For entertainment and beaches Daytona would be okay. I would vote for the Keys, though. That is my favorite place in Florida to vacation. We stayed at Haw's Cay Resort a few years back. It is half way from Miami to Key West.

http://www.hawkscay.com/

 

um yeah well dates arent yet decided but around the 28th or 29 or march. no have never been to orlando. been to pensacola and fort myers. cocoa beach may be a possibility. me and my family are going down and i'm bringin a buddy. i am the child but not really interested in the disney stuff.. My mom has a timeshare booked for 3 days in orlando and then may just rent a condo somewhere else but not quite sure where yet. prob try in daytona or miami and i'm not sure when the American spring break is.. but i would imagine it will be insanely busy

 

wow that resort looks amazing! thanks everyone for your help!

 

Ive stayed at hawks cay and I have to agree its pretty nice.

 

I remember my first trip to Florida. We landed in Orlando and this was my first and farthest trip south. At that age I was expecting a tropical paradise. Well, when the bus left the airport, I was searching hard for for this paradise all the way to the hotel.

 

I know it's not over there but in the St. Petersburg area it's great. Countless places on the beach, and lots of stuff to do. Were even about an hour from Busch Garden's.

Paradise is over here.

 

My funny story about Orlando goes like this. Years ago the Naval Training Center was in Orlando. While I was going to UCF, we would go to the movie theater that was pretty close to the NTC. There were a couple of new recruits standing there and one of them asked us where the beach was. I told them that it was about an 45 minute drive to the east. They looked shocked. I guess they thought that all Navy bases/training centers would be on the water.

Of course, even the patch they got had open water on it.


http://www.cfhf.net/orlando/military/ntc.htm

 

i know is not on your list, but ive always enjoyed Destin/Ft. Walton beach....very nice beaches

 

It really all depends on what you are looking for.

Best tropical getaway - Key West.

Best topless beaches and local clubs - Miami

Best party beach where you can drive on the beach and maybe catch races nearby - Daytona

Best quiet hang out on the beach serenity - Cocoa Beach

Best bang for the buck - Melbourne

Then it also depends on what you want to do. If surfing is your thing, hit the west coast as there's much better waves than the Gulf can provide. If your from the south...aka, Texas, Atlanta, and such, hit the west coast as the Gulf is always warmer. If your Canadian, you won't mind the water and the cooler west coast will do fine for you, and you'll even like the west coast in December. The east coast beaches tend to have clearer water but more rocky coastlines than the west coast beaches.

This is my experience having lived in Tampa, Daytona, Gainesville and Melbourne, while having visited Key West and Miami and worked in the Cocoa Beach area.

Also, if you want to stay on the beach but want to visit the theme parks, what was said above is true, it's a 35 minute drive on the bee line (toll road) from Orlando to Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach is also near the Kennedy Space Center so check their launch schedule to see if anything is going up while you are in town. That's an experience not to be missed. However, those dates tend to get booked pretty heavily by the local hotels, even in the off season, especially for the Space Shuttle. But seeing a smaller rocket is just as impressive.

The Clearwater area is very nice for the west coast. Plus you've got the entire Tampa/St Pete area at your finger tips with Busch Gardens available to you. Orlando is about two hours from Clearwater.

Also, if you decide on Key West know this. That drive will take much longer than it looks as the speed limit is 35mph on those bridges and you DO NOT want to speed there. Cops are always out there and will ticket for 36mph.

 

Second that! I am a little biased, though, cuz I live here! The beaches are among the best in the country, and the water is emerald green. Fishing is second to none, lodging is abundant, golf is incredible, I could go on and on....

 

Great writeup.

 

If you're planning on the weekend of March 29...go to Daytona. Thats the weekend of Spring Break Nationals. Its only one of the worlds biggest stereo competitions. Its gonna be an absolute riot down there. I'll be there!

As far as Destin/Ft Walton goes...I agree with Chum. Its a great beach and great atmosphere. Parts are still family oriented and parts are geared towards the party goers.

Good luck with your decision.

 

I have to disagree with cocoa beach being quiet. I used to go to the bar called Coconuts that has a huge back porch on the beach. Every sunday they have a live band and a bikini contest durign the summer. Most girls there where Thongs and its a popular hang otu for the local stripper girls trying to get tan.

I wouldnt go to Daytona Beach unless Bikeweek, spring break, or a race is going on. When nothing is going on there the whole town is pretty dead. Its almost erie how no one is around.

The Florida Keys are the way to go if you want to experience a tropical vacation. I can't stress enough how nice the Florida Keys are. One day I will live there once I figure out how to afford a $1,000,000 house. And you can look up vacation rentals in the keys and save a ton of money on your vacation. Lots of people own house down there and just rent them out to people on vacation.

 

I want to try Key West. That's one part of Florida I've yet to experience. I was looking at KW before I booked the trip I'm going on but there wasn't much available there either. I'm bringing the kids as well, so I wanted to go somewhere that has a few more activities for them, which Key West doesn't.

I'll get there one day.

 

Key West is about the best place to get that "Florida" experience of the beaches , bars, etc. Just watch out down there, there's a lot of weird illness' down there. I ended up in the hospital for a night down there. It sucked.

Daytona Beach has a great night life. During the day the town isn't really busy, since everyone is working, but there are tons of things to do as far as tourist attractions go. Orlando has a great night life, too. Of course Disney is there. Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure is also there.