Beaches of Central Florida
To recommend
one beach over another in Florida would be a disservice,
because each has its positive and negative attributes, although
most are positive. It is possible to view sunrise
on an Atlantic Ocean beach, drive 3 hours west and watch
the sunset on a Gulf of Mexico beach, if you have an extra
day to spare. We'll start with the closest beaches
to the Kissimmee/Orlando attractions.
Cocoa
Beach - probably the fastest one to get to from the Orlando/Kissimmee
attractions area. It's an hours drive directly east
of the attractions area on the Atlantic Ocean. In
many spots, where the ocean meets the land are steeply inclined
sand beaches (this may change during hurricane season or
major storms), but a few feet from shore it's nice and flat
so that you can set up your beach towel. This beach
seems to have bigger waves than most of the others and when
a storm passes off-shore many surfers are attracted to it.
Be careful at this beach (and other east coast beaches)
when there is rip-tide, a dangerous current which has a
powerful under-tow which has claimed many lives. Kennedy
Space Center is just a couple of minutes north if you want
to make a side trip. One popular landmark store is
Ron Jon Surf Shop® (once we parked at Ron Jon's, shopped in the store, then
walked to the nearby beach and saved ourselves a parking
fee) which specializes in surf culture goods and has some
interesting surfing-themed statues in front of it; there
are a number of other beach supply tourist stores that for
the most part are reasonably priced. Also
nearby is the Cocoa Beach Surfing School (Cocoa
Beach - (321)868-1980 - 150 E. Columbia Lane, Cocoa Beach
FL 32931). The hotels and motels in this area are reasonably priced compared
to some of the others areas below. There are free outdoor
showers, rest rooms and cheap to free parking. Take
State Road 528 (called the Bee Line Expressway, it's a toll
road) East, follow the local signs to to beach,
which is just off of highway A1A.
Daytona Beach - Self-proclaimed by locals as "The Most
Famous Beach in the World", this beach is popular with
tourists and easily accessible from the attractions area, being
about a 1 1/2 hours drive northeast of it. Famous years ago for
its automobile races on the beach, today cars are still permitted
on the beach, to the dismay of some. Check your car rental
agreement before driving on the beach though, because most of the
rental companies prohibit this kind of off road driving (although
most of the time the upper beach is very compacted, which the
traffic helps; it's more like a dirt road, without the dust, than
a beach.) Parking is $5 on the beach and free off of the beach.
Local proprietors offer jet skiing, windsurfing, para-sailing and
boat rentals. If you want to go deep-sea fishing drive down to Ponce
Inlet (also see Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
below) and go out on a charter boat. Take the
Interstate Highway I-4 East (which is really an
intra-state highway, and looks more like it goes north than east
on your map) and then just follow the local signs to the
beach area.
There are many events in the Daytona area
throughout the year, and getting a hotel during these can prove
challenging. Some of these events include:
February - Speedweeks
(qualifier races for major future races are held at Daytona
International Speedway, home of the Daytona 500)
March - Bike Week - where
motorcyclists from all over converge on Daytona for a week of
comaradery and mutual motorcycle appreciation. - Spring Break
- Many young adults (and some non-adults) descend on Daytona and
other Florida Beaches during their spring vacations from
universities. Black College Reunion is also
usually held in March, where thousands of african-americans and
other people of african descent meet for a weekend.
April - LPGA Sprint Titleholders
Championship (Golf)
July - Pepsi 400 (a
night-time race at Daytona International Speedway), London
Symphony Orchestra performances.
October - Biketoberfest -
More biker comity. Growing immensely in popularity in the last
few years to more than 100,000 visitors.
November - Annual Daytona Turkey
Run Antique Carshow & Swap Meet - usually held for three
days starting on Thanksgiving day (the 4th Thursday in November).
For more information on these events and
other Daytona attractions, visit the Daytona
Beach Area Convention & Visitor's Bureau's site, a good resource. You can also contact the
Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for more info
at 1-800-854-1234.
Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse - Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach -
(904)761-1821 - it is a wonderful old lighthouse completed in
1887, which is fully functioning, in which you are permitted (for
an admission fee) to go up its 203 steps to the top and go
outside to the walkway which encircles a the top, which has a
beautiful 360 degree view of the area (if you walk around). It is
said to be the second tallest lighthouse in North America. The
admission fee also covers the lighthouse museum, a micro-theater
historical film, historical grounds, nature-walk and the gift
shop. This is a definite must-do if you are in the Daytona
area. 4931 South Peninsula Drive, Ponce Inlet, Florida 32127. From
Daytona Beach, take A1A south (which becomes Atlantic Ave and
then S. Atlantic Ave. and then Robert A. Merrill Parkway) to the
Lighthouse.
Canaveral National
Seashore and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are near Kennedy Space
Center (Kennedy Space Center is a must-see). Considered
one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in the U.S.A.,
many rare and endangered species call these places home.
If you are an eco-tourist, you might consider visiting this
environmentally sensitive and protected area, just be ready
for the mosquitos if you travel inland because this area
is notorious for them. Occasionally you'll hear a story
of a rocket part that washes up on shore, and then they
caution you about touching it because of the toxic rocket
fuel (but also its probably because sometimes they are military
payloads). Aside from the rocket stories, it's a wonderful
area to visit. The fastest way here is to take
State Road 528 (the Bee Line Expressway, it's a toll road)
East to Merritt Island, to State Road 3
north. If you want to go to the Canaveral
National Seashore, take 528 East to U.S. 1 North, when you
get to Titusville, watch the local signs to the beaches
(which Canaveral National Seashore beaches start
at the lattitude of Titusville [3 miles east of it] and
run to the north.
New Smyrna Beach - Just
south of Daytona Beach and just north of Canaveral National
Seashore, this a slightly less busy beach if Daytona is too much
for you. Driving is permitted on part of the beach, but there are
also conservation areas where driving is prohibited. Take
I-4 East to State Road 44 East, then follow the signs to the
beach.
Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea - Just to the north of Daytona Beach, this is a less busy, quieter
beach than Daytona. There is less development here and there
is a stretch of beach that is so secluded, at Ormond-by-the-Sea,
that you can feel almost all alone (but you'll have to walk
quite some distance from your car.) This is an amazing trait
for a beach so close to Daytona. There are also nice-sized,
innumerable sand dunes here too. Take I-4 East to I-95 North, to State Road
40 East until you see the signs to the beach.
West
Coast Beaches
On the west coast of Florida is the Gulf of
Mexico, where the water, on average, tends to be warmer and the
white sands in some places are a finer grain. It's about a
90 minute to 2 hour drive from the attractions
area. Some of the beaches we've tried are:
Madeira Beach - This beach is near a small tourist center which
recently completed a multi-million dollar face-lift which has
quaint stores, restaurants, buildings and inexpensive tourist
trinkets. It is right next to John's Pass, an old style
(but up to date) fishing village, where you can rent jet-skis or
cross the Pass bridge and go out for the evening on an
entertainment boat. You also can go out on a dolphin watch cruise
or a deep-sea fishing boat from here. Sunsets on the beach
here are beautiful. There are usually pelicans around the
pass (where boats pass through to the Gulf), which are large
(cute?) docile birds waiting for a free fish meal from the
boats. This is one of our favorite beach areas because it is
low key and quaint looking (when you walk north of John's Pass
village). Tip - If you want to beat the parking meters at
the beach parking lots, just cross the street to John's Pass
shopping area, park there for free for 3 hours (and why not
patronize their reasonably priced stores in return). One
feature which may be positive or negative to you is that there
are many sea-shells at this beach. Hotels here are plentiful,
also low-key, reasonable and cater to every budget and taste. One
negative thing that happened to us once was we went there during
a swarming of "Love Bugs" (which are common throughout
central Florida) and there were zillions of these harmless
insects flying to the shoreline, making it impossible to be
comfortable (or breath with your mouth open). This type of insect
swarming is rare and normally not a problem. Take I-4
West which will turn into to I-275 South toward St. Petersburg.
Before you actually get to downtown St. Petersburg you will see
signs directing you to the Gulf Beaches. Follow them.
Redington Shores - several beaches to the north of Madeira beach,
this is a quiet beach (the other beaches in-between, Redington
Beach and N. Redington Beach, are practically private because
there is no apparent public access parking). It's hard to
find parking here so we used the parking lot of their truly
excellent SunCoast Seabird Sanctuary (you don't want to miss it
if you are in this area, it's very near the beach, and it's free,
but donations are accepted.) Watch out for the stingray mating
season in late summer (a truism for all beaches) though, one of
us was poked after five minutes of being in the water, went to
the hospital emergency room, and got to ride a wheel chair at
Disney the next day (which was great because they let us in front
of all the lines, although we heard that Disney may be changing
that policy.) See directions to
Madeira Beach, then go North on Gulf Blvd.
Sand Key - Considered by many as being one of the top ten
beaches in the U.S.A. (also see Ft. DeSoto Park below)
, this beach is north on Gulf Blvd. from Madeira Beach,
at the far northern tip of the same barrier island. Fine
powder-white sands endow this splendid spot.
Treasure Island - A typical place to relax on the gulf, just to the
south of Madeira Beach, with wide white sand
beaches with an immense amount of shell deposits. Avoid stepping
on the Sea Oats, a prized sand dune protecting grass. On a visit
last year we found it more negative than positive. There was this
giant diesel powered pump on the beach generating ALOT of noise
for a pipeline the ran as far as the eye could see. In the water,
one couldn't avoid the ever present smell of SEWAGE. Whether or
not there was really sewage present I don't know, but it smelled
like it. On the positive side, we did see two dolphins close to
and swimming parallel to the shoreline. Over all though I would
say that it will be a very long time before we go back to this
beach. See directions to Madeira Beach, then go South on
Gulf Blvd..
St. Pete Beach (not St.
Petersburg Beach) and Pass-A-Grille Beach -
Just south of Madeira Beach and Treasure Island; both of these
beaches possess fine powder white sands and are wide, with
Pass-A-Grille (just south of St. Pete Beach) seeming to be the
wider of the two. See directions to Madeira Beach and
then go south of Madeira Beach on Gulf Blvd. The non-recommended,
but faster, alternate
route is to stay on
I-275 until you arrive downtown, then watch the exit sign for St.
Petersburg Beach (either State Road 682 [a.k.a. Pinellas Parkway]
or State Road 693 [a.k.a. Pasadena Blvd.]) It's before The
Sunshine Skyway Bridge! (which you should also visit since you
are in the area.)
Note - While in the St. Petersburg area you might
consider visiting Salvador Dali Museum with many famous works by the artist. Near the
museum is "The Pier", a five story building, which looks like an
inverted partial pyramid, with shops inside it at the end of a
well constructed pier. You can find at the St. Petersburg pier the Royal
Conquest, a pirate ship replica.
Downtown St. Petersburg also offers other museums, which are: The
Museum of Fine Arts, The St. Petersburg Museum
of History, Great Expectations (a
hands-on interactive museum), Holocaust Memorial Museum
& Educational Center, and the Florida
International Museum
(which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution)
goes all-out on single themed exhibits. Also see their permanent
exhibit, The Kennedy Collection, the collection of hundreds of
personal items once owned by the Kennedy family. There are also
dozens of bistros and sidewalk cafes, art galleries and more. Don't miss driving over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (there is a small toll of $1 southbound); get a
breath-taking view from this stunningly picturesque cable stayed
bridge (opened in 1991) to the south of downtown, on I-275. You also won't want to miss The Suncoast Seabird
Sanctuary, where they take in injured birds
from the area and nurse them back to health. Their aviary is
neat; it's on Redington Shores Beach, and it's free, but donations are accepted. You can get more info on the area by visiting www.floridasbeach.com . Take I-4 to I-275 south to St. Petersburg.
Fort
DeSoto Park -
Like Sand Key above, this is considered by many as being
one of the top ten beaches in the U.S.A., enough said. Take
I-275 south to the 54th Ave. S./ Pinellas Bayway (679) exit,
right, toward the Pinellas Bayway (toll bridge)
and once you cross over, bear left on the Pinellas Bayway,
following the signs to Ft. DeSoto Park.
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