Beach from Orlando

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

We are going to be staying at OLCC the middle of October. We want to take our Granddaughter to a beach. Is there one close that we could get a motel room on the beach for a night? If so, what are the recommendations of motels and beaches. PS, don't want one with a Hurricane

[spiceycat Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spiceycat]

depends do you want the Ocean side - Cocoa Beach and Daytona are around an hour to 90 minutes.

I don't like this side - the ocean can be rough and the beaches are generally brown.

I like the gulf side - the waves are nice and gentle plus the sand is a lovely white.... Clearwater Beach - around 90 minutes

www.hotelkingdom.com

[Dunk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dunk]

Depending on how old your Grand daughter is...you might want to visit the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. It is on the east coast near Cocoa Beach.

[KenK Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close KenK]

No guarantee on hurricanes....they are equal on both sides....consider trip insurance.

[penguinpower Member Find all posts View Profile Close penguinpower]

New Smyrna Beach is about an hour and 15 mins from Orlando--we stayed there in January and the beach was very nice. There was a Holiday Inn right on the beach where you could rent for a night.

[jgtragesser Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jgtragesser]

Is there one close that we could get a motel room on the beach for a night?

I strongly recommend Cocoa Beach... it is not far from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, the Merritt Island National Conservation Area and the Port Canaveral cruise ship center... it is an easy 75 munute drive from the Orlando International airport... there is a nice Hilton hotel next to the Resort on Cocoa Beach on one side and a TERRRIFIC Broward County Lori Anderson Park on the other side... the park has free parking, picnic facilities, clean rest-rooms and changing facilities, a BIG beach, a nature center and a raised board-walk through the hammocks...

Cocoa Beach is just north of Patrick AFB and MANY free public parks with beaches accessable along A1A, the Atlantic Coast Highway... ...

Joe Tragesser ... Lake Zurich, IL

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

There are many things to do in Cocoa Beach, but the water there tends to be rougher and colder than the gulf side. Which side is best will depend on your grandaughter's age, and what "going to the beach" means. (Surfing? Swimming in calm waters? Staying onshore and building sandcastles?)

(And yeah, either coast can get hurricanes.)

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Until I Re-read Your Post . . .

I agreed with the others . . . The most convenient to Orlando is the right hand coast . . .preferably Cocoa or New Smyrna.

But now that I see you are committed to an overnight, why not go a little further, to the nicest, fairly-convenient beach, something warm and soft and gentle?

I would suggest the Sarasota area, between Holmes Beach on the north and Siesta Key on the south, with Siesta Key being the best choice. You can Priceline or Hotwire hotels in Sarasota, Bradenton or Ellenton. We have.

The Travel Channel named Florida's Top Ten beaches. Some of them made the list for gimmicky reasons. Palm Beach because the area is known for it's wealth, Panama City because of Spring Break partying, Smathers Beach in Key West because they had to name one in Key West (), Clearwater Beach because of boating, Daytona Beach because you can drive on it~~cars, motorcycles, Sanibel for shelling (although it is a nice beach), and so forth.

Some beaches made the list simply because they are outstanding beaches in beautiful areas, Bahia Honda State Park in the Keys, Lovers Key between Ft. Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, and Siesta Key, near Sarasota.

From Orlando, Siesta Key is the nearest beach that made the Top Ten list because it is a beautiful beach, with gorgeous sunsets. From Orlando it is only 2 hours away, in the greater scheme of things about the same as the righthand coast:

http://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...sota&2s=FL&2z=

We did that 16 years ago, loaded up the van with youngins and Uncle Jim drove them to the ocean. They had never seen it before and were 8-12 years old. Since I wanted them to see it by sunrise, I chose first available, a beach along A1A just south of Palm Coast. I aimed us east on the sand and as the sun came up they all woke up.

Check this out, and have fun.

http://www.welcometosarasota.com/best_beach.htm

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I Did Not Know This . . .

. . . until now, but Siesta Beach made the Top Ten list for the entire US of A, coming in at tenth. Wow!


http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/beaches...estbeach_a.htm

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

More

Best Beach Rankings

Siesta Key Beach named one of America's Top 10 Beaches for 2004 by the Travel Channel and Best Sand Beach

Siesta Key Beach ranked #2 of Florida's Top 10 Beaches for 2003 by the Travel Channel

Siesta Key Beach is one of the top 10 in the U.S., according to Dr. Beach, who rates beach cleanliness

Siesta Key Beach rated one of the best for walking by National Geographic Traveler

"White quartz sand perfect for castle building", and stays cool on hot days

Siesta Key Beach is rated one of the nation's cleanest Blue Wave beaches by the Clean Beaches Council

USA Today.com reader poll ranked Siesta Beach Number 3 in its list of Top 10 U.S. beaches

Siesta Key Beach voted Best Beach 2000 by Florida Living Magazine


With my luck, you will go there and it will be closed!

[kelleywolatz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kelleywolatz]

We tried to stay at Loew's

Stay at Lowe's Beach Club resort at St. Petersburg, but the hurricane came when we were there in Sept. two years ago, so we drove to the beach that morning, and drove back to the Orlando airport to catch our 4pm flight home after spending six days in Orlando. The beach at st. Pete's was the highlight of my trip. Those three hours were the best, and the drive was 1.5 hours each way.... I would strongly recommend St Petes over Cocoa Beach.