

 

[katyjeka]

My parents live 2 miles from Honeymoon Island. I too prefer the Gulf Coast beaches and Honeymoon is beautiful!!