A Beach Day from Orlando

[travelgirl8]

Our family is staying at Lakeshore Reserve in October. We have an extra day at the beginning and an extra day at the end of our vacation. One of our guests wants to go to a beach for a day. I would appreciate some suggestions for beaches that would be good for grandparents, 2 parents (35 yr old) and an 11 year old. I googled and found Daytona, Cocoa Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Clearwater. Any thoughts???

 

[ilene13]

St. Petersburg, Ana Maria Island . We live n Sarasota and it took us 1.5 hours to drive to Disney last week.

 

[DaveNV]

Last time we were in Orlando we did a day trip to Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. It was an easy drive, good road, and easy to do. The beach was very nice. I have no idea if there are better beaches close by, but Cocoa Beach was pretty nice.

Dave

 

[moonstone]

+1 for Cocoa Beach. We take SR 528 from Orlando (Kissimmee actually) straight across to the coast. After you go across the Indian River it changes to A1A. Follow A1A south a few miles to the pier (Meade Ave). We usually do the drive in about an hour if there are no traffic problems. There is a good sized parking lot, a building with washrooms, showers & change rooms as well as places to eat nearby. If it is too crowded at the pier you can go a little further south to Lori Wilson Park which only has restrooms and outdoor showers.


~Diane

 

[DaveNV]

What Diane said sounds like what we did.

Dave

 

[Beachspace]

Grew up in Central Fla and went to beaches a lot, now live in S. Florida..

Cocoa is the closest but the not as nice as the other 3 options. Clearwater is the furthest and best beach.

New Smyrna is a nice beach and has a mix of grandparents and kids. Not too much further than Cocoa

 

[travelgirl8]

Thanks for the information on beaches. I'll investigate all the suggestions. Good to be able to hear from people in the know!!