Closest Beaches to Orlando

Lots of families come to Orlando to see all the attractions like Disney, Universal Studios, and Sea World. While they are here they want to squeeze in at least one day at the beach. Naturally, they want to spend the least amount of time driving TO the beach, to maximize their time out on the beach. So they are looking for the closest possible beaches that offer a safe and enjoyable experience. The Atlantic beaches are the closest, but some people, for various reasons, prefer to drive a bit further and come over to the Gulf Coast beaches. So I'll tell you about the best and closest beaches on both coasts.

Atlantic Beaches

The closest beaches to Orlando are Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach, and both are on the Atlantic Ocean (East Coast). Each is about the same driving distance from Orlando. Daytona Beach is about an hour to the northeast, just above Cape Canaveral, and Cocoa Beach is about an hour to the southeast, just below Cape Canaveral. The driving time varies depending on traffic. Obviously, if you are leaving Orlando near rush-hour, it is going to take longer.

Gulf Beaches

For those who want to come over to the Gulf Coast, the closest beach is Clearwater Beach, at the west end of Highway 60. This would be roughly a 2 hour drive from Orlando on Interstate 4. Budget an extra half-hour to allow for the nearly inevitable construction / accident / heavy traffic delays.

Orlando to Daytona Beach

Above: Daytona Beach.

 
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To drive from Orlando to Daytona Beach, you will take I-4 east from Orlando about 50 miles to I-95. Follow the signs to I-95 North (toward Jacksonville). You'll drive north on I-95 for a little more than a mile, then take exit #261, International Speedway Boulevard, and drive east to Daytona Beach. Once you get to Daytona Beach, you have 3 choices for beach parking.

1. Get a hotel on the beach and park at the hotel.

2. Drive out onto the beach using one of the many beach access ramps, and park on the beach for $5 per day.

3. Locate one of the few off-beach public parking lots, or find metered parking on the street.

There is off-beach parking around the Main Street Pier, but parking is tight in this very congested area around the pier.

Daytona Beach offers two good public beach accesses with restrooms and free parking, Sun Splash Park and Frank Rendon Park (see map below). Click the blue balloons for location information. Use map controls to zoom. Click and drag to move map around.

 
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Daytona Beach is a fine place to go to the beach, except perhaps during spring break, or during bike week. Unlike Cocoa Beach, Daytona has a lot of tall condominiums and hotels side by side all the way up and down the beach. Instead of sand dunes in front of the hotels, Daytona has a high sea wall, which isn't particularly attractive. The beach is generally very wide and flat, and you can drive your car out onto the beach in many places, but not all. In particular, the beach within a half-mile of the pier, on either side is closed to cars. That means there are no cars on the beach in front of the Daytona Hilton and BeachWalk.  Volusia County has excellent lifeguards and beach patrol and there is a lot to do on the beach. You can rent chairs, umbrellas, surfboards, boogie boards, and all types of bicycles. Yes, you can ride bikes on the beach! See my web pages about Daytona Beach.

Orlando to Cocoa Beach

Above: This is the beach in front of Lori Wilson Park on Cocoa Beach, early morning.

 
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State Road 528 will take you straight from Orlando to Cocoa Beach in about an hour. It is ramrod straight for most of the way and is very easy driving, but it is a toll road, so bring quarters and dollar bills. Once you arrive in Cocoa Beach you'll find a very relaxed beach town with plenty of public accesses to the beach. There are some free parking lots, and some pay lots (usually $5 per day). There are is also metered parking on many side roads close to the beach.

Cocoa Beach has lots of hotels and condos on the beach, but they are not generally as tall as the ones on Daytona, and Cocoa has left plenty of dunes and vegetation between the hotels and the beach in most places. I find Cocoa to be more relaxed and convenient than Daytona. Parking is MUCH easier (although you can't drive out onto the beach and park). Plenty of inexpensive restaurants, and no shortage of access to Walgreens drug stores, grocery stores, etc.

Main Cocoa Beach public beach accesses (locate on map below):

• Jetty Park ($5) (Highly recommended)

• Cherie Downs Park (free parking)

• Cocoa Beach Pier ($5 or meters)

• Shepard Park ($5 or meters)

• Sydney Fisher Park ($5 entrance / parking fee)

• Lori Wilson Park (free parking) (Highly recommended)

See my web pages about Cocoa Beach with lots of photos.

 
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