Disney and Beaches in One Trip Need Help
 

Family of five going to Disney for 4 days and beach for 4 days last 4 days in March/first 4 days in April. Need help choosing a beach. Must be family friendly Choices must be from these locations: Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach, Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort, Harborside Inn at Palm Coast, or Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete.<BR><BR>TIA

Marco Island has an absolutely gorgeous beach.

The water will be warmest in Marco Island and that would be my first choice, but it will be a good four hour drive or more from Disney.

Sirata Beach resort is part of The Tradewinds resort. Very good family resort. They have a good kids program, great beach, nice pools, and lots of restaurants.I believe they have 1 and 2 bdrm suites, with kitchens.We stayed there about 5 yrs. ago, and loved it.

Marco is indeed a good drive away, but it's pretty. Otherwise, there is not much to do there. Palm Coast is nice, but not much else there either, unless you want to visit Daytona. St. Pete beach is lovely, and there is a lot to do in the St. Pete/Clearwater/Tampa area. <BR><BR>Cocoa Beach might be a good choice, since you'd be very close to Kennedy Space Center, which is well worth a visit. Merritt Island Preserve is also nearby.<BR><BR>The east and west coasts are very different, by the way. Atlantic Ocean is east, Gulf of Mexico is west. The Gulf is much calmer, beaches are incredibly beautiful, and though the water should be warmer than the Atlantic, that's still fairly early in the season for swimming.<BR><BR>Hope that helps. Have a great time. <BR><BR><BR>

Cocoa Beach is the closest beach town to Orlando and is a nice, compact little town with some good restaurants and things to do -- miniature golf, go-karts, that type of thing. Kennedy Space Center is great to visit depending on the ages of your kids. Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach is a fine hotel for the money -- on the beach and in a good location on large grounds with a nice, big pool. Wouldn't stay anywhere else. From the hotel, make a left and go down a couple miles to Alma's for some great Italian. The town of Cocoa, about 5 miles west, has some funky boutiques and interesting shops. Before you go, call the Cape Canaveral launch line (321-867-4636). If there's a launch while you're there you can watch it from the Holiday Inn beach.