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Old 01-25-2023, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Houston(Screwston),TX
4,380 posts, read 4,623,797 times
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So from June 8th-12th me and my Family will be in Orlando/Kissimmee to visit the area and of course Disney World. We wanted to do a day trip to a beach and initially chose Cocoa Beach since it was the nearest beach to the Orlando area. However we noticed Clearwater Beach is a good hour and 35-45 mins away from the Orlando area. When I looked into both areas, Clearwater Beach easily looks like they have a lot more to do than Cocoa Beach. Seems like Clearwater would be worth the day trip but than again Cocoa Beach seems nice enough to still enjoy.

Bottom line, should we just stick with Cocoa Beach or take the longer drive to Clearwater Beach?
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Old 01-26-2023, 04:40 AM
 
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Traffic and parking is a nitemare blare.
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Old 01-26-2023, 05:32 AM
 
Location: Florida & Arizona
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Stick with Cocoa Beach. You're talking about two hours minimum, and that's if traffic is decent.

Beaches on the Atlantic side are different from the Gulf, however, so the experience will be slightly different.

RM
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Old 01-26-2023, 07:25 AM
 
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Clearwater Beach has been named Best Beach in the US and/or among the few best. Cocoa Beach has not. It's worth the trip in my opinion and does have better restaurants/side activities. It's more clean/polished whereas Cocoa Beach is a bit worn around the edges in terms of the commercial district also.
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Old 01-26-2023, 07:27 AM
 
Location: Gainesville, FL; formerly Weston, FL
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I think if you’d be willing to add drive time, go to Cocoa Beach and then take that additional time to drive through the Merritt Island National Refuge. For best time to see birds and gators and such, go early or late, not high noon. Cape Canaveral is close by too.
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Old 01-26-2023, 07:28 AM
 
Location: Florida
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Clearwater Beach has notoriously bad traffic and limited parking, as already mentioned. That said, it’s a lot nicer than Cocoa Beach so it’s a tough call. I suggest St. Pete Beach instead if you want gulf beaches.
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Old 01-26-2023, 07:29 AM
 
Location: Gainesville, FL; formerly Weston, FL
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Also, if you want to experience a beach before development latched on to Florida, visit Canaveral National Seashore.
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Old 01-26-2023, 08:07 AM
 
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Clearwater is a beautiful beach, but IDK---I don't love it. I haven't been to Cocoa, so unfortunately can't tell you one way or the other. Tourist infrastructure in fully in place in Clearwater, so you'll have the restaurants, all the beach activities/excursions nearby, all the stuff needed for one to have a nice beach vaca. Cocoa might be a little more quiet, low-key, chill perhaps?
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Old 01-26-2023, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Florida
7,246 posts, read 7,076,730 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redlionjr View Post
So from June 8th-12th me and my Family will be in Orlando/Kissimmee to visit the area and of course Disney World. We wanted to do a day trip to a beach and initially chose Cocoa Beach since it was the nearest beach to the Orlando area. However we noticed Clearwater Beach is a good hour and 35-45 mins away from the Orlando area. When I looked into both areas, Clearwater Beach easily looks like they have a lot more to do than Cocoa Beach. Seems like Clearwater would be worth the day trip but than again Cocoa Beach seems nice enough to still enjoy.

Bottom line, should we just stick with Cocoa Beach or take the longer drive to Clearwater Beach?
In June, heavy tourist season, expect 2+ hours to get there from Orlando (assuming no accidents). I used to live in clearwater. The Courtney Campbell causeway (US60) is only a 2 lane road going in, gulf to bay Blvd is also 2 lanes with lots of stoplights. Then you have to take another 2 lane causeway to get to the beach. That part alone can take an hour if everyone else is going to the beach. Locals know side routes that are less trafficked but eventually the bottleneck is the last causeway.

My advice? If you want a beach trip, don't try to shoehorn it into a Disney trip. Disney has water parks and every hotel has a pool. If you want a day at the beach, stay at a hotel on the beach. Orlando is not a beach destination.
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Old 01-26-2023, 09:39 AM
 
1,947 posts, read 3,323,682 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redlionjr View Post
So from June 8th-12th me and my Family will be in Orlando/Kissimmee to visit the area and of course Disney World. We wanted to do a day trip to a beach and initially chose Cocoa Beach since it was the nearest beach to the Orlando area. However we noticed Clearwater Beach is a good hour and 35-45 mins away from the Orlando area. When I looked into both areas, Clearwater Beach easily looks like they have a lot more to do than Cocoa Beach. Seems like Clearwater would be worth the day trip but than again Cocoa Beach seems nice enough to still enjoy.

Bottom line, should we just stick with Cocoa Beach or take the longer drive to Clearwater Beach?
Don't drive to Clearwater. Traffic will be miserable and take away any joy of having visited the beach. If you can stay one night in St. Pete then that would maybe make it work it. Day trip I would say def not worth it. It's not just the traffic. It's also the car accidents that you will encounter along the way. You're on vacation, you don't want to do this to yourself.
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