Great Fl Beaches

[mickeymousedabomb]

For those of you who've done these two beaches, what can you tell me that will make me wanna relax, soak up some sun, play in the sand with the kids and get my feet wet? If you could go only 1 day to the beach (like us) would you pick Coco Beach or New Smyrna Beach...........and why? I came up with these two and researched both, we are wanting the ocean over the gulf waters. IMO I favor NSB from what I've seen. We've never been to either, this time we are driving down to cut down some costs and would like a beach day, and a fairly close one at that! Thanks in advance! Can't wait to hear your replys.

[faline]

Here's some information from Information Central you might find helpful.

Florida Beaches

[birdsell]

I love going to NSB. My family has been vacationing there since I was born, and this summer I am taking my own son there for the first time.

The crowds are relatively small, especially if you go during the week. Even on the weekends, it's relatively quiet (especially compared to Daytona).

[Briansmom]

Yes, NSB is a very nice beach...one that I used to love going to when I lived in Orlando lotsa years ago. But I grew up on Cocoa Beach, which is also a very nice beach. You can't go wrong with either one....but you said you had kids, and not knowing their ages, this might not matter to you as far as safety goes....but people are allowed to drive onto NSB. Thought you should know that bit in case it would make a difference for the safety of your kids.

Also, Cocoa Beach has Ron Jons!! But you'll have fun at either one!

[mickeymousedabomb]

Okay so there's been a bit of a change............sun and Grammie don't mix well. She was hoping to find a beach that had some possible shade/shelter from the sun. Then I searched different beaches and found Caladesi Island. This place sounds so great and looks real nice too. In the end, gulf water or ocean, we don't care. All in all, a getaway to a beach is a relaxing change! So tell me what you think of the island please!

[scrapbookmom5174]

I love going to NSB. My family has been vacationing there since I was born, and this summer I am taking my own son there for the first time.

The crowds are relatively small, especially if you go during the week. Even on the weekends, it's relatively quiet (especially compared to Daytona).

Are there alot of opportunities to collect shells. It is my kiddos first time to a beach and they are really excited about collecting shells. Will we have good success at NSB? (We will be there Aug 3 - 13). Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[11290]

Never been to NSB but seems from the newspapers that people have luck collecting shark teeth at that beach.

[Mulan]

I enjoy Cocoa Beach. You might get lucky and see a schuttle launch or one of the DCL going in/out.

[MushuGrl]

My boss vacations at NSB every year, and he always says it's alot quieter than most other beaches (as someone mentioned). Apparently alot of people retire there.

[tjstrike]

Never been to NSB but I thought Cocoa beach was too commercialized. It was o.k but we were called out of the water from a shark sighting.

[poeticeclipse]

I have been to both NSB and CC on the same trip.. twice.

To this day, I still RAVE about NSB as my favorite. It's a smaller community and isn't flooded with the crowds of CC and Daytona Beach. There are tons of quaint shops and eateries just off of the beach. It's really a pleasant place to visit.

Cocoa Beach, to me, was dirtier. The sand just wasn't as nice. The area around Ron Jon's isn't really nice at all. A friend and I took a stroll around to some of the discount stores and accidently walked into what could only be described as an "exotic dancer's paradise." Lots of inappropriate clothes. haha. Gave us a good laugh though. I didn't feel as safe at Cocoa Beach.

Go NSB!

[caryrae]

We always go to Cocoa Beach but wanted to try New Smyrna Beach this trip. It looks like a nice area. Is there a good area of the beach to stop? The Smyrna Dunes Park looks fun, found a website about it.

I did see this "New Smyrna Beach Voted BEST BEACH in 2007 and 2008 by readers of Orlando Sentinel!:"