SandyB19

While in Orlando my family and I want to make
a trip to a Gulf beach. Is the Gulf 90 driving minutes from Disney? We would be traveling to beach on a Saturday morning and then driving back to Orlando on Sunday for a late afternoon flight back home. Any suggestions for beach and hotel accommodations for one night? Many thanks in advance for your help!

Postal

I doubt you can make it to any Gulf beach in 90 minutes. There is construction on I-4, the highway you must take, and there's usually stop-and-go traffic on it for at least a portion of it. Even if you can reach Tampa in one hour, then it's another 45 minutes or more to either Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, or one of the Gulf beaches between those two. I've sat in traffic for more than an hour on Saturday mornings within 5 miles of the beach. If you really want to do it, go for it, but I would be sure to leave Orlando before 7 AM to try to miss as much of the traffic as possible. I like Clearwater Beach better than the others, but they all have good points.

alliegator

I agree with Postal. It's going to take you a good 2+ hours on a Saturday. Getting out of Orlando is a nightmare & arriving on the beach as well. Leave early! I like St. Pete Beach because it is a little less busy than Clearwater, but Clearwater will probably be a slight bit closer.

The Tradewinds is a nice family hotel on St. Pete Beach.

SandyB19

Thanks for the information. We're usually early birds, so I think we could
leave by 7 am. We live in Missouri and really miss the beach, so we'll give it our best shot to get there!

Thanks again!

OliveOyl

SandyB, another voice urging you to leave early. We live as far west in Tampa as you can go without falling in the water and last weekend the traffic between here and Clearwater Beach was horrendous. Our normal 40 minute, (at worst), drive was over an hour and parking was hard to come by. Part of the problem is new bridge construction between Clearwater and Clearwater Beach which has closed off some of the normal access roads. Because of this, even though I prefer CWB to St Pete Beach, I recommend going to St Pete Beach to avoid the mess. It is a bit further, but it is almost all interstate so probably the same drive time under normal circumstances (ie, no construction in CWB). 60 between Tampa and CWB is one stop light after another, so a hard drive even without the big construction project.

If you stay in SPB, look into either the Don CeSar or Tradewinds for possible stays. Don CeSar is far far far and away nicer than the Tradewinds, but a bit pricey too. If your budget allows, though, that is THE place to stay in that area.