PiCO Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 My older daughter recently moved to the Orlando metro area. Younger dd & I will be visiting her in a few weeks. We love exploring natural areas, beaches, hiking, etc. Do you have any suggestions as to what we should do/where we should stay? Older dd will be able to get off work F-Sun to hang out with us, so we can drive a little ways. But I don't want to be spending too many hours in a car. Thanks for any suggestions! (FYI- I don't care for theme parks.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 It's not very far, less than an hour) to get to the Wildlife Refuge in Mims, east of Orlando. A great day trip from Orlando (2 hour drive maybe less) is St. Augustine. FL has a lot of wonderful state, and national, parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieC Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 I can't help you on the where to stay part, but both Cocoa Beach and Daytona Beach are a little over an hour (1:15?) away from Orlando. We went to Disney a few weeks ago and rented a car and drove to Cocoa Beach for a day and had a fabulous time. I'm sure Daytona will be way more crowded/commercialized, so it all depends on what you want. On our last trip we drove to Clearwater Beach on the Gulf side, which has gorgeous, fine sand. We loved that, too, but it was closer to a 1:45-2:00 drive. (It's still quite a few miles on a non-highway road to get there once you cross Tampa Bay and there is traffic.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 New Smyrna or Cocoa are probably your best bets for beaches. Each will be about an hour's drive from downtown. St. Augustine is a fun, historical, touristy city, which is on the coast about 90 minutes north of Orlando. We love the Tibet Butler Preserve, which is fairly close to the Disney property in SW Orlando. Description here: http://www.theotherorlando.com/contents/chapters/16/tibet.html Blue Spring Park is lovely, a designate manatee refuge. When the weather cools, the manatees congregate there for the warm water, and you can walk along a boardwalk and watch them. It's one of my favorite places, a little less than an hour north of downtown Orlando. It's probably a little early for manatee activity there just yet, though. http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatashcar Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 One of my favorite places to pass a few hours while near Orlando is http://www.showcaseofcitrus.com/ . It's one of the only citrus farms in Florida where you can pick your own fruit. I can't describe how heavenly the air smells while there and the farm is beautiful. You can get one of their bags and mix-n-match whatever fruit you want for one price. They have all sorts of oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, grapefruit, pomelos, tangelos... We really love going there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 The Kennedy National Seashore is near Titusville and is quite close. It's a much more "wild" beach than Daytona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Will my younger dd who has no body fat want a wet suit for swimming? (And thanks for all the suggestions so far! Lots of recommendations look great.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 I grew up in Cocoa and I think the beaches on the west coast of Florida are much prettier than the East Coast. The water is bluer. St Augustine is wonderful!! Such a fun trip and so educational! Any of the Springs around there are fun. Wekiva Springs, etc. Fun time. Marine Land is cool too. It's closer to St Augustine. It's cheaper than Sea World and I believe their Dolphin experience is pretty cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarfoot Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Will my younger dd who has no body fat want a wet suit for swimming? (And thanks for all the suggestions so far! Lots of recommendations look great.) Well, Clearwater Beach is about 2 hours away from Orlando, but the water is warmer since it's on the Gulf side and, obviously, clearer! It's actually a beautiful area. There's a hotel right on the public beach that's a great place to stay... soft sand, just lovely. The last time we were there, it was a Sheraton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Another vote for Clearwater Beach! We stayed at that Sheraton just last month. It's the Sand Key Sheraton. HUGE beautiful beach. We had it practically to ourselves when we were there. White sand. Clear water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 You can drive and park on Daytona and New Symrna Beach for a fee unless it is a really high tide. I think it is $5 a car but I am not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) If it is warm enough outside for swimming go to Rock Springs/Kelly Park. It is in Apopka and gorgeous. You can rent tubes or bring some and tube down the springs. Really pretty. Also Blue Springs, which has a cool restaurant to make your own pancakes. Or Wekiva Springs, but it is my least favorite. http://apps.ocfl.net/dept/CEsrvcs/Parks/ParkDetails.asp?ParkID=22 Edited October 20, 2012 by ktgrok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Will my younger dd who has no body fat want a wet suit for swimming? (And thanks for all the suggestions so far! Lots of recommendations look great.) If you go to the springs, yes, definitely. At least a lightweight skin suit type thing. Not sure about the ocean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) Daytona Beach. We went in the middle of Dec. It was great!:D ETA: We ate @ Johnny Rocket's first, and got free parking. Edited October 20, 2012 by MooCow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverland Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 The Kennedy National Seashore is near Titusville and is quite close. It's a much more "wild" beach than Daytona. One of our favorite restaurants is in Titusville: Dixie Crossroads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 If you go to Clearwater Beach - go to Frenchie's Restaurant. It's on the beach. We went at sunset. Gorgeous!!! The Grouper sandwiches are amazing!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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