cammy114

Leaving for Orlando next week. We would like to do a day trip to a beach during our vacation and decided we'd like to go over to the Clearwater area. We are interested in maybe going over to Caladesi island. Is it realistic to think we can do this for a day trip?

Thanks in advance...Cammy

mclaught

Sure, it's possible, but it would make for a pretty long day, and it's probably only advisable to try it on a weekday. Depending on where you are in the Orlando area, figure on 2-3 hours to get to Dunedin Causeway where you'll need to catch the ferry to Caladesi. If you leave Orlando at 7, you could be on the island by 11. I would recommend not heading back towards Orlando until sometime after 6:30. Otherwise, it would probably take you 2 hours just to get from Dunedin to the Tampa fairgrounds, rush hour around here is pretty bad, and Orlando's is even worse. So if you plan on having dinner in the Clearwater area, it is very do-able. Now, having said all that, I would instead recommend going to the Canaveral National Seashore Park. It's only an hour away from Orlando and it's just as beautiful as Caladesi Island. Cut and paste this link for more info. http://www.nps.gov/cana/

Tandoori_Girl

mclaught is right about it taking 2-3 hours -- 2 without any appreciable traffic, 3 with traffic. It's an hour and fifteen minutes from my South Tampa home to the Lake Buena Vista exit. Another 40 from S. Tampa to the Caladesi ferry at the Dunedin Causeway. So 2 hrs. is about what it will take if there is no traffic.

If you want to be at the Gulf coast, my suggestion to save time and still see a great natural beach is to head to Ft. Desoto State Park at the southern end of Pinellas County. The beach is gorgeous, and it's a straight shot on the interstate.

You might have a slight misunderstanding about the ferry to Caladesi. It's a nice ride but it's a short one, only about 10 minutes total. Although Caladesi is an island, it's a barrier island along a string. It's no further out in the Gulf than Clearwater, Treasure Island, Ft. DeSoto, etc. Its draw is that its not built on, natural.

Personally, I'd head to the Atlantic, unless of course you really want to see the Gulf side.

cammy114

mclaught - thanks for you advice. I had actually posted sometime back re: which beaches...east coast vs west coast. I know we are much closer to the east coast while staying in Orlando, but we thought the water would be much warmer for swimming if we headed to the Clearwater area at this time of year.

mclaught

Oh, didn't know about the water temps being a factor. Sometimes the water in the Atlantic is 10 degrees colder than the gulf, but right now, the water temp at Clearwater Beach is 69 degrees, the water temp at Cocoa Beach is 72 degrees. Further north in New Smyrna, it's 62 degrees right now. So it just depends on where you're at.
I would just check around the internet before you leave and see where the water is warmest and make your decision then.
And I agree with TG about Ft. Desoto, it would be much more convenient to go there instead of Caladesi, you don't have to wait for a ferry and you stay on the interstate for all but the last 4 miles of the trip. Ft. Desoto has great beaches, and usually it's pretty deserted during the week. Have fun, wherever you go. Hope the weather is nice for you.

cammy114

Thank you mclaught and TG. I checked out some sites for Ft. De soto and it looks beautiful. Based on the time and traffic to get to Caladesi Island, we may rule that out for another time if at sometime we stay closer to the Tampa/Clearwater area. Just curious of how long of a ride it would be to go to Ft. De Soto from the Orlando area? We are staying near Winter Garden.

I didn't realize that there was not much of a difference in water temps on either side. If that is the case, we may just head over to the Atlantic where it would take less travel time.

Again, thanks for your advice. We are looking forward to our trip. We are from the Boston area and today it is cold and we've actually had snow flurries this morning!!

jaybee

We just got back from Orlando and did a day trip to St. Pete beach.. We did have alot of traffic we went on a thursday. We stopped in Tampa and went to IMAX then to the aquarium so we spent about 3 hours there then drove over to St Pete and ate dinner then walked on beach for a while then just sat and watched the sunset (NOTHING LIKE IT) the gulf coast is the best to see the sunset.. Anyway we left St> cloud at 9 am and got back at 9pm.. It was a really nice day and not that bad of drive, traffic aside, but you have that anywhere there is a beach.. Hope you go and have a nice time..