August 2021

[LouH]

Fingers crossed that we can go...
I�m due to take my 5 children (15,13,11,10,9) to Florida for 5 weeks next year.
My husband joins us for the last 16 days where we are renewing our vows and then doing to Disney for 2 weeks.

However I�m hoping (if I get braver with the driving) to take the kids to the beach and perhaps take in a few more things that Florida has to offer.

I�ve only ever driven a little there with my husband so am currently feeling nervous (I don�t drive an automatic here) but hoping I�ll get over it!

Can anyone recommend some great places to go :-)

Thanks

[cornishfrogboy]

We have driven most of the coast from Alabama down to Key West and then back up the Atlantic side as far as Daytona Beach.

With 5 children in your charge, I would look to the generally calmer waters on the Gulf side, rather than the Atlantic. Besides, I think the sand is generally of a better quality.

I would tend to write off anything much North of Clearwater and south of Venice due to driving times (unless you intend overnighting). Venice is around a 3 hour drive.

I note that you are a little nervous re the driving. Tampa and St Pete�s area can be rather busy on the roads. I would therefore once again be drawn a little south as you can cut down before you reach Tampa on much quieter roads.

Anna Maria Island with AM, Holmes and Bradenton beaches is simply lovely, not incredibly busy and very low rise behind the beach line. That certainly gets a recommend. You might also see Manatees at Bradenton.

My own no1 choice is a little off the standard, tourist beaten track as I like �quieter� beaches, having lived most of my life in Cornwall (and not liking people).. so here it is!

Casperson beach, just south of Venice. (Take a packed lunch).
The beach itself is easy to get to with a boardwalk behind and then a minor road for access and carparking (free)...and then mildly marshy ground behind that with no buildings.
The sand is decent, but not in the same league as further North.
The beach itself is only around 10m from water to boardwalk (but very long) and thus, you can see and supervise your 5 children easily.
Nearly everyone there is �local� and always seem friendly.
You feel that you are totally off the beaten track with wild birds and solitude, but in reality, you are only a few miles from Venice.
You take some Walmart sieves with you, go into the knee deep water and start sieving the sand. You find fossilised, black and grey Sharks Teeth.. (and you do actually find them). Just ask the others driving and they will show you where. It is good fun and gives your children something rather different to do.

When you are finished, you look North to see a pier. If you drive to it, you will find a lovely restaurant called �Sharky's by the pier�. The food is very good indeed and if you go out on the pier, you will find people fishing on it who are actually catching things.

You will get dozens of suggestions as to which beach is best and much of that is driven by many people going to the beaches most popular on recommendation of others. When people talk about Cornish beaches, they all rave about Newquay because so many have holidayed and been there.. Newquay wouldn�t even be in my top 20 and I have been on nearly all of them..but Casperson is our favourite when weighing up distance and your family size.
If you want �busy� then it would be Clearwater.
If you want to drive a longer distance, then Naples, Treasure Island etc. ( Delnor Wiggins N of Naples is good).
If you want to be attacked by Sharks, then for some reason, it�s Smyrna Beach, South of Daytona on the Atlantic Coast.

Hope it helps.

CASPERSON

[novocastrian]

Cocoa beach is probably the closest / quickest ?

maybe fit in a trip to cape canaveral as well its the same local

5 kids ! its proper lads day out but im sure girls will enjoy it also

[LouH]

Sounds amazing! I don�t like Newquay beach :-) mind you I�ve only been to Cornwall a few times and when I live 3 /4 hours drive that�s quite shameful :a-o
Thanks for all the tips! I�m writing the down :-)

[tiggerl]

indian rocks beach is lovely,very quiet,lots of locals and very safe.

[deek72]

Naples is lovely. We stayed at Naples Bay Resort a couple of years ago. We hired one of these for $99 for the whole day. We went all the way to Marco Island and saw manatees in their natural habitat. It was my favourite day in 10 visits to Florida.

Naples bay resort is expensive but if you can afford it I would highly recommend it, and get a room overlooking the marina if you can.