Beaches near WDW

[IloveJack]

DH wanted to go to the beach this summer (he hasn't been ever), but it just wasn't in the cards with the birth of our second DD. So we're wanting to spend a couple of days at the beach on our WDW trip next June. We'll be driving down from TN, and looking at a 12-14 hour trip, so stopping on the way down and on the way back would be nice "bookends" to our trip. Can anyone suggest a good beach that's about 4 hours north of Orlando? We'll have a 1-year old and a 3-year old with us, so family-friendly is a must. And we'll be simply enjoying the sand and water, so we're not looking for extra activities or great places to eat, just a nice beach. Any suggestions?

[NJGIRL]

Bumping up.

[Aurora]

We stopped at Flagler Beach, about 15-20 miles north of Daytona. It's really laid back, not overdeveloped at all, more of a local beach feel. We found out about it from a guy at a gas station. We spent a few hours there on our drive back to Chicago.

It's not as far away from WDW as you asked (only about a two-hour drive), but we loved it.

[joonyer]

The beaches on the Gulf have prettier sand and water than the Atlantic beaches. But Sarasota/St. Pete are not on your way to/from TN. You could visit beaches in Panana City/Destin but that's way out of the way, depending where in TN you live.

On the Atlantic I would strongly suggest taking a day trip to Cumberland Island for the wild undeveloped beaches. You have to tote everything you want, (including lunch) with you on the ferry though (backpacks work well, lots of walking) No cars on the Island. But the beaches are pristine and unspoiled. Wild horses there too.

I would also suggest Jekyll Island or St. Simons Island in Georgia. If you want something in Florida, Little Talbot Island State Park (north of Jax) is also a very nice beach.

[redleg96]

Looking at family friendly, I thing cocoa beach is the best fit but it's an hour east of Orlando instead of 4hr North like you were looking for

[dnickels]

I'd go to St. Augustine. It's a nice family-friendly beach and area. Only about 2 hrs north of Orlando but as mentioned there's nothing really 4 hours away that's also 'on the way' between TN and Disney. St. Augustine wouldn't take you too far out of the way and it would break the trip up a little bit.

[Bucs300]

4 hours North of Orlando would put you in Georgia somewhere and I'm not very familiar with any of the beaches there, but living in Florida I've been to most all of the beaches here. Depending on where in TN you live if you want to take I-4 east to I-95 then head North up I-95 you could stop in North Florida around St Augustine or Jacksonville Beach, both are nice choices.