TPA to Vero Beach

[Scootypuffjr]

We are driving from Tampa to Vero Beach arriving TPA just before 10pm. We will be taking I4 to 60. Any late night restaurant recommendations around the halfway point or even closer to Vero? Obviously it needs to be somewhere open late.

 

[JimMIA]

Most of the small towns along FL 60 roll up the sidewalks about 7 PM, so I think you will be quite limited. The middle part of your drive will be through cow pastures; once you pass Lake Wales, you will be literally in the middle of nowhere.

Your best option would probably be to stop in the Plant City/Lakeland/Winter Haven area -- and even there, you may only find a Denny's.

At Yeehaw junction, there is a major tourist trap and they would probably have some food choices, although you'll be getting there well after midnight.

In Vero Beach itself, there are a lot of restaurants, but I don't know that they'll be open past midnight, and you'll probably get there around 2 AM.

If you are going to DVC's VB Resort, be advised that it is quite a distance from downtown Vero Beach. Downtown is actually on the mainland, and VBR is well north on the ocean...probably 30 minutes away from downtown.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

Most of the small towns along FL 60 roll up the sidewalks about 7 PM, so I think you will be quite limited. The middle part of your drive will be through cow pastures; once you pass Lake Wales, you will be literally in the middle of nowhere.

Your best option would probably be to stop in the Plant City/Lakeland/Winter Haven area -- and even there, you may only find a Denny's.

At Yeehaw junction, there is a major tourist trap and they would probably have some food choices, although you'll be getting there well after midnight.

In Vero Beach itself, there are a lot of restaurants, but I don't know that they'll be open past midnight, and you'll probably get there around 2 AM.

If you are going to DVC's VB Resort, be advised that it is quite a distance from downtown Vero Beach. Downtown is actually on the mainland, and VBR is well north on the ocean...probably 30 minutes away from downtown.

Thanks for the info! Maybe we’ll just hit a drive through on our way out of Tampa.

 

[jdisnut]

We are driving from Tampa to Vero Beach arriving TPA just before 10pm. We will be taking I4 to 60. Any late night restaurant recommendations around the halfway point or even closer to Vero? Obviously it needs to be somewhere open late.

You won't find much to break up the drive. It's pretty bleak. If you need food, your best bet would be grabbing it in Tampa before hitting the road.

Also, I just want to offer a general note to others potentially reading this thread. This is not directed to the original poster, who I'm sure has perfectly understandable reasons from beginning his or her journey from TPA. That said, TPA is generally not the best options for people heading to Vero Beach. It's quite a long drive. MLB (Melbourne) is the closest airport, though it's small and has few flights. The closest larger airport is PBI (West Palm Beach).

 

[JimMIA]

Also, I just want to offer a general note to others potentially reading this thread. This is not directed to the original poster, who I'm sure has perfectly understandable reasons from beginning his or her journey from TPA. That said, TPA is generally not the best options for people heading to Vero Beach. It's quite a long drive. MLB (Melbourne) is the closest airport, though it's small and has few flights. The closest larger airport is PBI (West Palm Beach).

Agree, and the next closest airport is Ft. Lauderdale (FLL).

• PBI is 82 miles from the town of Vero Beach
• FLL is 122 miles

Both airports are immediately adjacent to I-95 and are easily accessible.

Miami (MIA) is 150 miles (about the same distance as TPA), but would involve some big city traffic driving (as will Tampa). Might be worth it if the savings were considerable, but the first 40 miles or so would be heavy traffic.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

You won't find much to break up the drive. It's pretty bleak. If you need food, your best bet would be grabbing it in Tampa before hitting the road.

Also, I just want to offer a general note to others potentially reading this thread. This is not directed to the original poster, who I'm sure has perfectly understandable reasons from beginning his or her journey from TPA. That said, TPA is generally not the best options for people heading to Vero Beach. It's quite a long drive. MLB (Melbourne) is the closest airport, though it's small and has few flights. The closest larger airport is PBI (West Palm Beach).

We were booked into TPA because we were supposed to stay in St. Pete for a few days for a beach vacay. Because of red tide we decided to switch to the other coast and were lucky enough to get a room at Disney’s VB. Now it appears the red tide may be heading in that direction also so it looks like it may not matter. If it gets to Vero before we do, we may scrap that plan and end up in Orlando, but we’ll see. We are not looking forward to landing late and driving to the other coast, but it will technically only be 8 our time so maybe it won’t be that bad. If we had planned to go to Vero from the start we would have flown in to the other side. I appreciate the info though.

 

[JimMIA]

We were booked into TPA because we were supposed to stay in St. Pete for a few days for a beach vacay. Because of red tide we decided to switch to the other coast and were lucky enough to get a room at Disney’s VB. Now it appears the red tide may be heading in that direction also so it looks like it may not matter. If it gets to Vero before we do, we may scrap that plan and end up in Orlando, but we’ll see. We are not looking forward to landing late and driving to the other coast, but it will technically only be 8 our time so maybe it won’t be that bad. If we had planned to go to Vero from the start we would have flown in to the other side. I appreciate the info though.

FWIW, I don't think you will have Red Tide problems at Vero. There have been isolated Red Tide incidents here on the East Coast, but you have very strong currents offshore (Gulf Stream and contra-currents) that will disperse that stuff quickly.

VBR is lovely, but it's pretty isolated -- so drive around a little and do some discovery.

Have a great trip!

 

[Scootypuffjr]

FWIW, I don't think you will have Red Tide problems at Vero. There have been isolated Red Tide incidents here on the East Coast, but you have very strong currents offshore (Gulf Stream and contra-currents) that will disperse that stuff quickly.

VBR is lovely, but it's pretty isolated -- so drive around a little and do some discovery.

Have a great trip!

Thanks! Any suggestions? It’s me, dh, and ds7.

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks! Any suggestions? It’s me, dh, and ds7.

I don't have many suggestions. Several years ago, DW won a weekend at Gloria Estefan's resort in VB (Costa d'Este). We booked it and it was lovely, but the weather was horrible so we really didn't get to do any of the things we had planned.

We drove up to the DVC resort, but just looked around. The resort is beautiful, but rather isolated from the rest of VB. In good weather, it would be perfect except for the lack of anything nearby. That may have changed since our visit, but looking at Google Maps, it doesn't seem like it.

The beach at VBR is perfect -- very quiet and secluded. However, if the wind is blowing hard directly in from offshore, be very careful of rip currents. That's true anywhere on Florida's east coast -- it's real ocean, not the pond-like Gulf. If the wind is coming in at an angle, not so much of a problem.

There are a lot of good restaurants in downtown VB and also in the beach area across from downtown -- but it's been so long since we have been there that I really can't recommend any. We had a great dinner at a local place downtown that had live entertainment, but neither of us can remember the name of it.

One thing I would consider is kayaking in the Indian River. There are lots of outfitters in VB proper. We were really looking forward to that, but the weather trashed our plans.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Thanks! Any suggestions? It’s me, dh, and ds7.

Check out one of the VB threads on the DVC Resorts board for suggested activities. In addition to the on-site activities around the pool and organized activities for the youngsters, there are nearby nature centers and a treasure museum among other things that might interest you.

Disney’s VB Resort is lovely, and really only about a 15 minute drive from the downtown beach in the town of VB itself, although a longer drive from where you enter VB coming in on 60 from the west. We’ve done the drive from St. Pete Beach to Vero Beach three times as we sometimes do a split stay (I have family in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and we stay at St. Pete Beach when we visit). As noted by somewhere earlier in this thread, a good portion of the drive is through cattle country (who knew) of central Florida. At night, there will be even less to see.

The VB resort is roughly midway between the town of VB to the south and Sebastian to the north. There are restaurants to explore in both directions. We’re partial to the Ocean Grill in VB, but have also heard tood things about Capt. Hiram’s in Sebastian.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

I don't have many suggestions. Several years ago, DW won a weekend at Gloria Estefan's resort in VB (Costa d'Este). We booked it and it was lovely, but the weather was horrible so we really didn't get to do any of the things we had planned.

We drove up to the DVC resort, but just looked around. The resort is beautiful, but rather isolated from the rest of VB. In good weather, it would be perfect except for the lack of anything nearby. That may have changed since our visit, but looking at Google Maps, it doesn't seem like it.

The beach at VBR is perfect -- very quiet and secluded. However, if the wind is blowing hard directly in from offshore, be very careful of rip currents. That's true anywhere on Florida's east coast -- it's real ocean, not the pond-like Gulf. If the wind is coming in at an angle, not so much of a problem.

There are a lot of good restaurants in downtown VB and also in the beach area across from downtown -- but it's been so long since we have been there that I really can't recommend any. We had a great dinner at a local place downtown that had live entertainment, but neither of us can remember the name of it.

One thing I would consider is kayaking in the Indian River. There are lots of outfitters in VB proper. We were really looking forward to that, but the weather trashed our plans.

Haha, I had no idea that Gloria Estefan had a Resort, that’s awesome! Sorry that the weather sucked though. Looks like it should be okay for us this week so we’ll definitely head out and explore. Again, thank you for all the info. I grew up in SoCal so I’m no stranger to rip tides, but thanks for the heads up. Kayaking sounds fun. We also saw an airboat tour we may check out.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

Check out one of the VB threads on the DVC Resorts board for suggested activities. In addition to the on-site activities around the pool and organized activities for the youngsters, there are nearby nature centers and a treasure museum among other things that might interest you.

Disney’s VB Resort is lovely, and really only about a 15 minute drive from the downtown beach in the town of VB itself, although a longer drive from where you enter VB coming in on 60 from the west. We’ve done the drive from St. Pete Beach to Vero Beach three times as we sometimes do a split stay (I have family in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and we stay at St. Pete Beach when we visit). As noted by somewhere earlier in this thread, a good portion of the drive is through cattle country (who knew) of central Florida. At night, there will be even less to see.

The VB resort is roughly midway between the town of VB to the south and Sebastian to the north. There are restaurants to explore in both directions. We’re partial to the Ocean Grill in VB, but have also heard tood things about Capt. Hiram’s in Sebastian.

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve been looking at the VB boards, but it doesn’t move as quickly as the WDW Resort boards and doesn’t have a ton of info. I have heard great things about Ocean Grill though so we’ll be sure to check it out. We live in a fairly rural part of CO so driving through the country won’t be new to us, lol, but it would be cool to see a cow in central FL. I just wanted to make sure that we didn’t miss our last chance for food on our way over because I didn’t know what to expect. We’ve driven between Tampa and Orlando and Orlando to Port Canaceral and KSC, but that’s the extent of our FL experience.