Best Orlando Area Beaches

There are no beaches in Orlando. Orlando is in the middle of Florida.

There are alot of waterparks. If you want beaches you will need to head to one of the coasts - either the Gulf or Atlantic. The drives will be atleast 2.5 hours from Orlando

Vero Beach is 2 hrs from Orlando. I have never been there.

Cocoa Beach is a shorter distance from Orlando. I went there a long time ago and loved it ! I think it's about an hour to get to Cocoa Beach by car from Orlando.

Cocoa Beach is about an hour from Orlando on the Atlantic (you can even visit Kennedy Space Center). Clearwater is about an hour and a half southwest on the Gulf. Both are very nice and family friendly and not that bad of a drive in either direction since you are on highways for either trip.

Coco Beach! It's not that far from Orlando (1 1/2 hours-ish??)

It's a darling little beach with a small boardwalk. The kids can watch the surfers. You can also stop by RonJon's Surf shop, just a short walk away.

Have fun!

Ditto the first poster. If you want to spend any amount of time at the beach, plan on packing up from Orlando, and staying part of your trip in another location.

I can tell you that getting up in Orlando, driving to a beach and spending the day, and driving back to Orlando to spend the night, is not going to be fun, fun, fun, with kids. And once you drive all that way to get to the beach, you (and the kids) are not going to want to only spend an hour and then get back into the car.

Are you flying to Orlando, or driving? If you are driving, then I'd suggest you just leave a day or two early and stop over for a day or two at a beach on the west side of Florida on your return trip home. Driving more than an hour to get back "home" to a bath/shower after leaving the sandy, sweaty beach is no fun.

I would suggest staying in the tampa/St. Pete Area. Treasure Island is a nice area with hotels etc. It is only approximately 2 hours from Orlando. Busch Gardens is in Tampa Area and you can get deals for Busch Gardens and Seaword in Orlando. Treasure Island has a pier you can watch the porpoises swim in. Fort Drum is a nice fort for kids to run around in. Then you can just make a day or over night trip of it for disney or Universals. This way you still have the beach etc. Also if you remember that movie about the dolphin who lost his tale. Well he lives right near tampa.

Orlando FL has no beaches... it is in the middle of the state.

If you want to go to a beach while you are in Orlando, expect a good amount of driving. Head East or West for a couple of hours and you'll be at the beach.

Orlando is full of water parks, Disney, etc. There is a beach at the Polynesian and Grand Foridian at Disney but they are for the guests only. Still no ocean, just overlooks a big lake.

I live in Orlando and prefer New Smyrna Beach. It's an hour for me, although from the Disney area add another 30 minutes. I do agree with others, if you can stay over night, it will be more enjoyable. I love this beach, it's much more "old Florida" and less touristic than Cocoa or Daytona. There are parts of the beach where you can drive the car onto it, nice and big! The main street is Flagler Ave. it's quaint with shops, galleries and restaurants, they also have fun family events going on, so check the calender. There is a main ice cream shop, you won't miss it because you'll see the line of kids! The Islander Resort is affordable and very kid friendly and not far from Flager Ave. There are so many places, even little motels if you want to budget it. Where ever you choose, have fun! Here's a link:
http://nsbfla.com/area.cfm/mode/flaglerave