Gulf coast vs. Atlantic/Space coast

[Pooh Bear]

Hi! As the title suggests, we’re at the very tentative, early stages of debating a non-Orlando Florida trip and would very much appreciate any advice you can offer about which coast you think is best.

A little background: our original plan had been WDW this December, since the park and I turned 50 in the same year, but we’ve put that on ice until Dec 22 in the hope that the whole Disney experience will be much better by then. We had planned staying on site and not having a car, as neither of us have ever driven in the US and are nervous about doing so for the first time in Orlando, plus I stayed in POR when I took my daughter as a single parent back in 2010 and I loved being in the Disney bubble! The only place other than Disney/Universal/shopping day that OH was really interested in was the Space Centre, though I’m really leery about a coach trip as they’re my idea of hell.

Postponing that holiday leaves OH with 3 weeks of leave to be used by the end of January, so then I started thinking about starting the year by getting a little winter sun in and ticking the Space Centre box by doing an Atlantic coast road trip, in the hope that’s a more gentle introduction to US driving. The plan would be to fly into Orlando, start in Cocoa Beach and work our way down the coast, fitting in some fun on an airboat in the Everglades, and then spending a few days chilling in the Keys.

But then my overactive and indecisive brain took me in another direction, completely away from Canaveral, as I remembered reading how beautiful the Gulf Coast is, and I then started thinking about flying into Tampa, having a couple of days detour north to go swim with manatees in Crystal River, since it’s the perfect time of the year for that, before heading down the coast, through the Everglades and ending up with the same week in the Keys.

As if that wasn’t enough, my addled brain then threw me another curveball, reminding me that Port Canaveral and Miami are both cruise ports, so maybe we could squeeze in a wee Disney cruise to see what we thought of it, as neither of us have ever cruised before. But then the voice of conscience perched upon my other shoulder reminded me that cruise ships are floating petri-dishes and perhaps January is too early to be thinking about it thanks to COVID being stubborn and lurking around like an unwanted drunk uncle at a wedding.

So now I’m completely confused and not sure what to do! The Gulf coast sounds beautiful whilst the Atlantic coast ticks boxes for the Space Centre, which was the whole point of starting down this though process! Both sound good options combined with The Keys, but I don’t know which would be best ... and I’m notoriously indecisive! That’s before factoring in if we book a ‘package’ holiday through Trailfinders or the like for safety and security in a more unstable travel industry, or if we save a few quid and book everything independently.

We are both in our early 50s and not experienced travellers so we are a little nervous, though this would hopefully be the first of many, many US road trips. We’re not huge party animals so not fussed about nightlife, we’re happy to have a relaxing trip with the focus on some winter sun to warm our bones, decent food in our bellies (nothing fancy, and not fish/seafood!) and a chance to chill and explore at our own pace. I can’t say Miami appeals to me hugely but perhaps I’m doing it a disservice, but we’re more laid back people than high end!

Any advice you can offer regarding which coast you prefer would be most appreciated, anything to help with the decision making process!

Sheesh, I wish I could learn how to be concise rather than waffling on!

[NewtoOrlando]

We've only visited the Gulf Coast twice, and had bad weather both times, which totally dampened our experience. We found Clearwater just ok, didn't love it, didn't hate it. Found it quite commercialised. However we have visited Cocoa Beach, Deerfield Beach, Vero Beach and Hollywood Beach and had amazing weather every time. We're a couple with 2 teenagers, and they love the east coast aswell.

However, if I was going to spend a significant amount of time on the coast, I would look towards Anna Maria Island, rent a beautiful condo or house and just relax, it looks stunning, and if we had more time next year, I would 100% be doing that, as it just looks stunning and not commercialised at all!

[DonkeyCentreArf]

We did both a few years ago. Started off with a night in Orlando as I didn't want a long drive after the flight. We then went up to Jacksonville & St Augustine to see friends for a few days, then drove down to Vero Beach for a few nights before crossing over to Naples for a few nights and then a flight home from Miami.

We came on and off the Interstates at various intervals to use some of the slower 'locals' roads and found some interesting places to eat and drink along the way.

[duchy]

The Atlantic coast is often overlooked.
If you want really fine sand and gentler seas then head west, the Atlantic is Sandy but coarser and less manicured , the sea *can* be a little rougher . On the other hand you have beaches with free or cheap parking , lots of reasonably priced places to eat frequented by locals and not just vacationers. We love it and vastly prefer it to the more commercialised and expensive Gulf coast . AMI is uncommercialised for sure but boy do you pay for it

[anji]

You have some lovely decisions to make and hopefully a lot more road trips to come.

We love the Gulf Coast and have been many times. Have a look at the road trip report in my signature for some ideas.

In February we have another planned and are also going down the East coast for the first time as previously not done the stretch between Coco Beach and Miami. The driving is fine apart from round Miami, which can get a bit hectic at rush hours! We tend to avoid the Interstates where we can unless we're in a hurry, just for ease of stopping and less traffic.

[duchy]

You can even ditch your car and take the train for a day . We had a day free before a cruise so we met friends who live in Vero halfway . They drove down to West Palm Beach and we took the train from Miami , as it was a weekend it was $5 for the day hopping on and off. Lots of the stations en route had markets in their adjacent car parks too, anything from tat to farmers markets.
Husband was excited to travel on a train with an upper deck and palm trees

[cornishfrogboy]

I really wouldn’t worry overmuch about being nervous. It is no more stressful than coming to Cornwall. If you have a problem, then there are always people who can help.. and you have the dibb at your beck and call.

Regarding East and West, I am very much a West/Gulf Coast person. As already said, the sand is finer and imho, there is more of a feel of quality (that you pay a little more for).

Which beaches?Pensacola and Destin are my favourites, but are a long way further up on the panhandle.
Fort de Soto is good, as are Anna Maria, Holmes and Bradenton beaches. Having said that, you can’t really go wrong all the way down to Naples.
Naples has the beautiful Delnor Wiggins State Park that I would very much reccomend.

The Tamiami causeway through the Everglades is good and Buffalo Tigers airboats to me, the best of my 8 thus far by a mile.

The keys are lovely and a walk on the deserted, old 7 mile bridge simply awesome. You will see iguanas as you enter it and in our case, a turtle swam under us. It is a surreal feeling, being surrounded by sea!

Don’t forget also that if you did this trip(or similar), regional flights are cheap. You could fly into Tampa and fly home from Key West (via Atlanta) and dumping your hire car at the airport. We rarely if ever arrive and depart from the same airport.
Alternatively, if you choose the Atlantic Coast, you could fly into Daytona Beach (via Atlanta) and depart from Key West (via Atlanta).

Hope this helps. You will find that the Boston trip report in my signature will help clarify some (but not all) of my suggestions.

[steve@mac155.f]

For me the Atlantic coast is my go to place, we have done the gulf side but found it not as good as the Atlantic side, Melbourne beach and down the A1A on the barrier island is just fantastic great beaches and not over crowded plenty of free parking and some great food, you can fly into Melbourne airport which is close to Coco beach, Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Centre, you could always do a week on the atlantic side then move over to the Gulf side and end in the keys.

Have fun deciding.

Steve

[duchy]

I’ve just changed my flights from Melbourne to West Palm Beach , there’s quite a few different options to choose from.

[Pooh Bear]

Thank you all so much for all your wonderful ideas and comments! We’re no closer to making a decision, though, as both side sound great in their own ways and y’all just reinforced that! The Gulf coast appeals to me more (possibly because Miami doesn’t hold any attraction for me, and any part of the world where Trump hangs out is generally somewhere I’d like to avoid!) so my feelings would be Tampa to Naples (with detour to Crystal River) then Tamiami Highway across and down through the Keys. This, of course, negates the whole point of the coastal trip being OH going to the Space Centre!

Will mull it over and do some more research in the coming weeks, as well as try to pin OH down for a more detailed chat. We’re in no rush to book, happy to wait and see what plays out in global tourism before committing since the world is still a bit precariously balanced.

Thank you all again, you guys are always a font of very helpful, relevant information!